But having more data does not automatically create a clearer picture of a claim. In fact, without the right investigative approach, more information can create more noise—making it harder to determine what matters, what is missing, and where to look next.
The real advantage isn’t simply having more data. It’s knowing how to turn each finding into a better question.
Turn claims data into actionable investigative intelligence
Traditional investigations can become focused on accumulation: gather records, review documents, search available sources, and add the findings to the file. A more strategic approach asks what each piece of information tells you—and what it suggests you should investigate next.
Consider a claimant’s medical history. Finding evidence of prior treatment isn’t necessarily the end of the investigation. It may raise new questions:
- Was the treatment related to the same body part involved in the current claim?
- Were there additional providers or facilities involved?
- Does the treatment timeline align with the reported history?
- Are there gaps that warrant further investigation?
- Could other available sources provide additional context?
Each answer creates another opportunity to refine the investigation.
Instead of treating canvassing as a single search for a specific piece of information, claims teams can use it as part of a progressive process: find, evaluate, question, investigate further.
Connect data sources for more effective claims investigations
Claims rarely tell their full story through a single source. Medical canvassing may identify previously unknown treatment locations. Social canvassing can provide additional context around an individual’s history or activity. Existing claim documentation may contain names, dates, locations, or other details that point toward additional areas to investigate.
Individually, these findings may seem limited. Connected, they can begin to reveal a much clearer picture.
For example, a medical canvass might identify treatment that predates the reported date of loss. That finding could prompt a closer look at the type of treatment, other providers in the same timeframe, or additional sources that could help establish a more complete timeline.
The value isn’t simply the additional data point. It’s the investigative path that data point opens.
Identify meaningful inconsistencies in claims data
Not every discrepancy is significant. Claims files are complex. Dates can differ. Records can be incomplete. People may remember events differently. A single inconsistency does not necessarily indicate that something is wrong. That makes context critical.
Effective claims investigations require teams to distinguish between information that is merely different and information that could materially change the understanding of a claim.
Rather than asking, “Did we find an inconsistency?” the better questions may be:
Does this change our understanding of the timeline? Does it point to information we don’t yet have? Does another source support or contradict the finding? Is it relevant to the facts being evaluated?
This mindset helps teams focus investigative resources on findings that warrant additional attention rather than chasing every anomaly in the file.
Use Medical and Social Canvassing to guide claims investigations
Medical and social canvassing become especially valuable when they aren’t treated as isolated investigative events. An initial search can establish a starting point. The findings can then inform the next search, which can reveal another connection, provider, location, or timeframe worth exploring.
The investigation progressively becomes more focused.
That approach can be particularly useful early in a claim, when teams are still working to understand the individual’s history and identify information that may not yet be represented in the file.
Instead of waiting for missing information to surface later, investigators can ask earlier:
What don’t we know yet—and where should we look for it?
Build a more complete picture of every claim
Technology will continue to give claims organizations access to more data, faster. But volume alone isn’t intelligence. The organizations that get the greatest value from that information will be the ones that connect findings across sources, evaluate them in context, and continually use what they learn to determine what to investigate next.
Because the objective isn’t to collect everything possible. It’s to uncover the information that matters.
INTERTEL helps claims and investigative teams build a more complete picture through medical and social canvassing, connecting teams to information that can help inform the next investigative question.
Ready to uncover what may be missing from your claims?
