Claims Should Make Money—Not Bleed It

Most companies don’t lose money because of what they insure.
They lose it because of how they handle claims.

Manual processes, bad data, messy handoffs, and default write-offs aren’t just annoying—they’re expensive. A 2023 Deloitte report showed that more than 60% of claims operations still rely heavily on outdated systems. That’s money leaking, not flowing.

In one project, we helped a client save £300,000 by reworking how they process claims—and we did it without adding more staff or tech. Here’s how.

What’s Broken in Most Claims Processes

Insurance claims should be a structured, trackable, repeatable process. But what we usually find is:

• No clear ownership of steps
• Long delays waiting on approvals or missing info
• Claims written off because no one followed up
• Siloed data across tools and teams
• Lack of basic checks before payouts or write-offs

All of this adds up to lost money, frustrated teams, and zero visibility.

Manual claims processing also costs five times more per case than automated or lean workflows.

Step 1: Map Before You Move

We started by mapping the full claims process, from the moment a case is logged to when it’s resolved or written off.

Using BPMN 2.0 tools, we captured:

• Who was doing what
• Where delays were happening
• Which steps had no checks or controls

It didn’t take long to see the gaps.

“You can’t fix what you can’t see. Mapping showed us exactly where the money was leaking.”

Step 2: Ask the Big Question—Why Are Claims Being Written Off?

The biggest shock? A large percentage of claims were being written off automatically—without proper checks.

We dug in.

• Claims were closed due to missing documents no one chased.
• Staff didn’t know the policy value caps.
• Cases were closed just to hit KPIs.

Through root cause workshops, we found the real issue wasn’t the claim—it was the process around it.

The result: £300,000 in unnecessary write-offs, identified and stopped.

Step 3: Fix the Flow, Not Just the Forms

We redesigned the entire claims flow:

• Created a claims review checklist to go through before write-off.
• Added simple decision trees for escalations.
• Streamlined approvals and reduced unnecessary steps.

Then we digitized parts of the workflow to flag incomplete submissions and escalate risks early.

Impact?

• Faster decisions
• Fewer errors
• More money recovered

Step 4: Build in Smart Controls

Forget complicated systems. Controls should be simple, visible, and real-time.

What we added:

• Live dashboards tracking claims progress
• Alerts when claims stall or miss checkpoints
• Triggers before any claim can be closed or written off

No more blind spots.

Step 5: Train People to Make It Stick

Even a perfect system fails if no one uses it.

That’s why we trained staff directly:

• Quick how-to guides
• Workshops to explain the “why” behind every change
• Lean Six Sigma tools to help them think proactively

Change wasn’t just delivered—it was owned.

The Final Numbers

Here’s what streamlined claims actually looked like:

• £300,000+ saved from stopped write-offs
• Faster average claim turnaround
• Error rate dropped
• Higher recovery per case
• Better control and visibility across the board

Final Word: Stop Losing Money by Default

Here’s the truth:

“Most businesses don’t lose money on claims because of fraud—they lose it because no one’s checking the process.”

If your team is stuck in rework, long delays, and write-offs that don’t add up, you don’t need more people.
You need a better process.

And when you get it right?
You don’t just save money.
You stop losing it in the first place.

Want to fix your claims process without drowning in systems and spreadsheets?
Let’s talk. I help teams build smarter operations that make sense—and save serious money.
👉 improvewithrobert.com | Schedule a meeting below.