Release Notes: Version 3.1

(Version 3.1.10, originally released 06/06/08)

NEW MINOR FEATURES AND ENHANCEMENTS

ENHANCEMENT

11276

General Items Variables

mobile claims

Any General Items bin that you place on a diagram will now have a Properties... command in the context menu (tap-and-hold―or for you desktop users, right-click). Selecting Properties... will display the new General Items Properties dialog, that allows you to store manually entered quantities that can be used for interior or exterior items. Tap (click) the checkbox next to the type of quantity you want to store and enter the quantity. Note that you can also enter any mathematical expression in these fields, so for instance you can have the perimeter calculated for you by entering "10'5*2+14'3*2".

To use these stored quantities for items, simply drop an item from the database onto the General Items Bin as usual―the appropriate quantity will be used when the item is added to the estimate based on the default surfaces the item should be applied to (this information is stored with the item). Note that quantity used for the item will automatically adjust if any quantities stored in the General Items Properties dialog box are changed. Note also if there are only a few items you need to scope, it may be easier to just drop the items into a General Items Bin without storing any quantities, and modifying the item's quantity manually (hint: just tap/click the default quantity of 1 that appears).

If the item you drop does not contain any information about what surfaces it should apply to by default, another version of the General Items Properties dialog will appear―this one with hyperlinks for each quantity that you entered that could apply to the item, and referred to as "Miscellaneous Area Properties". Tap (click) the one you want to use.

If you want to manually select which stored quantity should be used by the item, you can force the "Miscellaneous Area Properties" dialog to appear by holding down the Shift key while you drop the item, or hover over the General Items Bin for 2 seconds before dropping the items.

ENHANCEMENT

3049

User Roles

Symbility.NET

In claims with several users participating it's often helpful to know who is who―what role each participant is playing and whom to communicate with. Each claim participant can now be assigned a role, which is clearly identified to all other claim participants. A user role can be established when a user from your company is added as a new participant in a claim (you can't establish user roles for users from other companies) or user roles can be established by default (i.e. they are automatically set when the user is added as a new participant).

Defining the available user roles

Although the number of available user roles to choose from cannot be altered, nor can the description, the name of each that is shown to other users can be changed in the new "User Roles" tab in the Claim Defaults (note that only Administrators can do this). The tables below show what the available user roles are unless you change them. To edit the names of any user role, in the table, click the row that you want to change.

Insurance Companies

Name	Description
Loss Taker	Accepts the first notice of loss and enters into the claim system.
Dispatcher	Assigns the claim to an adjuster, typically from a centralized location or system.
Desk Reviewer	Internal claim adjuster, typically handles small claims or reviews bills associated with claims.
Reinspector	Inspects closed claims for accuracy and adherence to policies.
Manager	Manages internal or external supervisors and their groups.
Agent	The sales agent for the policy.
Underwriter	Assesses risk associated with a given policy.
Adjuster	Writes estimates and supplements in the field.
Internal Supervisor	Supervises loss taker and/or dispatchers.
Field Supervisor	Supervises Primary Adjuster and Adjuster roles. Typically works in the field.

Independent Adjusters

Name	Description
Dispatcher	Assigns the claim to an adjuster, typically from a centralized location or system.
Supervisor	Supervises dispatchers and/or estimators.
Manager	Manages internal or external supervisors and their groups.
Adjuster	Writes estimates and supplements in the field.

Contractors

Name	Description
Dispatcher	Assigns the claim to an estimator, typically from a centralized location or system.
Supervisor	Supervises dispatchers and/or estimators.
Manager	Manages internal or external supervisors and their groups.
Estimator	Writes estimates and supplements, typically in the field.

To change the names of any user role, click the row in the table that you want to change.

Setting default user roles for each user in your company

A default user role can be set for each user account in your company from the Modify Account screen (from the Administration menu, select User Accounts, then click a specific user account. Select the default user role from the drop-down list. When this user is added as a new participant in a claim, they will adopt the specified user role by default (the user role can be changed at that point if necessary).

Setting user roles for current claim participants

On the participants page, all users for your company (whether you are the claim originator, an assignee or a peer) will show the current role they have in this claim (if any). To change the role, select the role from the drop-down in the Role column and click the Save roles button. This dropdown will have the same claim roles names that your administrator established in Claim Defaults.

The role change will be recorded in the Journal. A new notification has also been added if you wish to be notified when user roles change.

