How claims technology is part of our people-first mission

Over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, technology has played a key role in helping insurers manage business insurance claims and serve customers safely from afar. But the focus on technology leaves out an important aspect of the story. In a recent interview, Steve Deane, Liberty Mutual’s chief claims officer of the North American commercial and specialty insurance division, got to the heart of successful technology implementation: people. After all, he says, “technology is only as good as the people who are responsible for using it.”

In this article, we’ll explore how focusing on people first allows businesses to integrate technology in a way that aligns with their mission – and we’ll look at how Liberty Mutual’s claim management system was built with that in mind.

Making sure injured workers stay connected

Many companies have implemented new technologies to keep business going and serve both employees and customers during the COVID era. But, according to Deane, these investments in improved user interface are most effective when they are grounded in helping people. When businesses start with people, they can make smarter, more impactful decisions around technology implementation that maintain brand integrity and support overall user experience.

One example is Liberty Mutual’s new injured worker portal, a system that makes the claims process simpler and more transparent for businesses and their employees. Though the technology aspect is “critical” to making the system work – especially during a pandemic – it is second to the insurer’s mission to “[put] the injured employee’s well-being first and [identify] ways to reduce stress and anxiety that often comes with a work-related injury, so the worker can focus on recovery.”

“That mindset — of putting people at ease and focusing on recovery — is enabled by the technology of the portal,” says Deane. “Rather than using highly technical language – essentially claims jargon — in our written and verbal communications, we’re striving to help explain the process in ways that people who aren’t workers comp experts can understand.”

Technology is only as good as the people who’re responsible for using it.

By focusing on its people-first mission when implementing this new portal, Liberty Mutual was able to address common customer pain points and improve overall user experience. People were at the root of this decision; technology was just the right tool for the job.