Claims Business: Ontellus, Claim Central, BDO, and Aon

Ontellus, a nationwide provider of claims related data for insurers, has acquired two medical records canvassing companies: MasterTrace and Intertel.

All three companies provide insurance companies with data they need to investigate bodily injury claims and for underwriting. Ontellus, based in Houston, gathers medical, billing and employment records. Intertel, based in St. Louis, and MasterTrace, based Tamarac, Fla., both canvass medical records from facilities within specific regions to find out if and where claimants received prior medical treatment.

Ontellus said the merger will create a digital platform that allows insurers to procure records electronically and uncover previously unknown information when investigating claims.

“Medical canvassing is a crucial capability in the adjudication of insurance claims,” stated Darren Klauser, chief executive officer of Ontellus. “Having a digital platform that allows insurers to seamlessly move from canvassing to procuring records electronically will enable Ontellus to further expedite the retrieval services that we provide our clients with today.”

Claim Central Consolidated, a claims administration technology provider, has purchased Livegenic Inc., which sells a virtual collaboration platform for insurance loss control and claims services.

Livegenic will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Claim Central, which invested in the company in 2017. Livegenic will continue operating out of its headquarters in Philadelphia with is existing staff and leadership, including Olek Shestakov as managing director, Claim Central said in a press release.

Robin Roberson, managing director of Claim Central North America, said that Livegenic’s virtual inspection software will augment Claim Central’s service to insurers, third-party administrators and independent adjusters.Collaborative visual inspections as a self service are the “next logical step for insurance claims innovation, and policyholders are becoming more accustomed to, and sometimes insisting on, technology in the claims process, the company said.

“Livegenic has had a long-standing relationship with Claim Central, and current market trends have made this the perfect time for us to bring both businesses together in order to deliver a faster and smarter claims experience,” Shestakov stated.

BDO USA, a national accounting and consulting firm, has added an international insurance claim and consulting team by hiring 28 professionals who formerly were with Quantum Global Advisors.

BDO said in a press release that the expansion positions the company as a top forensic investigations and litigation support practice. The Quantum Global team is expected to join BDO after customary closing conditions are fulfilled on Oct. 16.

“Right now, our clients need a 360-degree view of their businesses to remain resilient during these challenging times,” stated Jay Duke, national managing partner for Advisory Services at BDO. “From the global pandemic, to the wildfires in the West and hurricanes striking our Gulf Coast, these events cause untold disruption to communities, as well as severe business interruption across the country.”

Both BDO and Quantum are based in Chicago. Quantum celebrated its 75th anniversary on Oct. 1. The firm was founded by the father and uncle of its current owner, Kenneth Ritter, the press release said

Aon has teamed up with Athenium Analytics to develop a platform to enable insurers to identify high-risk claims.

Aon and Anthenium created Claims Signal, a web-based platform that assesses, analyzes and improve the quality of claims handling using artificial intelligence, natural language processing and predictive analytics to continuously examine open claim files, the companies said in a press release. The system allows insurers to identify claims with high-risk characteristics and provides alerts to mitigate risks.

“Predictive analytics enables carriers to be proactive instead of reactive,” stated John Wang, a partner at Aon Inpoint. “These predictive insights can help improve indemnity and expenses by 4-6% according to Aon analysis, making tangible impacts to the bottom line. That is a big deal.”