“Subrogration is a useful business and financial practice to manage claims costs, but often it is relegated or ignored in the process of adjusting and settling claims,” says Dhara Patel, ACM president. “The SubroNet proprietary tool automates the process of identifying subrogation opportunities, so claims adjusters and management can streamline the process of using subrogation.” SubroNet is available to carrier clients and self-insured clients of American Claims Management, which is active in workers’ compensation, auto, general liability, professional liability, property, and earthquake lines of business. It is believed to be the first insurtech claims tool of its kind, according to Patel.
Subrogation is used across numerous lines of insurance to seek remuneration from outside parties that are responsible for all or part of an insured loss that leads to a claim. Successful subrogation cases can result in significant loss-cost savings for carriers and self-insured entities. But subrogation is used sporadically and sometimes ineffectively across companies and even within companies.
“We saw the chance to develop a more sophisticated approach to data to find subrogation opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be identified,” adds Patel. “Nearly every book of business has a wealth of hidden subrogation potential that may not be obvious to the naked eye of even the most experienced adjuster."
SubroNet incorporates natural language processing coupled with a machine-learning algorithm. American Claims Management used the language processing element to identify a set of keywords common to successful subrogation cases. The new insurtech tool works by taking those keywords and comparing them with a loss description from an adjuster or a customer service representative. The subrogation tool then grades each subrogation opportunity as low, medium or high.
“So much information that adjusters collect is just sitting, unused, in free-form text on their tablet computers,” says Patel. “By using SubroNet to analyze that data, this insurtech approach can create a fairer, more efficient claims process — and prove to make hidden-value impact on a loss ratio.” Since 1988, American Claims Management has been a national third-party claims administrator specializing in both commercial and personal lines. By offering professional expertise in claims administration, ACM is committed to providing superior claims services and innovative solutions. ACM is a subsidiary of Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc. View more at ACMclaims.com