Home insurance claims handling: saving time with remote assessment

A policyholder reports water damage. Three weeks later, their claim has barely moved: there were photos to wait for, a missing photo to chase, an appointment to arrange, a report to receive. Meanwhile, the policyholder calls back, grows impatient, and sometimes ends up rating their insurer on social media.

In home insurance claims handling, time is rarely lost on the decision itself. It is lost before, while the claims handler waits for the information they need to decide.

The stages of a home insurance claim

Whatever the insurer, a home insurance claim follows roughly the same path:

1. The claim report. The policyholder notifies their insurer, usually within 5 working days, by phone, online or through their adviser.
2. The investigation. The claims handler checks the cover, gathers the evidence (photos, invoices, quotes, joint accident report if a third party is involved) and qualifies the claim.
3. The damage assessment. Depending on the amount and complexity: an estimate based on documents, a tradesperson's quote, or a visit from a loss adjuster.
4. Compensation or repair in kind. The claims handler offers an amount or appoints a repairer.
5. Closing the file.

Stages 2 and 3 account for most of the delays: they depend on back-and-forth with the policyholder and on site visits.

Where the time goes

• The evidence arrives in several batches. One blurred photo, another without scale, then the one of the other wall. Every reminder adds days.
• Photos don't give dimensions. Yet the cost of repairs depends on areas: square metres of ceiling, linear metres of skirting, ceiling height.
• The visit "just to see". Without reliable evidence, a loss adjuster or tradesperson is sent to assess. A slot has to be found, someone has to travel, a report has to be written.
• Re-keying. Information moves from the call to an email, from the email to the file, from the report to the claims management system.

Water damage: lots of small claims

Water damage is one of the most common home insurance claims. In France, the IRSI agreement organises how insurers handle it between them:

• up to €1,600 excl. VAT, the managing insurer pays out with no recourse between insurers;
• between €1,600 and €5,000 excl. VAT, it has an assessment carried out on behalf of all the insurers involved;
• above that, the claim falls outside the agreement.

In other words, a large share of water damage claims are of modest value, for which a site visit weighs heavily against what is at stake. That is exactly where remote assessment makes the most sense.

Remote assessment, from the very first call

With remote assessment, the damage is assessed during the claim report call, while the policyholder is at home and available:

1. The claims handler sends a link by SMS. The policyholder opens it on their phone, with no app to install.
2. The policyholder films the room. Filmed areas turn green: they instantly see what is left to film.
3. The claims handler watches the room build in 3D, live. A few minutes later, the claim's 3D space is ready.
4. They measure in one click the stain, the run-off, the wall or the ceiling, with a scale checked to ± 2%.
5. Everything goes to the file: the 3D space, the measurements, time-stamped and geotagged photos, a PDF report and the call timeline. The data is also available via API for your claims management system.

The claim is documented from the very first call. We describe this process, with an example, in our article on remote claims assessment.

What it changes for claims handling

• Less back-and-forth: the claims handler guides the policyholder during the call and gets the angles they need straight away.
• Estimates based on measurements, not on guesses.
• Fewer visits "just to see": the loss adjuster or tradesperson travels when it is really useful, with a complete view of the room.
• A stronger file: dated and geotagged photos, a 3D space that every party can consult, nothing to re-key.
• A reassured policyholder: their claim moves forward from their first call, without waiting for an appointment.

At Qualisin, a network specialising in post-claim repair work, simple claims are now estimated in 7 minutes of video instead of several hours on the road, with quotes sent within 24 hours. Read the Qualisin case study

What remote assessment does not replace

• Leak detection, when the source of the water has not been identified.
• Hidden damp, behind a partition or under a floor covering.
• Major or disputed claims, which still justify an on-site assessment.

The goal is not to eliminate every visit, but to keep the remaining ones for the claims that justify them. The decision remains with the claims handler or the loss adjuster.

Where to start

1. Choose a scope: for example, water damage claims in tier 1 of the IRSI agreement.
2. Offer the visual call at the claim report, when the policyholder is most available.
3. Write a short filming protocol: the whole room, the damaged area, the apparent source.
4. Connect the tool to your claims management system so that the 3D space, measurements and photos reach the file.
5. Measure from the first month: time between claim report and estimate, share of claims handled without a visit, number of exchanges with the policyholder, satisfaction.

Frequently asked questions

Does the policyholder have to install an app? No. They open a link received by SMS, and the camera opens in their phone's browser.

Are the measurements reliable? The scale of the 3D space is checked to ± 2%, which is enough to estimate areas of paint, ceiling or floor covering.

Where is the data hosted? Vizalia is ISO 27001 certified and hosts its data in France. Learn more about our security.

Further reading

• Remote claims assessment: assessing water damage by video
• Mesure Scan 3D · Sinistres: remote claims assessment in 3D
• Video assistance (visio-assistance): definition, how it works and use cases

Want to see Mesure Scan 3D · Sinistres in action? A 20-minute demo, on your own use cases. Request a demo →