Farmers Introduces Electronic Signature Service to Expedite Total Loss Settlements

Farmers Insurance Group (Los Angeles) has introduced eZsign, a new claims settlement option for the carrier's customers with total loss claims. The service has been approved in Washington, Oklahoma and Illinois, and Farmers is awaiting approval in all other states, according to a Farmers press release.

The eZsign settlement capability represents an improvement on a process whereby customers who had reached settlement would have to wait for documents to arrive in the mail, and then sign and return the documents in order for payment to be issued, according to Odom Wu, director, strategic initiatives, Farmers. Despite the use of overnight shipment of documents in both directions, the typical turnaround for this process can exceed a week, Wu says.

"Now Farmers, with the agreement of the Washington, Oklahoma, and Illinois Departments of Motor Vehicles, can give customers the option to receive the documents via email, sign them online using their mouse, and return them instantly to expedite payment," Wu adds. "This initiative is consistent with Farmers' commitment to innovation, and keeps Farmers on the cutting edge in providing customers the best claims experience possible. Farmers is the first in the insurance claims industry to accomplish this for its customers," Wu continued.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio