Hail damage reporting by tablet

Despite modern technology, there are still some things we just have to live with: annual hailstorms, for example. Luckily things look different when it comes to handling their aftereffects. Fitted with the right software, a tablet permits swift and efficient settlement of insurance claims. Schweizerische Hagel-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft, or Swiss Hail, commissioned such a solution from IMS AG.

So today, if a farmer reports hail damage, the insurance rep arrives at the homestead with his tablet instead of a paper notepad. The tablet not only permits work without media breaks, but also supports the integration of modern tools like GPS. So the expert can, for example, check whether he is really standing on the right field.

Damage assessment also becomes far easier by tablet. Until now, insurance experts more or less relied on their own knowledge. The new solution now provides access to records of previous cases. This has advantages not only for the insurance appraiser, but also the farmer. He now receives a full initial damage assessment directly on site. Despite poor network coverage in rural regions, the job must still be performed efficiently. The app’s entire functionality is therefore available offline. Once network access is restored, the new data is automatically synchronized with Swiss Hail’s CRM system.

Another improvement is in the deployment of the insurance experts themselves. Since damage events occur across large geographical areas, they spend a lot of time on the road. Using Google Maps, they can now plan their routes in detail in advance. At the start of the day, all relevant data are simply transferred from the insurer’s system by Wifi or mobile network.

With its tablet solution, Swiss Hail has opted for a technological innovation that is still quite new for the insurance industry. From the start, the aim was not just to optimize work processes, but also to impress customers with this advanced way of working. IMS AG began work on the mobile damage assessment solution in early 2013. “grelexpert”, as the project was named, was implemented as a native android app using feature driven development, and an agile development procedure. Fully operating app versions were delivered and tested at regular intervals in predefined iteration steps. This approach ensured that the experts participating in the tests gained a feel for the mobile work method early on and could provide direct feedback.