Claims Adjusters Lean on Technology to Speed Response to Hurricane Losses

From drones to data, technology is enabling and enhancing the claims process, outsourcing and automating certain functions to allow adjusters and others to function more efficiently. Derek Royster spoke with Business Insurance about this topic.

Technology does, however, have limits, both in specific situations and more broadly. While it may help people do their jobs more quickly and efficiently, tech is unlikely to supplant people in the claims process.

The multiple catastrophes in the second half of 2017, especially hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, became a proving ground for some new technologies.

“Where technology is making it easier is in limiting the time needed in the field,” said Derek Royster, partner with Baker Tilly* in Charlotte, North Carolina. “With more business records being kept digitally, technology has enabled us to conduct more of the loss analysis remotely. Following last year’s hurricanes, we had fewer team members on the ground in Texas and Florida than were needed 12 years ago for Hurricane Katrina. Much of this can be attributed to the changes in business record-keeping and an increased reliance on technology and backing up records in the cloud.”

As appeared in Business Insurance, May 1, 2018.

*Effective December 2018, RGL Forensics joined Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP. This article was published while we were RGL Forensics. The author(s) or team member(s) quoted from RGL are now employees of Baker Tilly.