NIGO Insurance Documents are Killing the Bottom Line

Even in the best circumstances, insurance paperwork processing operates with a thin margin of error. Workflows in this line of work can be very sensitive to disruption. Consumers are eager to have claims and applications processed as quickly as possible, and any delay can result in lost policy sale opportunities,and negative customer experiences. For claims and application processors, there's nothing more frustrating than discovering a not-in-good-order, NIGO insurance document. Errors and incomplete information can quickly torpedo productivity and company ROI: Not only does work grind to a halt on applications and claims featuring NIGO insurance documents, but the task of going back to fix these errors is an added cost in and of itself. Businesses have no choice but to go back and bring these documents into good order. No matter how quickly an agent works, the damage is done. Workflows are interrupted, customers are forced to wait, frustration boils over, and time and resources are spent fixing a mistake that, in most cases, could have been easily avoided.

The NIGO Insurance Document Problem

The majority of NIGO paperwork that comes across a processor's desk originate from manual form completion and submission, even on PDFs and html forms. Often times there's no way to detect or prevent mistakes until they're already disrupting operations. For this reason, many insurance companies are turning to digital paper processing that can identify inconsistencies, correct errors, and ensure users fill out and sign forms correctly on the first try anywhere and anytime, even on their mobile phones. As a result, companies adopting digital processing solutions are creating new opportunities to improve productivity while giving a boost to operational ROI. Digital platforms make it possible to communicate, fill out documents, gather the necessary signatures, and start application processing almost instantaneously. According to Deloitte's 2018 Insurance Outlook, this boosts a company's bottom-line in multiple way. First, it accelerates the timeline between the customer's completed application and the acceptance of a new policy. This increases the odds of a customer purchasing that policy from around 70 percent to nearly 90 percent. Learn about the most common causes of NIGO and how you can avoid this inefficient, costly, and poor customer experience.

Common Causes of NIGO Claims and Applications

NIGO documents come in many forms, all of which can be damaging to an insurance company. Human error in data entry is the most common reason why a document might be NIGO, agents or customers can make a typo. If you're still accepting paper-based applications, then there's no way to avoid these kinds of errors in every situation. But there are other causes of NIGO applications that business leaders might not consider when evaluating their document management practices. In addition to errors, paperwork may feature incomplete fields of misinterpretations of what the document is requesting. Information may conflict, especially if the application contains different documents and forms to be filled out by the customer. Signatures may be missing or given in the wrong place, and in some cases, the form a customer finds and uses to submit an application may be an outdated version. No matter what the cause of the delay, the result is the same. Processing grinds to a halt while staff chase down applicants to correct the paperwork error.

How Paperless Solutions Reduce NIGO Frequency

NIGO documents can be a profit-killing problem, but it's one with a practical solution. Paperless processing,using a document collection tool, addresses a number of pain points, especially when it comes to reducing the prevalence of NIGO insurance documents, as well as resolving any issues when they do arise. A mobile friendly, digital solution creates huge cost savings by eliminating the time and resource consumption of correcting these errors. According to Insurance Thought Leadership, error-free digital processes can cost one-third to one-fourth the price of a traditional, paper-based process, just by virtue of the reduced error rate. Deloitte also highlighted the case study of a large insurance company that used automation tools to handle basic tasks in the document processing workflow, and reaped the benefits in a big way. The company saw a productivity gain of 68 percent, and improved accuracy and regulatory compliance. For claims processing, the company was able to accelerate resolution timelines by 75 percent. Even if a company has made the switch to digital, they should ask themselves if it goes far enough to address accuracy over speed, or can easily reach the mobile and distracted consumer? Insurance companies shouldn't settle for NIGO documents as an inevitable cost of doing business. Lightico can improve document processing, improve efficiency, and reduce costs all while improving the customer experience, wherever they may be. Eliminating errors or being able to quickly fix them at anytime is the the best way insurance brands can fatten their bottom-line overnight. Insurance companies that are already using Lightico have drastically improved their document flow. They are making their clients happier and spending less time chasing paper. Lightico speeds on-boarding, automates claim procedures & simplifies renewals. Lightico’s insurance solution make policy renewals and claims processing a breeze for both agent and client. Download the insurance solution brochure. Speak with a solutions expert and crush your goals and KPIs.