The Claims Bifurcation feature enables users to split a claim into two, allowing each resulting claim to be processed independently. A bifurcated claim is assigned a new claim number and retains a reference to the original claim for easy traceability.
Bifurcating a claim is often necessary when different types of loss, such as property damage and bodily injury, require separate handling, or when liability and coverage questions need to be evaluated independently for legal, regulatory, or operational reasons. Properly separating these components ensures clearer resolution paths, minimizes conflicts of interest, and supports clean legal documentation.
When bifurcating a claim, best practice is to review and assign adjusters separately to each claim based on their area of expertise (e.g., a property adjuster for property losses, a liability adjuster for injury claims). Independent adjuster assignment ensures better oversight, improves the accuracy of investigations, and supports appropriate reserve setting and settlement practices.
From a reporting standpoint, bifurcated claims are treated as distinct claims, meaning each has its own financials, statuses, and activity logs. This separation impacts loss runs, reserving reports, financial reporting, and regulatory filings, so users need to understand how bifurcation affects aggregate data views and ensure consistency in tracking.
Permissions also play a critical role in claim bifurcation. Specific permissions control who can bifurcate a claim. This ensures that only authorized users can split claims, protecting against inadvertent legal or operational exposure, and allows organizations to assign or restrict adjuster roles appropriately after bifurcation.
User Experience Details
Bifurcate Button in Claims
- A Bifurcate button is available on the Information tab of the claim view, located within the Claims Information card.
- This button is visible only to users with appropriate permissions (e.g., claims supervisors).
- A new permission has been added to define which roles have read and write access: britecore/claims/information/bifurcateClaim
- Selecting the Bifurcate button:
- Triggers the bifurcation process to create a new claim with a unique number.
- Automatically links the new (bifurcated) claim to the original.
Note: When a claim is bifurcated, only the loss details and parties are carried over to the new claim; all other data—such as exposures, notes, injuries, attachments, and payments—must be manually re-entered in the bifurcated claim and, if necessary, removed from the original claim to reflect the intended separation. This full separation is required for legal reasons, ensuring that each claim stands independently and maintains clear, distinct records for liability, coverage, and regulatory compliance.
Claim Linking
- In the Original Claim header view, a field labeled Bifurcated Claim will display the claim number of the newly created bifurcated claim.
- In the Bifurcated Claim header view, a field labeled Original Claim will display the number of the source claim from which it was created.
Note: Due to legal and regulatory considerations, the original and bifurcated claims aren’t linked because they are treated as fully independent records.
Configuration Details
To enable this Claims Bifurcation:
- Go to Settings > Module > Claims.
- Locate and enable the Enable Claims Bifurcation setting, and then select the checkbox.
Once enabled, the bifurcation endpoint and UI components will be active for users with sufficient permissions.