At Benekiva, we believe the best claims technology is shaped by people who've actually lived in the trenches of claims—in call centers taking first notice of loss, on the phone with families on the hardest days of their lives, even climbing on roofs after storms.
That's exactly the background Kristen Crook brings to her role as Director of Customer Success at Benekiva. From taking first notice of loss calls to handling catastrophic property claims and leading life claims teams, Kristen has seen the claims world from every angle, and she's passionate about using that experience to make life better for carriers, claimants, and claims teams alike.
My very first job out of college was at a large insurer in a service role, taking first notice of loss calls. I absolutely loved it.
We were the first voice people heard when something awful happened: hail damage, a house fire, a burglary. People were scared, angry, in shock. For whatever reason, that moment has always come naturally to me. Empathy and rapport aren't hard for me; they're kind of second nature. I just wanted to help people feel like, "Okay, this is horrible, but we're going to get through it. You're not alone." The idea of supporting people through hard moments has always been in my DNA. Insurance ended up being an unexpected way to do that at scale.
Claims is where the promise of insurance becomes real.
I moved from that service role into being a property adjuster, which meant I was literally out in the field, face-to-face with people after storms and tornadoes. I'll never forget driving into one town after a tornado. My GPS said I'd arrived at the insured's home, but all I could see were stairs. The entire house was gone. That moment still gives me chills.
As heartbreaking as it was, I loved that job more than anything. You're standing in front of someone who just lost almost everything, and you're able to say, "Here's your first check. Here's money for a hotel. Here's how we're going to help you start over." That's powerful.
A lot of people dislike insurance, but when it works the way it's supposed to, it genuinely changes lives. Being part of that, that's what pulled me into claims and never really let go.
When I first started in claims, a shocking amount of work was still done on green-screen systems and spreadsheets.
We manually assigned claims using spreadsheets. We manually drafted and mailed letters. We manually calculated interest, pulling out a calculator and doing the math over and over, then triple-checking ourselves because we were terrified of getting it wrong on a six-figure claim. Mail carts would literally tip over and scatter paper everywhere. That was the reality.
In all honesty, many people still live this world today. People keep "making it work."
What excites me now is that we're starting to see carriers embrace modern platforms that:
That's not just "cool tech." It's what will let the next generation actually want to work in claims. You can't recruit someone out of college and ask them to work in a DOS-style system and expect them to be excited.
I fell in love with Benekiva before I ever worked here.
I first met the team at a claims conference. I'd never been to one before and didn't know what to expect, but the Benekiva team stood out immediately. They were kind, real, and—most importantly—they understood claims. They weren't just selling software; they were talking about the day-to-day realities of claims examiners and managers.
Later, when we were evaluating claims systems at the life carrier I worked for, Benekiva was hands-down our number one choice. We didn't end up implementing it there for budget and prioritization reasons, but I never forgot how much sense the platform made.
So when the opportunity came up to join Benekiva, it was a no-brainer. I already believed in the product, and I believed in the mission. It felt like the natural next step: take everything I've learned on the carrier side and bring that voice into a platform built by claims professionals for claims professionals.
I would give claim examiners back their time with people.
So much of their day gets eaten alive by tasks that should be automated: drafting and sending letters, keying the same data over and over, chasing down missing information in clunky systems, calculating interest manually.
When all of that is on their plate, the first thing that disappears is the human element. They don't have time to pick up the phone and talk through a complex situation. They're exhausted, behind on SLAs, and constantly reacting.
If we can take that burden off their plate, they can do what they're actually amazing at: using judgment, showing empathy, and helping families through incredibly hard moments.
I get genuinely excited about anything that replaces a painful manual process I've personally lived through. So my top two are:
Those features are simple examples, but they tell a bigger story: technology should take the stress off examiners, not add to it.
I think we're helping carriers move from being purely reactive to truly proactive.
We're also a big part of how carriers will attract and retain the next generation of claims talent. A modern, intuitive platform says, "We value your time and your skills." A green-screen says the opposite.
My hope is that when people think about modern claims done right, Benekiva is the first name that comes to mind.
Two things, actually.
First, I double-majored in psychology and sociology and really thought I'd be a social worker. I didn't plan on insurance at all. But looking back, it makes sense; claims ended up being my version of social work.
Second, I'm very comfortable talking about death, which is a little unusual. My family always made it a point to pay respects and show up for funerals, so from a young age I understood that death is part of life. That's actually helped me a lot in life claims. You can't do this work if you're unable to talk about death openly and compassionately.
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