Auditing or checking policy information is crucial for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the most critical reason is that it proactively manages errors and omissions (E&O) risk through identifying workflow and regulatory compliance. Additional benefits include being able to identify areas of opportunity to optimize efficiencies. In order to facilitate data-driven decision making for your agency (workflow development, training opportunities, account retention strategies, etc.), a solid auditing process is necessary. With all of the options and emerging technologies available, it can be challenging to identify which solutions are right for you and your team.
There are two primary factors to consider when determining which solution is a fit for your agency:
- What is your primary area of concern? Have you had several E&O claims or close calls that are stemming from a similar issue? Are you trying to identify workflows or processes that could be improved upon for increased efficiency? How complex are the areas you are looking to audit?
- What resources do you have available to allocate to a policy checking solution? Do you have internal staff who you may leverage for the auditing or policy checking process? What is your budget allocated for this solution?
Below, I will delve into the pros and cons of an internal audit process and an external audit team.
Internal Audit Process
Pros: The primary advantage to using your team to conduct your internal auditing process is that no one knows your clients or workflows like your team. If the areas you wish to audit are more complex, a hands-on approach from internal staff may be the best solution. Another benefit to this approach is that auditing or policy checking can be a great training ground for new-to-industry employees or those that may be new to a leadership role. Using your team also allows you to set the cadence for when and how these audits are completed, giving you a bit more control.
Cons: Policy checking can be a tedious and labor-intensive task. Identifying who will complete the policy checking and providing them adequate training to do so can be a big lift. While using internal staff for auditing may seem cost-effective initially, it can lead to higher long-term costs. Weighing out the cost vs. benefit to the internal auditing process is a critical step in understanding what the right solution for your agency is.
External Audit Team
Pros: If your team is looking to audit for simpler workflow compliance or data points, using an external team to do this frees them up to execute a variety of more complex tasks. Not only can this benefit your operational efficiencies, but it can contribute to better employee engagement; not many people enjoy completing repetitive, time-intensive tasks. Using an external auditing team or virtual assistant (VA) can prove to be the more cost-effective option depending on what data you are looking to audit.
Cons: Virtual assistants or external audit teams often still require training and set-up time. They may also experience a certain level of turnover. You may find yourself training a VA, and then retraining a new one the same way that you would have had to train an employee. You may also consider the challenge of time zones/when the audits need to be completed. Depending on the company you use and other variables to the policy checking they are completing, it is possible that there could be timing delays or challenges. Some external audit teams or programs leverage some sort of AI or bots. Depending on what you are looking to audit, your internal team may still need to do an amount of double checking or touching the data to ensure the AI or bot did not miss the nuance or complexity of the content it was reviewing.
Identify Your Available Resources
No matter which solution you use, it’s important to recognize that there is no silver bullet as it relates to policy checking and auditing. There remains the challenge of balancing where the complexity of the task is best managed by our highly skilled teams and where we can leverage third-party teams or technology for optimal efficiencies. By defining the “why” of your policy checking and auditing practice and identifying the resources you have available to execute on this practice, you will begin to understand what the best solution is for your agency.
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