As agents, you want to make the claims process as easy as possible for your customers. Part of making it easy is providing them with direct and after-hours contact information so policyholders can report a loss right when it happens directly to the carrier to handle the claim. While this is a great way to ensure ease of doing business, it could put the agent in an awkward position if you’re not aware the claim happened.

FI also wants to make the claims process easy both for our agency partners and our mutual customers. This is one reason why we offer Claims Download services, which transfers information about your customers’ claims right to your agency management system.  By leveraging Claims Download, you’ll benefit from quick access to claims information as well as eliminate the need for duplicate entries into your own agency management system.

With Claims Download, you can track:

• Adjuster assignment
• Claim information such as date of loss and claim description
• Claim number assignment
• Claim status updates such as open or closed
• Notification of claim payments such as dates and amounts
• Initial reserve amount or updates to the reserve amount

The status of a policyholder’s claim is updated daily throughout the process until payment is made and the claim is closed. This allows you to provide up-to-date information to policyholders who look to you for answers about the status of their claim and helps you provide the great customer service they expect from their agent.

Brian Bartosh of Top O’ Michigan Insurance in Alpena, Mich., utilizes Claims Download and finds the service very helpful. “Frankenmuth Insurance was an early adopter of this service and is still one of a handful of carriers that offer Claims Download,” he said. “This service has been especially helpful in situations where a customer reports a major loss after hours. I can log in the next morning and start tracking the claim, which allows me to reach out to my customer or arms me with information if my customer reaches out to me.”

Bartosh even takes it one step further by offering his customers their own access to the status of their claims through his agency website. By doing so, Bartosh says he not only saves time updating his customers throughout the claims process, but it also builds stronger relationships with those customers. 

For more information on how to utilize Claims Download or to find out if your agency management system supports this service, please call Agency Support today at (800) 234-1133 extension 3000 or agencyservices@fmins.com.