Microsoft Customer Solution
Financial Services Industry Case Study
Claims Processor Speeds Reports 200 Percent,
Boosts Accuracy When Catastrophe Strikes
Customer: IMS Claim Services
Web Site: www.imsclaims.com
Customer Size: 48 employees
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Financial services
Partner: Hawkins Research
Web Site: www.powerclaim.com
“PowerClaim speeds every part of the claims
adjusting process.... The result is that we can handle
claims adjusting more cost-efficiently and more
quickly. That’s a competitive advantage for us in
working with the insurance companies.”
Customer Profile
Based in Bradenton, Florida, IMS Claim
Services offers a full range of adjusting
services, including daily claims adjusting,
catastrophe claims adjusting, and training.
Lisa Sampson, Training Administrator, IMS Catastrophe Training Center
Software
 Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Windows Server 2003 Enterprise
Edition
− Microsoft SQL Server 2005,
Enterprise Edition
 Technology
− Microsoft SQL Server Reporting
Services
IMS Claim Services wanted a faster, more accurate, and less
expensive way to handle insurance claims adjusting for its
insurance company customers. It found what it wanted in
PowerClaim XML property estimating software from Hawkins
Research Inc., a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner. Used both in the
field by adjusters and in the head office by administrators, the
software helps speed claims reports by 200 percent and costs up
to 60 percent less than competing solutions.
Business Needs
For more information about other Microsoft
customer successes, please visit:
www.microsoft.com/casestudies
IMS Claim Services and affiliated company
IMS Catastrophe Services provide claims
adjusting services to insurance companies
throughout the United States. The organization is known for both daily claims adjusting
and catastrophe adjusting. During the 2004
and 2005 hurricane seasons, IMS handled
more than 100,000 insurance claims from
five satellite storm offices that it established
in the immediate aftermath of the
hurricanes.
While insurance companies and their
customers want all claims adjusting handled
quickly and accurately, the demand for efficiency is never higher than when it seems
most difficult to provide: during a catastrophic emergency. IMS handles approximately 500 claims per month but that can
soar to 15,000 or more when a hurricane or
other disaster strikes. IMS responds by
establishing satellite offices and by swelling
the ranks of its adjusters with independent
personnel.
To help its staff and independent adjusters
work quickly and effectively, IMS opened the
IMS Catastrophe Training Center in 2002 and
has since trained more than 2,000 adjusters
in the most effective ways to handle claims.
The company also sought to replace the
traditional process for claims adjusting. That
process required adjusters to write notes by
hand, draw pictures of buildings and damages, and then fax or send their forms back
to the office to be processed and forwarded to
the appropriate insurance carrier. The process
was laborious and error-prone. The company
wanted to use a software solution to increase
its speed and accuracy.
“There are tremendous cost pressures in this
business and this was a major area of potential cost savings,” says Lisa Sampson,
Training Administrator for IMS Catastrophe
Training Center. “But there was also real
resistance to a software solution on the part
of our long-time adjusters.”
Adjusters can use the software on the device
type of their choice: Tablet PCs or laptops in
the field, or desktop PCs back in their
offices. The adjuster uses the standard
forms and databases in PowerClaim XML—
including a property valuation database and
multiple Craftsman price databases—to
complete a claim adjustment report, and
then uploads it to the PowerClaim server in
the IMS office.
There, administrative staff members receive
on-screen notification when a new report is
ready for review. They view submitted
reports, review the files for accuracy and
update as needed, package the reports for
transmittal to the appropriate insurer, and
initiate invoicing.
Solution
The use of Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 as
the solution’s database enables IMS executives to access real-time reports—created
with SQL Server Reporting Services—that
show productivity indicators for each
adjuster, as well as performance indicators
for the business overall.
To adopt a solution that would meet the
needs of its insurance carriers and adjusters—
as well as its own needs—IMS Claim Services
turned to Hawkins Research, a Microsoft®
Gold Certified Partner based in Murray,
Kentucky. Hawkins is the maker of the
PowerClaim family of property claims software
solutions.
IMS has made PowerClaim the sole software
solution taught at its IMS Catastrophe
Training Center. “One of the most important
things that we can teach trainees is how to
maximize their productivity,” says Sampson.
“PowerClaim is the tool that they need to
use.”
PowerClaim XML is a property estimating
solution that enables claims adjusters to
prepare estimates, complete with photo
sheets, diagrams, and captioned reports.
The software runs on the Windows® operating
system, including Windows 98 or higher on
the client device and Windows Server® 2003
on the server computer.
Benefits
As a result of using PowerClaim XML estimating software, IMS Claim Services is up
to 200 percent faster in processing claims,
according to Sampson. The software is also
up to 60 percent less expensive than competitive solutions, further boosting the
service provider’s return on investment.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published February 2007
“PowerClaim speeds every part of the claims
adjusting process,” says Sampson. “Our
adjusters in the field are faster because they
don’t have to reenter data. And the automation in the software makes them more
accurate, which boosts productivity in our
administrative office because administrators
have fewer mistakes to correct. The result is
that we can handle claims adjusting more
cost-efficiently and more quickly. That’s a
competitive advantage for us in working with
the insurance companies.”
Beyond lower cost and increased competitiveness, the greater productivity enabled by
the solution is an incalculable benefit when
disaster strikes consumers and businesses
insured by IMS customer companies. “When
people have their lives disrupted by a natural
disaster, it’s imperative that we do everything possible to help them get back on their
feet,” says Sampson. “PowerClaim helps
because we can increase staffing as needed
and know that the independent adjusters
who use the solution will be just as effective
as if they’d been on staff for years.”
The rich Windows-based interface of
PowerClaim also helps reduce the need for
training on the software, which makes the
training of new adjusters through the IMS
Catastrophe Training Center more efficient.
“We can train people faster thanks to
PowerClaim,” says Sampson. “The software
has built-in tutorials, and online interactive
sessions are available through Hawkins
Research. New adjusters have no reason to
feel intimidated, and they can get up and
running on the software immediately.”