Workforce management key challenge for claims officers

Workforce management tops the list of challenges for chief claims officers at leading property and casualty insurance firms, according to a new survey from Towers Watson.

In its survey of 41 chief claims officers from a range of company sizes, 76% cited workforce management as a top three business issue. That was followed by “achieving financial results,” with 56% citing that as a top three challenge, and 54% ranking “effectively integrating and leveraging technology innovations” as a main concern.

In terms of workforce, two-thirds said that attracting and developing critical-skill workers was their top challenge and 59% cited maintaining employee morale.

“Insurers are responding to this dynamic in a number of different ways, most notably by revising claim processes, modifying job functions and leveraging technology innovations, where feasible,” noted Brian Stoll, director of the P&C practice at Towers Watson.

Respondents reported several benefits from claim technology innovation, including leveraging automation to revis claim

processes (68%) and improving execution of best practices using operations metrics (61%).

“Experienced and effective claim personnel are critical both to the organization’s financial success and franchise value to policy owners,” noted John Gayley, director and North American Insurance Industry leader for Executive Compensation at Towers Watson.

“This underlines the importance of providing market-competitive total rewards, ongoing development opportunities and a compelling value proposition to attract and keep the best performers,” he added.

The vast majority (93%) of those surveyed indicated that they handle more than three-quarters of their claims internally.