Mobile apps for claims management have easily become the next big thing. Up next to offer a mobile app for workers’ compensation claims is the University of Alabama at Birmingham. UAB is offering a mobile app feature that is compatible with every smartphone.
They refer to it as more “app-like” than app because it functions more like a mobile website than an official app.
As contractors to several local businesses to handle their workers’ comp claims UAB wanted to remove some of the hoops employees have to jump through when injured on the job.
InsuranceJournal.com reports:
It’s a simple process. The manager downloads the app to a smartphone or computer desktop. When an injury occurs, the manager clicks on the icon and opens up a Web browser. They the manager fills out the fields on a form with patient information and details of the injury. The app sends the form as an e-mail to an emergency communications specialist, who relays information on the nature of the injury to the emergency department even as the patient is being transported. The specialists, who are paramedics, also are trained to administer drug and alcohol tests.
“The system ensures that the medical staff in the ED get accurate information about what to expect when the patient arrives,” says Canfield. “It makes sure the paperwork and claim forms follow the correct pathways, and it makes sure that drug and alcohol tests are done promptly and properly.”
Gartner also outlines its top 10 technology impacts in the P&C Insurance field and mobile devices were for sure one of the highlighted features in insurance technology. Gartner reported that “Users expect websites to be accessible via handheld devices and that certain transactions can be supported on mobile devices as well. Mobile technologies also will provide P&C insurers with a great tool to equip their agents with real-time information and contacts. Launching mobile applications is becoming popular, especially in the U.S., for P&C insurers that want to generate a new brand image and offer customers tools for finding an agent or submitting a claim.
The advancement of mobile technology in the insurance claims management process highlights several transformations including ease of implementation, and containing costs. The ability to virtualize claims also offers carriers workforce flexibility.
In what ways have you seen mobile device technology transform the insurance claims management process?
