September 25, 2000

Printer ready

Wireless Photos Speed Damage Claims

Kemper Insurance uses wireless digital imaging to lower costs, streamline process

By Matthew G. Nelson

More on photos:

EETimes: Image sensor challenges digital-camera CCDs (9/11/00) TechWeb: Image Choices Dwindle To Two: Corbis Or Getty (9/7/00) TechWeb: WAP Gets Whapped At Gadget Show (9/7/00)

TechEncyclopedia:

Need a tech term defined?

Send Us Your Feedback

picture may be worth a thousand words, but Kemper Insurance Cos. wants to make sure developing them doesnęt cost thousands of dollars.

The Jacksonville, Fla., insurance agency requires photographs of damage to an insured home, but the cost of developing a half-million photos a year, shipping them to an adjuster at a regional headquarters, and duplicating photo records for multiple layers of approval on a claim adds up quickly. To lower those costs and speed the process of filing and settling claims, Kemper turned to ActivePhoto, a provider of wireless digital imaging applications, and FlashPoint Technology Inc., for its Digita Operating Environment platform, to create a wireless camera system that lets property adjusters take pictures in the field and instantly download them to start the claim process.

Kemper uses Kodak DC290 cameras loaded with the ActivePhoto software and connected to the FlashPoint Digita platform. The cameras are linked to a Motorolla StarTac data-enabled cell phone, which wirelessly sends the information to a database hosted by ActivePhoto and accessible by Kemper.

The insurer is using the wireless systems with nine property adjusters based in its Sacramento, Calif., and Milwaukee offices; it's planning to expand the test to 40 adjusters soon. Ted Hailer, project manager for Kemper Personal Lines, says he's already seeing savings and streamlined settlement processes. "We've seen savings of up to 80% when we don't have to pay for film development and mailing," he says.

The improved customer service is a bonus. "When we send out an appraiser out to take a snapshot, it's loaded immediately, and our adjusters have immediate access to it through the Web," Hailer says. "The key to claims settlement is getting in there as fast as you can, finding out what the damage is, and settling it. A good claim is a short-lived claim."

Hailer declines to say how much the ActivePhoto system and hosting is costing Kemper, but, he insists, it's "a reasonable price."

Back to This Week's Issue
Send Us Your Feedback
Top of the Page

---