Commercial Lines Service · training guide · draft

How to report a new claim (first notice of loss)

Record the client's reported loss in Applied Epic and report it to the carrier so a claim number is issued and passed back to the client.

Typical time: about 10 min · Use this when a client calls or emails to report a loss.

Steps

1. 1
   Read the client's report in Outlook, or your call note if they phoned. · Microsoft Outlook

   Check whether anyone was injured. If so, you will also need to phone the carrier today.
2. 2
   Find the client's account and policy, and open the claim. · Applied Epic
3. 3
   Set the claim type based on what happened. · Applied Epic

   Decide: vehicles involved is Auto, damage to the building is Property, injuries to customers is General liability.
4. 4
   Open the carrier's agent portal and start a new claim. · Carrier agent portal (Liberty Mutual, Travelers or The Hartf

   Use the portal for the carrier that wrote the policy. Allow time for sign-in, as this step is the longest.
5. 5
   Enter date of loss, description, policy number and contact details from Epic. · Carrier agent portal

   Paste the details from Epic where you can. Formats differ between systems, so check each field after pasting.
6. 6
   Write the loss description: who, what, when, where, in the client's words. · Applied Epic

   Add the police report number if there is one.
7. 7
   For injury claims, also phone the carrier the same day. · Phone

   Decide: this applies only when someone was injured. All other claims go through the portal alone.
8. 8
   Record the carrier's claim number and set the claim status in Epic. · Applied Epic

   Log the client's request as an activity in Epic as well.
9. 9
   Send the claim number to the client. · Microsoft Outlook

   The task is done only when the number is in Epic and with the client.

Watch out for

• Switching between Outlook, Epic and the browser takes most of the roughly 10 minutes per claim. Gather the client's details first to avoid extra trips.
• Details are often retyped into the portals: about 64% of Liberty Mutual transfers, 33% of Travelers and all of The Hartford's. Check each field against Epic.
• Don't hold back a loss that is close to the deductible. The same-day rule says report every loss, but some colleagues ask the client first. Check with your lead if unsure.
• Never give coverage advice on a claim. Only licensed staff may do that, so pass coverage questions to them.

Faster ways

• Copy and paste date of loss, policy number and contact details from Epic into the portal instead of retyping. This avoids typing errors.
• Have Microsoft 365 Copilot draft the loss description from the client's email in Outlook, then check it before you save it in Epic.
• Ask your lead about a Power Automate flow to prepare the claim record in Epic. You would still review and approve it before anything is saved or submitted.

Written by AI from how the team actually did this work (2026-10-19 to 2026-10-23): the most common path, the steps people add or redo, and where errors happen. Review and edit before sharing.