The Scoop on 24-Hour Claims Numbers

If you’ve been through an auto accident in the last few years or know someone who has, you’re probably familiar with the concept of 24-hour claims numbers commonly used in the insurance industry for reporting a new claim. 30 years ago if you had an accident on a Sunday or in the middle of the night, you were fine with just reporting the claim the next time the insurance company was open for regular business be it the next day or in three days after the weekend was over. In today’s digital age, however, where information moves (literally) at the speed of light, Insurance companies are investing millions in making themselves available for hearing about an accident or a claim on one of their policies as soon as possible. But why the rush?

Avoid the Flat Foot

The need for 24 hours claims reporting is, believe it or not, competition-based. The simple truth of the matter is that back before there was anything like 24 hour claims reporting capability, those insurance companies that stayed up just a little while longer than their competitors were the first to be notified of an accident. The first to get their adjusters on the job, the first to get their hands on the police report, if any, the first to build files, collect statements and evaluate the entire situation surrounding the claim before the other insurance company could. So often, rather than receiving a call early Monday morning from an alert and diligent customer stating that there had been an accident and providing details, insurance companies often found themselves being called by other insurance companies and letting them in on their version of events and having a slight upper hand in the situation right from the start. Plus, customers thought it was nice to be able to call and speak to a person right after something significant happened to their vehicle. It had a calming effect and improved customer satisfaction levels.

So insurance companies started staying open later…

and later…

and well, the rest is history. But what are these 24 hour claims numbers like today? Can you call them and expect to get a warm, supportive voice on the other line? Will that line be speaking English with a distinctly East-Indian accent? What can you expect from the agent on the other end?

In-House, Warm and Friendly…Once you get past the cold exterior

Almost without fail, calling the 24 hour claims number for the major insurance companies whether it is day or night, Wednesday or weekend, you will be greeted by a machine. After a series of listening to pre-recorded messages and pressing the right buttons on the keypad when prompted, you will finally reach an agent if one is available. Very few insurance companies outsource their claims customer service department to other countries. While research has shown that Americans typically don’t like having any customer service issues handled by agents in other countries, needing to explain a car accident to a person on the other side of the planet simply leaves too much to be desired. In addition, the legal ramifications of what an agent taking a claim for an accident can or cannot say, are very significant.

So, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there are living, breathing people sitting around in the U.S. waiting to hear your side of the story for a claim you may have to make on your auto insurance policy. Usually these individuals are specially trained to handle stressed and sometimes hyper-panicked individuals who should have dialed 911 first. The tradeoff for this expensive, round-the-clock service? Well customer satisfaction, sure, but more importantly, being on top of the claims and adjustment game when it is time to begin negotiations with other parties involved in your accident or issue.

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