Claims time cut is just what the doctor ordered

An initiative to cut end-to-end times for illness claims has knocked up to two weeks off previous waiting periods, according to Norwich Union Life.

The approach, used for critical and terminal illness claims, has seen success when putting the claimant in control of GP response times.

Sarah Butler, Norwich Union Life Claims Team Manager, explains: “When progressing illness claims, we are very much dependent on the doctor’s speed of response.

“So now, we are giving our customer the choice to take the medical report form to their doctor directly. The thinking is that a busy GP will react better to a patient than an insurance company.

“Our hunch has proved correct and, as a result, the time it takes to get the form back has been cut by a third, which means nearly 14 days fewer in the longest cases.

“And despite the onus being placed on the claimant, we have found that no-one feels it is an imposition when they know that their claim will be resolved more quickly as a result. Of course, Norwich Union Life pays the GP for the information and chases them for return of the medical report form too.”

This is the latest strategy introduced by Norwich Union Life to reduce end-to-end claims time.

Since the launch of the Claims Support Team, the insurer has developed systems to capture information from the customer and transfer it directly to a claim form.

This enables the assessor to ensure the claim form is completed as fully as possible, to deal with issues immediately and obtain a greater depth of information.