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Insurance Transcription: Expectations vs. Reality

Insurance Transcription: Expectations vs. Reality

By: Kevin

14 Sep 2021

In the world of transcription, the slogan ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is a resonance of how transcription services have to be viewed. In most cases, there is always a different school of thought about the transcription process and its functions. Especially, in Insurance transcription, there is a pre-conceived thought, which can be termed as myths as well. These thoughts and ideas, in reality, are different from what they have been perceived by the majority of people.

The Insurance industry deals with various tasks at hand and transcription is one of the most significant tasks that improvise, and enhance the process. While it is already vivid that the claims process or the interview phase requires a highly skilled transcriptionist, we would delve into some of the myths of insurance transcription, which also can be termed as ‘expectations’ about transcription service. Subsequently, we will shed a light revealing the hard-hitting truths.

1. Expectation: An hour-long claims audio file will take an hour to transcribe

Reality: We wish not to give false hopes to the prejudiced thought that an hour-long claims file or an interview by the adjuster with the claimants will take precisely an hour to get it transcripted. Peculiarly, during insurance transcription , transcription is done with utmost accuracy and precision. As the transcript will serve as a crucial piece of evidence during the investigation in courts, it has to be dealt with meticulously. A minor error or a discrepancy could result in adverse implications.

On average, transcribing an audio recording generally takes three times longer than how long the file is. Furthermore, there are various components in the recorded audio that will hamper the turnaround time, and make it longer to transcribe.

Some of the barriers that impede the transcription turnaround time:

Discerning multiple speakers:

In most cases, an insurance audio file comes to the hand of a transcriptionist having multiple speakers in the conversation. This can often be difficult to determine the speaker and what they speak. Given a fact that not everyone identifies who they are in the interview, it becomes an impediment to discern their voices and find the speaker. If goes wrong, the statement from a speaker will be misreported with another. Therefore, it is a primary concern to discern the speakers which would also be time-consuming work.

Recognizing and understanding unique dialects:

Every speaker has their accents and some of them require strenuous efforts to distinguish. While dialects differ from one person to another, it becomes a hinder for the transcriptionist to transcribe despite coming from similar geography. Accents can be difficult to gauge based on the speaker’s tone, pace, and inflection. In insurance transcription, the legal terminologies also impede the transcription process, as a subject matter expert is required during the transcription.

Furthermore, once the transcript is done, there are also some confirmation stages to go through. Transcriptionists listen to some parts of the conversation to ensure the transcript is ultimately error-free and meets the company’s accuracy standards. Other times, the transcript may pass on to a new transcriptionist who may find an error with his/her fresh eyes.

2. Expectation: The insurance transcriptionist needs to be able to type fast

Reality: The transcription world doesn’t require the one who types fast, rather the one who listens well. Although typing fast can be considered a good skill, sheer listening to the audio recordings becomes a prerequisite. Fast typing paves a way for multiple mistakes, that eventually requires rework. While flying through a recording, it is a common habit of going back and fixing phrases that are said or words that are spelled wrong. On this account, balancing to work quickly and work accurately gets to a toss.

While most people think that typing rapidly is the biggest factor in how you can transcribe, it can be labeled as a myth as other key elements can be functional in maintaining the turnaround time. Shooting for a 3:1 or 4:1 will be an average time, that is finishing an hour of file in three or four hours.

3. Expectation: Insurance transcriptionists need little or no training

Reality: Insurance transcription is legally accountable work, that comes with much training and practice. Though it’s more like ‘listen and type’ it can not be brought out with essential training and learning. No matter how trained a typist a person is, one who listens with patience and grit will come out successful.

4. Expectation: Speech recognition technology will make Insurance transcriptionists obsolete

Reality: Despite advanced mechanisms, SRT has substantial shortcomings. The output delivered from the SRT is unreliable and requires constant monitor. Whereas, human transcription has proven to be highly effective in terms of accuracy and standards. Insurance companies opting for a human transcription service provider will enhance, equip and improvise the insurance process with reliability. Speech recognition and AI have just added a way of transcription to the ever-evolving insurance profession and never made it obsolete.

At Transcription Hub, we are equipped with an experienced and professional workforce who have a deep understanding of insurance and its terminologies. These professionals are familiar with the industry standards and ensure 99% accuracy. As per your request, the transcribed files will be shared in any format. With a multi-level transcription quality control process we ensure to deliver the transcripts with utmost accuracy.

5. Expectation: This is really easy work

Reality: A great deal of research goes behind every transcription. From fact-checking the name of every place, person, and terminologies said by the claimants to ensure the file is spotless without errors, research plays a huge part. Though this phase consumes huge time, to maintain the standards and veracity, it has to go on loop in each file.

In case you don’t know what we do

At Transcription Hub we process tens of thousands of pages of recorded statements each month for our clients. We also specialize in transcribing all insurance-related audio in a secure online environment. Our specialization includes providing a scalable and customized solution to our prestigious clients which are tailored based on their needs. We pride ourselves on building a mutually beneficial and long-term relationship with our customers. What sets us apart is how we take the time to get to know the unique transcription needs of your company & work accordingly.