A customer-focused strategy
The journey towards this future scenario began with a new and more customer-focused strategy – and the realisation that the future belongs to a completely different and more ’intelligent’ kind of software support.
”Our existing claims handling systems were designed to help our company function and were not particularly attuned to the customer,” Henrik admits. “At the time, we had been working with Scalepoint on some new solutions within a limited scope, but we realised that if we wanted to achieve our strategic goals in every area of the business, we would have to do something more drastic.”
In March 2016, Codan signed a contract with Scalepoint to develop a comprehensive solution. And today, the first generation of Codan’s new claim service platform is already being rolled out on a continuous basis in most of the company’s claims areas.
The new, cloud-based system allows customers to access their case files via computer, tablet or smartphone and follow the processing of their claim from start to finish. In many routine cases, the system is able to quickly and automatically process and approve a claim.
“Transparency, clarity and speed – whenever we have asked our customers what they want, these are the top three answers,” Henrik says.
Staying ahead of the curve
Improving the customer experience is at the heart of the transformation taking place at Codan. But the new solution will also help Codan keep expenses down. Among other things, increased efficiency through intelligent automation makes it possible to realise indemnity savings and reduce personnel costs.
The solution is also designed to meet a highly challenging future for the insurance business. A future in which disruptive innovations such as self-driving cars, price-comparing websites and peer-to-peer insurance can change the business landscape from one day to the next.
Henrik points out that in this type of marketplace, it will take unprecedented IT agility to stay ahead of the curve. The company must constantly be able to capture and utilise the new technologies that accompany new market opportunities and an ever-changing competitive environment..
“Time-to-market is critical,” Henrik adds. “All around us, we have seen examples of new services that are already obsolete by the time they are finally developed and rolled out.”
Codan’s cloud-based solution all but eliminates development time. Scalepoint hosts the advanced solution and can quickly configure any necessary software changes. An easily-managed end-user interface then allows Codan to fine-tune the parameters of the new product. No in-house IT involvement is necessary.
In time, it will also become possible for Codan to do the initial configuration via the user interface.
“They want it now”
This kind of flexibility is going to make it easier for Codan to serve the special needs of its large commercial customers, Henrik notes:
“We will be able to adjust the solution to interface with the internal systems that our business customers use on a daily basis. This offers them a whole new level of flexibility and transparency. We can create a universe for them that provides an overview of their claims as well as insights into how future risks can be mitigated.”
Henrik expects the ongoing rollout of Codan’s new customer service platform to be completed by the end of this year. Following this, it will continuously be enhanced with more functionality to optimise the business and provide Codan’s customers with a superior experience. Codan’s commercial customers can hardly wait.
“We have already explained what we have in mind – and they want it now,” Henrik says with a smile.
Creating a consistent Codan identity
The current goal of the collaboration between Codan and Scalepoint is to create a consistently high level of transparency and service across all of Codan’s claims areas – a recognisable Codan identity, regardless of whether the company is dealing with an accidental injury, a stolen cell phone or damaged wind turbine park.
But the collaboration won’t stop there.
“We are taking a tremendous leap forward. But if we want to remain the market leader, we must continue to move ahead,” says Henrik.
An increasingly intelligent system
Next on the agenda will be new functionalities that will, for example, enable the system to automatically communicate with and retrieve data from external sources. Automatic claims management will become increasingly widespread and intelligent as the system ‘learns’ how to use data from weather and traffic reports, damage descriptions, invoices from repair shops and a wealth of other materials.
The pipe burst scenario described at the beginning of this article is a bit beyond the current project scope. But it won’t be long before it, too, becomes a reality.
“For Codan, this lies a bit farther down the road,” says Henrik. “But no more than three to five years from now.”
