The insurance industry is one of the most competitive and regulated sectors in the world. Insurance companies need to provide reliable and efficient services to their customers, while also complying with various laws and standards. One of the key aspects of insurance operations is the processing of claims, which involves collecting, verifying, and analysing information from various sources, such as claimants, witnesses, agents, adjusters, investigators, and experts. Transcription is the process of converting audio or video files into written documents. Transcription can help insurance companies streamline their claims process and improve their accuracy, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Here are some of the reasons why transcription is important to the insurance industry:
Transcription Helps Detect and Prevent Fraud
Insurance fraud is a serious problem that costs the industry billions of dollars every year. Fraudulent claims can range from exaggerating damages or injuries to staging accidents or thefts, to filing multiple claims for the same loss. Insurance companies need to identify and combat fraud as quickly and effectively as possible, to protect their reputation and profitability. Transcription can help insurance companies detect and prevent fraud by providing them with accurate and searchable records of recorded statements, interviews, and testimonies. It can also help insurance adjusters spot inconsistencies, contradictions, and discrepancies in the information provided by different parties. Transcription can also help insurance investigators gather evidence and build cases against fraudsters.
Helps You Increase Productivity
Why is Dictation More Efficient than Typing?
The simple fact is that we can all speak considerably faster than we can physically type, as demonstrated by these stats:
“The average person types between 38 and 40 words per minute”. A “good rate of speech ranges between 140 -160 words per minute.”
This means that dictation is up to four times faster than we can type. Therefore, simply dictating a document is more cost-efficient, giving you more time to be working on other projects and bringing in more revenue.
Gives You Access to Highly Experienced Transcriptionists When You Need them
At OutSec we believe in having highly experienced financial services sector transcriptionists who have worked in finance departments, banking, accounting and wealth management firms. Indeed, we have been providing transcription services to this niche market since 2002. Our transcriptionists truly understand the importance of client confidentiality and accuracy in their work. This makes OutSec’s Financial Services Sector Transcription Team, one of the best in the industry and they are available to you at the touch of a button. Are you:
• having issues recruiting in your area?
• struggling to find a transcriptionist with the right experience?
• struggling with a backlog of work?
Then why not use OutSec for all your financial services sector transcription needs?
Reduces Costs
When you employ staff you must pay: monthly salaries, PAYE costs, National Insurance contributions, offer a pension scheme and pay a certain percentage of tax per employee. You also have other fixed costs such as desk space and office costs per employee, and the costs of infrastructure like computers, telephones, workspaces etc.
Unproductive Time
What most employers forget is the indirect costs of employment such as “unproductive” time. Recent research suggests that:
“In an eight hour day, the average worker is only productive for two hours 53 minutes”.
Clearly, by outsourcing your transcription needs, you eliminate any unproductive time. By using OutSec, you pay per minute of recorded dictation (rounded up to the nearest minute) which means you are not paying for any unproductive time. Therefore, you are not paying for your transcriptionist to make a cup of tea or coffee, to have or make a snack or lunch, or indeed have an office chat – all of that is eliminated!
Reduces Expensive Office Space
Obviously, by outsourcing your transcription needs, you can reduce the amount of office space you need.
Cate Hudson leads the developer experience team for Automattic, a large multi-national company where every single one of the 930 staff work remotely. In an interview to the BBC she states:
According to Business Matters Magazine:
The cost of desk space in London is therefore somewhere between £7,800 to £18,000 per annum. Just on this cost alone, you could approximately have somewhere between 6,500 and 15,000 minutes of dictation typed up by OutSec instead!
Reduces HR Costs
Hiring, training and supervising your firm’s secretarial staff can require an investment of your HR Manager’s time. There are costs involved in advertising for qualified transcriptionists. By outsourcing, you never have to worry about any of these HR-related costs.
According to the National Office of Statistics, an “estimated 185.6 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2022“. This worked out to be 5.7 working days per worker. The most common reasons for sicknesses were:
• Minor illnesses;
• Mental health conditions;
• Musculoskeletal problems.
