How to Reduce Claim Setup Time by 80% with Automated Policy Verification

Claim setup is one of the most time-consuming administrative tasks in personal injury law. Between tracking down policy information, verifying coverage limits, and confirming carrier details, a single case can take 2-4 hours of staff time before any legal work even begins.

What if you could reduce that to under 30 minutes?

The Hidden Cost of Manual Claim Setup

For most PI firms, claim setup follows a familiar pattern:

1. Gather basic accident details from the client
2. Identify involved insurance carriers (often requiring multiple calls)
3. Request policy information via phone, fax, or portal
4. Wait for carrier responses (sometimes days or weeks)
5. Verify coverage limits and policy status
6. Document everything in your case management system

Each step introduces delays. Staff spend hours on hold with insurance companies. Carriers respond slowly—or not at all. Information gets entered manually, creating opportunities for errors.

The average PI firm spends 15-20 hours per week on claim setup alone. That's over 800 hours per year that could be spent on higher-value case work.

How Automation Cuts Setup Time by 80%

Modern claim setup automation addresses each bottleneck:

Instant Carrier Identification

Instead of calling clients back repeatedly to ask "who's your insurance company?", automated systems cross-reference accident details with carrier databases to identify likely insurers within seconds.

Automated Policy Requests

Rather than manual fax requests or phone calls, automated systems submit policy verification requests electronically to hundreds of carriers simultaneously. Requests go out immediately—no staff intervention required.

Real-Time Response Tracking

Automated dashboards show which carriers have responded, which requests are pending, and which need follow-up. No more spreadsheets or sticky notes.

Structured Data Extraction

When policy documents arrive, AI extracts key coverage information—liability limits, UM/UIM coverage, med pay—and populates your case management system automatically.

Real Results from PI Firms

Firms using automated claim setup report:

• 80% reduction in time spent on policy verification
• Carrier responses in minutes instead of days
• Fewer errors from manual data entry
• Faster case progression from intake to demand

One firm handling 50+ new cases per month saved their intake team over 100 hours monthly after implementing automation.

What to Look for in Claim Setup Software

Not all claim setup tools deliver equal results. Key features to evaluate:

Carrier Coverage

How many insurance carriers does the system connect with? Look for platforms covering major national carriers plus regional insurers in your practice area.

Integration

Does it connect with your existing case management system (Clio, Litify, Smart Advocate, etc.)? Seamless data flow eliminates double-entry.

Response Time

What's the average turnaround for policy verification? Best-in-class systems return carrier responses within minutes for most requests.

Compliance

Is the system HIPAA-compliant? Does it maintain proper audit trails for policy requests and responses?

Getting Started

Implementing claim setup automation typically follows three phases:

1. Integration Setup - Connect with your case management system and configure carrier preferences
2. Workflow Training - Train staff on the new intake process (usually 1-2 hours)
3. Go Live - Start submitting automated policy requests

Most firms see measurable time savings within the first week.

The Bottom Line

Manual claim setup is a solved problem. Automation exists today that can reduce your intake team's workload by 80% while improving accuracy and speeding case progression.

The question isn't whether to automate—it's how quickly you can implement it.

Learn more about Precedent's Claim Setup automation →