Note that users do not need to use roles.

The Primary Adjuster and Primary Estimator roles

There is a special role called "Primary adjuster" ("Primary Estimator" for contractors), used to identify who, among multiple adjusters/estimators who might be participating in claim, is the lead adjuster/estimator. If there is currently a Primary Adjuster and the role is given to another user, the former Primary Adjuster will be demoted to "Adjuster". The first user within a company with default role of "Adjuster" that is added to a claim, whether by creating a claim or as a participant, will be promoted to "Primary Adjuster".

NEW MAJOR FEATURES

NEW FEATURE

11358

Report Templates

Symbility.NET

The new Report Templates feature offers some of the benefits of ad-hoc reporting, with certain aspects of customization, with the sheer simplicity of programmed reports. In addition, new Report Templates can be added to the system fairly easily, with fairly low cost (inquire at sales@symbilitysolutions.com if you would like to add new reports).

The Analytics command on the menu bar now has two menu items. Select Report Templates to access the new interface, or Report Builder to access the old ad-hoc reporting interface. Both appear on their own pages, along with the claim list which contains the list of claims that will be used to populate the reports (either report templates or ad-hoc reports) with data. As before, use the Advanced Search Panel to filter the claim list and isolate only the records that you want to include in your reports.

The new report templates available are:

Claim Cost Summary	Shows the number of claims and total amounts for selected financial data for each branch, adjuster (primary), assignee, prov./state or type of loss, comparing averages to totals for each, for all claims in the current Claim List. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy.
Claim Cost Summary - Timeframe Comparison	Shows the number of claims and total amounts for selected financial data for each branch, adjuster (primary), assignee, prov./state or type of loss, for all claims in the current Claim List. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy. Two distinct timeframes (based on the date the claim was closed) are compared, and only closed claims are considered for the report.
Claim Cost Summary - by Category	For each pricing database category, shows the number of claims the category appears in, the total amounts for various price components, and it’s prevalence in all claims in the current Claim List. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy by branch, adjuster (primary), assignee, prov./state or type of loss.
Claim Cost Summary - by Trade	For each pricing database trade, shows the number of claims the trade appears in, the total labor amounts, and it’s prevalence in all claims in the current Claim List. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy by branch, adjuster (primary), assignee, prov./state or type of loss.
Claim Status Report	Shows the snapshot of current claim activity, including the quantity and percentage of claims that are currently open and closed for each branch, adjuster (primary), assignee, prov./state or type of loss. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy.
Item Use Frequency Report	Shows the top 25, 50, 100 or 250 line items used in all claims in the current Claim List and their rank. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy by branch, adjuster (primary), category, prov./state or type of loss.
Best Practices Report	Shows several key indicators of estimating practices, comparing results for branches, adjusters (primary), prov./state to the company average. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy.
Cycle Time Report	Shows the average elapsed time from one selected event in the lifespan of a claim to up to six other events. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy by branch, adjuster (primary), assignee, prov./state or type of loss.
Unit Price Override Analysis	Shows the frequency and severity of claims in the current Claim List containing line items that have price components that don’t match the values in the associated pricing database. Rows can be grouped in a user-definable hierarchy by branch, adjuster (primary), assignee, prov./state or type of loss.

Upon choosing Report Templates, you are immediately provided a menu from which to choose any of eight available report templates from. Hold the mouse pointer of a report name to see a full description in a tooltip.

You will also see the Report Queue at the bottom of the page. This table lists all reports that have been run in the last 30 days. The table can be sorted by any column. Reports that are currently still running will show the "moving dots" animation, and those that have completed will allow you to view the results in either HTML, PDF or XLS format by clicking the appropriate hyperlink. You can manually remove any report from the queue by selecting it's checkbox and clicking Remove selected reports. The Report Queue is always available while viewing the Report Templates page―once you select a report template to run, it will shrink down such that only the title bar is still visible―click the "expand arrow" icon at the far right side of the title bar to expand it.

Each report template is predefined―it is intended to show specific data in a specific way―but they are all customizable to a certain extent:

The data in most report templates can be grouped by pre-defined data types in a hierarchy. Simply drag a data type from the Available data types box into the larger box below to set the desired hierarchy.

Some reports have columns which are optional. Check the ones you want to appear, drag the columns to rearrange the order they will appear.

Most reports can be sorted by up to three columns.