Insurtech Australia member CAL is on track to roll out its insurance communications platform to clients later this year, allowing parties involved in claim resolution to liaise online and share information in real time.

Melbourne-based CAL will initially roll out in Australia and New Zealand, with future plans to expand to the UK and US.

Director Rafal Steinberg provides the technical expertise while adviser Lokesh Thondavada brings 20 years of experience in insurance and compliance, data analytics and regulation.

“The workload right now is reactive – it’s not proactive,” Mr Thondavada said.

“What we’re focusing on is bringing six or seven different roles into one platform to communicate and streamline the workflow,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. ““All these things happen instantly. This is where the automation comes in.”

He says the CAL team found most insurtechs focus on insurance policy distribution and marketing, while only around 5% address issues in claims-handling, which is dismissed as a cost centre rather than a revenue generator.

Discussions between CAL and insurers, repairers, loss adjusters and other interested groups found a need to simplify the communications between multiple parties.

“I’m not seeing much of that happening in the space,” Mr Thondavada said. “That’s the key difference here."

CAL provides insurers, brokers, builders, repairers, clients, loss adjusters and lawyers with the ability to share information, videos, PDFs and other documents. The system features rules and privileges that can be set for sensitive information, restricting access where necessary.

He says this is a far faster process than traditional separate emails and reduces stress and the time taken to close claims.

“All these individuals can come together in real time, they can have an online chat, share and upload information,” Mr Thondavada said.

Users pay an annual subscription with a three-tiered pricing structure. The prototype platform will be trialled through brokers in NSW and Victoria later this year and will be formally launched next year.