Improve decision making at FNOL

Claims handlers can often be left dealing with a huge array of unknowns after receiving first notification of loss, and the early decisions they take can have a huge bearing on the ultimate cost of the claim – and an insurer’s financial projections.

At NetWatch all of our services are geared at providing intelligence that can improve decision making at every stage of a claim’s journey, with FNOL no exception. There is one service however that can totally change the way a claim is handled right from the outset, and that is NetWatch Incident Investigation.

Incident Investigation for Motor Claims

Consider a motor claim in which an insured advises that they have been in a serious incident, there are injuries involved but they essentially have no other information. The handler is effectively left with a black hole full of unknowns, and limited options to aid the setting of a reserve – and the situation could remain that way for some time.

One of the steps taken may be to order a police report, which when it arrives will hopefully contain the details of the other parties involved and potentially a witness or two. However, this could take months and many of the details may be redacted when they do arrive.

This is where an Incident Investigation from NetWatch can pay dividends. Our clients typically provide us with just a date and location of an incident, and some basic details of their insured. Utilising our unique OSINT toolsuite, our team of expert open-source intelligence analysts will then scour the internet for key pieces of intelligence.

What can our incident investigation deliver?

Typically, these reports will be returned to the claims handler within 48 hours, and with a success rate of over 70% will prove hugely beneficial more often than not. Whilst no two reports are the same, we are frequently able to identify the other parties involved and insight into any injuries, provide videos, images and contemporaneous comments made at the time and identify key witnesses – along with their contact details.

Once a claims handler is armed with this intelligence, they can start making decisions that allow them to manage the claim more effectively and ultimately set a much more accurate reserve.

Investigating Non-Motor Incidents

Whilst the above example has considered a motor accident, our Incident Investigation service can be applied to any scenario. It is frequently used to investigate property damage and has even been used successfully by police forces in the investigation of serious crimes. You can read about our investigation of damage to property caused by a huge explosion in Tianjin, China HERE.