While technological tools appear to be gaining traction in the administration of claims even in the commercial sector, large, complex losses often still require physical inspection and pose challenges that can’t be solved with remote resources.
Losses requiring a physical inspection represent a minority of claims, said Kenneth Tolson, U.S. president of claims solutions at Atlanta-based Crawford & Co.
“Somebody will still have to look at severe losses, but that’s only 15% to 20% of your claims,” he said.
Multiple rooms affected in a structure, roof penetrations, structural issues are among the types of damage likely to require inspection, he said. “You really do need to put an expert set of boots on the ground, or a contractor certified in the space, to determine damages” in such cases, he said.
Scott Richardson, executive vice president, operations, chief strategic & development officer in Chicago for Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., said it’s “very difficult to scope large losses” remotely as it becomes harder to understand structural elements and how they might be damaged.
To “understand how the building actually ties together is more difficult to do over a remote application,” he said.
Both executives stressed their respective firms continue to perform such inspections, even as recently as mid-April after severe weather including hail and tornadoes caused some $2 billion of cumulative damage across parts of the U.S. The reasons they are able to do so include: The services are deemed “essential,” many claims involve external damage and don’t require interior access, and decentralized workforces mean inspectors typically don’t have to travel far.
