How To Maintain Quality Documentation For Insurance Claims
Arguably the most important element of effectively working with insurance companies is providing high-quality, thorough documentation. Even small points of attention to detail can prevent questions or misunderstandings that could hold up the claim process for weeks or even months. Here are five tips for maintaining high-quality documentation on insurance claims from our insurance specialists at One Claim Solution.
Log All No Notes — No Matter How Small
Insurance adjusters are never going to complain about too much detail in your claims. The best practice is to document everything you can about the damage in your claim. Even trivial details that seem unimportant at the time may end up being important down the road. When initially taking down notes, it may be helpful to simply record your “stream of consciousness” writing down every possible detail that you observe. Then, before submitting the claim, you can edit these notes to be more concise and organized.
Make Training a High Priority
As claims get more complex, you should regularly train your employees on preparing and filing claims. It’s especially important that you do this if you begin working with a new company or a new area that uses different procedures.
Develop A System That Works For You
Everyone records claim documentation differently. You should find the system that works best for you. However, before creating your own system that turns into a habit, you need to make sure you have the fundamentals down so you don’t develop any bad habits. In general, as long as your system conforms to your training, ensures thorough documentation, and clearly communicates the relevant information, it should get the job done.
Err On The Side Of Being Overly Descriptive
As mentioned above, it is hard to provide insurance adjusters with too much information. The more information they have the better they will be able to process the claim and provide the appropriate settlement. If you have any inkling of a notion that a piece of information may be useful to an adjuster, you may as well include it in the report. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain if it ends up helping the claim be processed more smoothly.
Base Notes On Facts, Not Opinions
Opinion-based documentation not supported by hard evidence is of little use to insurance adjusters. They can only base their estimates on the hard facts available. In fact, trying to use opinion-based evidence may even slow down the claim since it will take the adjuster some time to sort through what evidence they can and cannot rely on.
It’s easy to cut corners when creating the necessary documentation for insurance claims. However, the potential costs far outweigh the limited benefits of this. The tips above will help you to file effective documentation saving yourself time and money.
Call us at One Claim Solution today to discuss how we can help you work with insurance companies more effectively.
