ISO Launches Claims Handling Consulting Service

Columbia, S.C.-based ISO Claims Services Inc. has launched “Measures of Excellence,” a consulting service that helps insurance organizations create benchmarks for internal and industry best practices for consistent quality claims handling.

The ISO Measures of Excellence technology recommendations have achieved significant improvements in assessing bodily injury claims and payouts and saved between six and 15 percent on key claim costs, ISO said in a statement.

As part of the consulting service, the ISO’s Measures of Excellence team will carry out a full review of an insurance organization’s closed claims files and work flow processes. The team tracks supervisory and adjuster practices through a rating system based on six critical areas — control, investigation, evaluation, negotiation, settlement and compliance. The data from these processes are then analyzed and measured against industry best practices to create benchmarks which enable an insurer’s clients to maximize their own claims procedures and exceed industry standards.

As a result, the consulting team is able to make recommendations regarding current processes and the use of current and prospective technology, and discuss development of professional training to improve best practices and eliminate deficiencies.

“ISO’s claims professionals collectively have more than two centuries of claims adjusting, supervision and management experience, including personal and commercial lines, workers compensation and self-insured markets. We have trained over 4,500 adjusters,” said Lee E. Fogle, vice president of ISO Claims Services. “The results of our audits are outstanding. Clients have saved as much as 15.6 percent on claim payments, 9.8 percent per point of severity* in bodily injury claims and $703.91 per bodily injury file.”

*Severity is ISO’s measurement of pain and suffering related to a specific medical condition and its related treatments, complications, and preexisting conditions. ISO then ties this medical severity back to specific dollars within company defined regions and territories for purposes of measurement and negotiations.