Santam uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service to streamline risk surveying

The evolution of risk surveys

Effective risk management is crucial for insurers, who must assess risk and stipulate problem areas before underwriting a policy. To ensure the risk is properly understood, Santam’s risk surveyors visit client sites and carry out inspections. The purpose of a survey is for Santam to assess the risk profile associated with assets, document any changes or improvements that need to be made by the policyholder to reduce risk and potential liability and prepare a risk report. Every month, several hundred risks are assessed to ensure the risk exposure is still within the insurer’s defined bounds and rules to mitigate losses by preventing claims.

Two decades ago, these surveys were carried out manually, a time consuming and laborious process where rules were often at the discretion of the surveyor and were not always system driven. In 2014, Santam adopted the first technology into this environment with a bespoke solution. Over the years, the business processes and the system grew apart, and many of the process steps were done outside of the workflow system, which impacted the productivity of the risk surveyors in the field. As the bespoke solution approached end of life, Santam sought a solution that would be more agile, easier to use, and which would improve efficiency.

The solution

Having already implemented Microsoft Dynamics some years earlier, Santam trialed Dynamics 365 Field Service as a cloud-based solution to manage the risk survey processes. In 2020, the insurer ran a proof of concept over several months, and determined it was fit for purpose. Santam then extended the proof of concept using agile methodologies where business users and the surveyors were closely involved in the development of the system.

The system is integrated into Santam’s Dynamics 365 Customer Service system, where agents are able to create cases should there need to be any activities or outcomes achieved from the assessment.

The benefits of the new system were apparent immediately – by day two, survey administrators realised that Field Service’s scheduling capabilities were improving planning. Risk surveyors are typically expected to carry out three to four surveys per day, travelling between sites. This previously meant they might have to make tradeoffs between speed of execution and quality of output. However, Field Service integrates with maps and calendars, and offers smart route planning, as well as calculating travel time and survey time by complexity, allowing survey teams to plan and schedule surveys more accurately. 

On the risk site, the surveyors were previously limited to 10 – 15 photos per site. However, Field Service enables them to take an unlimited number of photos to thoroughly document risk. These are then easily uploaded into the risk report. With Field Service, field staff are also able to use the solution offline in areas where there is no network coverage. The report automatically syncs with the system once they are in range of networks again.

Santam reports that a key benefit is the low level of granularity of measurement in terms of how long steps in a process take. This supports statistical process analysis and process improvement, and better scheduling of resources to cut waste out of the surveying process and reduce trade-offs between speed and quality. Santam’s risk surveyors now have an on-the-go app that makes them faster and more efficient, allowing them to update cases on the go and better plan their schedules, with all the tools and information they need consolidated in one place. Their supervisors are also able to track progress and reports, for enhanced transparency. 

Because the surveying processes are more efficient and effective, Santam’s risk management capabilities are improved.

The implementation has reduced the backlog of uncompleted risk survey requests and increased the number of completed surveys per period. There has also been improved collaboration between risk surveyors and contact centres in terms of tasks and cases.

Ad hoc morale surveys also registered improved staff morale as a result. Santam also concluded that having an off the shelf application like Dynamics is more cost effective to change and maintain than bespoke systems, with a much lower total cost of ownership.

Santam has expanded its Dynamics portfolio beyond Field Service and Customer Insights in 10 different departments, and included modules for customer service, sales, and marketing within a holistic business applications ecosystem. The company also plans to extend the solutions to specialist insurance divisions in future.