Supplement Internally or Outsource or Hybrid Model?

It is important to understand the process for claims supplementing enough to either do it internally or keep your outsourcing partner accountable. Supplementing requires intentional focus and strategic as well as tactical planning. Below are some considerations which should bring intelligence to your decision for whether to supplement your own jobs or outsource or use a hybrid model.

Growth

If you are experiencing fast growth you should avoid this from being disrupted. If you don’t know how to supplement at a fast pace, then consider assistance. Even large companies who have a good internal claims supplementing department find it more profitable to outsource during growth phases. Then once they stabilize they don’t have to let people go from the workforce. Evaluate how your company is performing under the current situations before adding new processes, people or technologies.

Company Size

A fast growth rate is just one perspective to consider when deciding if you should supplement your own jobs or outsource. Now look at the size of your company for more perspective.

• Small / sole proprietor operations – This size company should be able to supplement their own jobs at just a few jobs per week assuming they have the acumen to accomplish this task. Depending on the goals of a company this size it’s reasonable to assume they want to increase their workload and profits. If so, they should outsource a few jobs just to become familiar with the process. If they don’t have the skills to do it then they should outsource 100% of their jobs while they learn how.
• Medium-to-large sales operations – If your organization is handling 12 or more jobs per week it becomes critical that you prioritize based on strengths, cash flow principles and monitor your net profits. It’s time to segment your processes and responsibilities. Each area should be examined based on the part it plays in the grand scheme; using metrics for measurement and bottom-line results. Following this evaluation, it should be apparent what your strengths are vs. your organizational weaknesses. Be honest with your self and your company. If claims supplementing is strong for you, and going well, then don’t outsource more than half of your jobs. This is enough to help you handle growth while keeping you healthy and steady. However, if this is not something you desire to handle internally, or have confidence with just yet, then don’t be afraid to outsource all of it. Just make sure you know what you need to make this work for you and find a partner such as Balance Claims that has the size and scale already in place to support your organization’s needs. A well-positioned Third Party Administrator partner for business process outsourcing of the estimate and supplement approval handling will exceed your ability to accomplish the same results but without increased overhead and management.
• Nationwide sales operations – Process driven situations and solution delivery is key, and decisions are made on averages. Averages are then determined by reproducibility. Usually this involves: a dedicated supplementing department, policies, procedures, metrics and outcomes reporting. If you are at this place and you still have salesmen supplementing their own jobs; you are leaving money available that you should be capturing.

If you have a dedicated team to handle supplements; their performance should be weighed against what an outsourced supplement management company could provide. Outsourcing should be a necessary part of your business model. It will keep you up to speed on comparative results and provide a scalability solution.
It is important that you choose experienced outsourcing partner organizations who understand the importance of extending the reputation of your company’s brand; both internally and externally. They must successfully collaborate with your employees and accurately represent you in the marketplace, especially if as a white-labeled partner.

For a small-to-large sized restoration contractor, and growing, then outsourcing is probably the best solution for you. The best Third Party Administrator partners for your supplementing will provide a per job average that is much higher than most contractors are able to accomplish because of their specialization. Profit margins for you increase and as a contractor you get more time back to focus on selling, building and billing which provides additional soft ROI.