Outsourcing eliminates these costs.
Holiday Pay
Whilst statutory paid holiday entitlement in the UK is 28 paid holiday days, most employers in the UK give considerably more holidays to their employees. Indeed, “the average UK holiday entitlement including public holidays is 33.5 days – that’s more than a week above the statutory minimum”. Clearly, by outsourcing your transcription needs, you eliminate this cost to your firm.
Changes a Fixed Cost into a Flexible Cost
Many Financial services firms recognise that replacing a static fixed cost with a flexible skilled outsourced provider has many positives. If your typing requirements are low, then the costs are low. This also enables upscaling support as the firm grows or in times when workloads are high. Consequently, OutSec can offer support by either acting as a complete, secure, outsourced solution. Or as an overflow, allowing your Financial services firm to keep up with the demands of your business.
Business Continuity Planning
In 2020, businesses around the world had their business continuity plans truly put to the test, as Covid-19 swept the globe. Whilst some businesses were forced to close their doors when lockdowns came into effect, OutSec continued to operate as normal. OutSec continued to be able to support our clients and those that needed our help, during this difficult time. As one of our clients stated:
“We are so glad that we have you as it certainly makes it less stressful not having to worry about getting typing completed. I know some firms are struggling if staff cannot get in”.
Using OutSec affords your firm a business continuity solution to enable your business to access typing support, that expands (or contracts) with your firm’s specific needs. You can also use OutSec for upscaling support as the firm grows. This eliminates the need for employing additional typing staff (or indeed, any of the employment costs or risks thereof).
Eliminate the Need for Temporary Staff
As any manager knows, the need for temporary transcriptionists or secretaries can easily fluctuate over time. We know that staff are likely to take the majority of their holiday entitlement in the summer months. Unfortunately, it is harder for firms to predict unexpected illnesses. We can, of course, predict that in the winter months, someone may come to work with a cold (and in a matter of days, everyone has come down with it!). This is especially true for those who work in open-plan offices. Environmental factors such as snow, or other extreme weather events, can also result in staff being unable to make it into the office. By using OutSec, you can access typists in times of absence, whether it is through illness or extreme weather, reducing the need for using expensive temporary staff to bridge the gap at a cheaper cost.
Transcription Helps Improve Efficiency & Quality to the Insurance Sector
Claims can be complex and time-consuming to process and Insurance companies need to handle large volumes of data and documents, whilst also meeting customer deadlines and expectations. Insurance companies need to optimise their workflow and reduce errors and delays. Transcription can help insurance companies improve their efficiency and quality by automating and simplifying their documentation process. Transcription can help insurance companies save time and resources by eliminating the need for manual typing or note-taking. It can also help insurance companies enhance their quality by ensuring that their documents are accurate, consistent, and compliant with industry standards.
Transcription Helps Enhance Customer Service & Satisfaction in the Insurance Sector
Insurance customers expect fast and fair resolutions of their claims. Customers also expect clear and transparent communication from their insurance providers. Insurance companies need to deliver excellent customer service and satisfaction to retain their customers and attract new ones. Transcription can help insurance companies enhance their customer service and satisfaction by providing them with professional and timely documents. Transcription can help insurance companies communicate effectively with their customers by providing them with written summaries or transcripts of their conversations. It can also help insurance companies demonstrate their credibility and trustworthiness by providing them with proof of their actions and decisions.
Conclusion
Transcription is an essential tool for the insurance industry. It can help insurance companies improve their performance, profitability and reputation. Transcription can help insurance companies detect and prevent fraud. It can also improve efficiency, quality, enhance customer service and satisfaction. If you are looking for a transcription firm that has experience of working with the insurance and the UK financial services sector, why not look no further than OutSec!
About OutSec The UK’s Leading Online Transcription Company
OutSec is the UK’s leading online transcription company whose business has grown substantially since 2002. We are one of the most successful financial transcription companies in the United Kingdom.
So, why not open an account today. What do you have to lose? Why not visit our Financial Division’s web page.
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