FNOL to Settlement: Standardize the Claims Journey with Living SOPs

Article

Busy claims teams work best when everyone follows the same playbook. The claims journey starts at First Notice of Loss (FNOL). FNOL is the first official report of an incident to the insurer and it triggers claim handling. Many carriers accept FNOL online or via mobile apps.

Why standard work matters in claims

Regulators expect fair, prompt, well-documented claim handling. The NAIC’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Model sets expectations for investigation, communication and settlement. Clear, current process documents help frontline teams meet those expectations during day-to-day work.

Consistency also supports digital claims. For example, Allstate’s QuickFoto Claim allows eligible customers to submit photos for faster estimates. Steps like these can be part of a standard journey and mapped in your SOPs so they are applied the same way each time.

What “good” looks like from FNOL to settlement

FNOL: Capture who, what, when, where and evidence. Quality at data entry reduces back-and-forth later.
Triage: Segment straight-through cases from those that need human review.
Investigation: Define data sources, checks and decision points.
Evaluation and settlement: Make calculation steps, thresholds, approvals and customer messages explicit.

Build living SOPs from real work

The fastest way to produce useful SOPs is to base them on actual work as it happens.

Capture a real walkthrough. Use your meeting recorder (Teams, Zoom) or a screen recorder to capture a handler completing a workflow.
Turn it into steps with visuals. Convert the walkthrough into a step-by-step guide with screenshots so anyone can follow it. If you want automation, a tool like Easy Scribe can generate the steps and contextual screenshots from a recording and keep formatting consistent.
Redact sensitive details. Mask names, claim numbers and any nonpublic information before publishing internally.
Publish where people work. Put the guide in your knowledge base or LMS so adjusters and partners can find it fast.
Keep it fresh. Tie SOP reviews to your release calendar. When a step changes, capture the new slice and regenerate the guide so the “one way” stays current.

A simple starter playbook for Auto

FNOL checklist: Policy and contact details, loss description, photos, police or incident number, location and time.
Segmentation rules: Define when photo estimating applies and when physical inspection is required. Link the rule to the exact screens staff use.
Vendor handoffs: Body shop network, rental and towing steps with named owners.
Customer updates: Standard messages and timing at each step.
Quality gates: Required fields and approvals before settlement.

What to measure

Track claim cycle time by step, first-contact resolution for claimant questions, reopens and leakage drivers. Pair these with SOP usage so you can see which guides remove friction.

Two-week pilot you can run now

Week 1: Pick one claim type and one region. Capture three real claims from FNOL to settlement. Produce short, visual SOPs and note exceptions.
Week 2: Train a small group to use those SOPs during live work. Measure handle-time variance and rework. Keep what works, update what doesn’t.