This series of blog posts provides an overview of how a Phoenix-based insurance company implemented a record management solution that improved productivity, customer service, disaster recovery, and process integrity while holding the line on labor and other costs. In this blog post we will discuss how the record management solution allowed the insurance company to reduce delays and errors associated with having to manually handle governance, risk and compliance.

Governance, Risk and Compliance Benefits

The insurance company’s paperless systems reduce the potential for delays and errors associated with having to manually handle all of these processes. Documents are entered into the record management solution on the day they are received, and administrators can track their progress and history while a file is being worked on or after it has been archived.

Strict security settings can also be applied to documents, preventing unauthorized users from viewing them. For instance, the insurance company’s VP of IT notes that AP documents, which are not relevant to the majority of users, have been tightly restricted. Even if a user has access to a document, s/he may be restricted from modifying, printing or e-mailing it.

Conversely, the record management solution has made documents more accessible to independent, state regulatory and insurance auditors. The insurance company has eliminated the disruption associated with having to assign personnel to gather documents for an audit by providing auditors with temporary access to the solution’s repository. Disaster recovery initiatives are also supported by the ability to back up files nightly and store the media off-site.

For more information about record management solutions, continue to visit our blog or contact OSAM Document Solutions, Inc.

This series of blog posts provides an overview of how a Phoenix-based insurance company implemented a document management solution that improved productivity, customer service, disaster recovery, and process integrity while holding the line on labor and other costs. In this blog post we will discuss how the insurance company used document management solutions to decrease cycle times, primarily due to reducing the amount of time spent trying to track down and/or distribute files.

Immediate Access to Any File

While it’s critical for all insurance companies to adequately assess risks during the underwriting process, a mutual insurance company like the company discussed in this article is keenly aware of the potential impact one policyholder’s action can have on everyone. Thus, the paper-laden Underwriting Department (UW) was a logical first place to start as it is the beginning of the process. UW began scanning documents and implementing the document management solution’s Workflow in the spring of 2004. In addition to scanning incoming documents, the insurance company also scanned 26 years of existing UW documents, many of which presented pre-sorting challenges, in about 8 months.

The insurance company’s UW staff scans the mail daily. Capture software is used to capture specific values from standard documents (such as a policy number from an application). Indexing is also facilitated by drop down menus and the automatic population of keywords using data from insurance processing software based on the file number.

Based on the type of document (e.g., new/renewal application, correspondence), territory and other factors, the scanned images are routed to processors working with the insurance processing software. Using dual screens to view the insurance processing software and the document management solution image simultaneously, information from the image can be entered into the insurance processing software. The images are then routed through the workflow process. Workflow collects the supporting documents as well as providing E-Forms with checklists. After review and approval, the documents are sent to an Assistant UW for policy issuance.

Similarly, the Claims Department scans its documents at the departmental mailroom. Based on the file number that already exists in the insurance process software, indexing information is downloaded for those documents. A claim representative uses the document management solution to manage documents associated with the claim.

Workflow is also used to manage the multiple approval processes involved in Accounts Payable (AP). Scanned documents are indexed using the document management solution’s AutoFill capability to pull indexing information from the insurance company’s accounting system. Accounting routes the invoice to a department where two levels of approval are required and the account code is assigned. When it is returned, Accounting posts it to the Accounting system.

These automated workflows decrease cycle times, primarily due to reducing the amount of time spent trying to track down and/or distribute files. Because of the increase in productivity realized by using the document management solution, the insurance company’s employee count has remained steady for the past several years, despite the significant annual growth in the number of insureds.

For more information about document management solutions, continue to visit our blog or contact OSAM Document Solutions, Inc.

Over the past 30 years, a Phoenix-based insurance company has grown to be one of the strongest medical professional liability carriers in the nation because of its commitment to its policyholders. As a mutual insurance company, its obligation to policyholders includes not only providing the best possible coverage and service but also running its business efficiently to keep operating costs low and favorable impact rates. A document management solution made possible by enterprise content management (ECM) software provides capabilities such as document imaging and automated workflow, which have improved productivity, customer service, disaster recovery, and process integrity while holding the line on labor and other costs.

Licensed in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah; the insurance company is the market leader for medical liability insurance in Arizona, providing coverage for individual physicians, groups and medical facilities. With an A (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best, the insurance company’s number of insureds and premium volumes have consistently grown over the past 5 years.

Working with a consultant, the insurance company began evaluating ECM solutions that offered ease of use and maintenance, workflow and versioning. After careful consideration and extensive input from the user community, the insurance company chose a document management solution from an authorized solution provider based in Phoenix.

For more information about document management solutions, continue to visit our blog or contact OSAM Document Solutions, Inc.