Empowering Members and Brokers:

How We Streamlined CAA’s Claims Process

Quick Overview

Filing an insurance claim can be a complex and stressful experience, both for claimants navigating forms and coverage details and for brokers managing multiple claims with scattered tools.

To improve efficiency and reduce frustration, the CAA Claimant Portal and Broker Experience Center were designed to help users navigate the claims process with ease, clarity, and confidence, while significantly reducing the volume of emails and calls to CAA’s support centers.

For claimants, the redesigned First Notice of Loss (FNOL) experience offers guided steps, real-time claim tracking, and mobile-first accessibility, reducing reliance on call centers. For brokers, a new centralized dashboard consolidates key tools, simplifies workflows, and enhances visibility into claim statuses, improving overall efficiency.

This scalable, accessible solution empowers users, streamlines processes, and reinforces CAA’s reputation for providing seamless, stress-free service.

ROLE

As the Sr. Product Designer on the CAA project, I developed responsive and accessible solutions for the Claimant Portal, addressing user needs with streamlined workflows and self-service tools.

While collaborating on the Broker Experience Center, I ensured design consistency across experiences by aligning on scalable design systems.

I also planned and facilitated workshops, conducted user research, and delivered high-fidelity prototypes with developer-ready handoff materials, ensuring seamless implementation across all breakpoints.

duration

16 weeks, 4 weeks of discovery and 6 2-week design sprints

Platform

Enterprise & Web Application

Team + Project Industry

WONGDOODY

Insurance

Context

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The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), an affiliate of AAA, serves over 2.5 million members with roadside assistance, insurance services, and other resources aimed at providing peace of mind.

In the unfortunate event of an accident, filing a claim adds stress to an already challenging situation. Members often face confusion navigating forms, understanding coverage, and tracking the claim’s progress, while brokers struggle with scattered tools and limited visibility.

As one of Canada’s most trusted brands, CAA’s mission is to provide members with exceptional service across all their offerings, ensuring peace of mind and quick resolution in times of need.

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), an affiliate of AAA, serves over 2.5 million members with roadside assistance, insurance services, and other resources aimed at providing peace of mind.

As one of Canada’s most trusted brands, CAA’s mission is to provide members with exceptional service across all their offerings, ensuring peace of mind and quick resolution in times of need.

CHALLENGE

How might we empower claimants and brokers to navigate the claims process with ease, clarity, and confidence, while reducing the volume of emails and calls to CAA’s support centers?

With the claims process being a critical touchpoint for CAA’s brand, this project presented an opportunity to redesign the claimant experience while creating a net-new digital platform for brokers.

FOR CLAIMANTS

We needed to simplify the First Notice of Loss (FNOL) experience, providing guidance, transparency, and support to reduce stress and eliminate reliance on call centers.

FOR BROKERS

We aimed to design a centralized platform from the ground up to streamline workflows, consolidate tools, and improve efficiency for managing client claims.

The goal was to reduce call and email volume to support centers by providing user-friendly, scalable, and seamless digital experiences, reinforcing CAA’s reputation for exceptional service.

Process

Our design approach was grounded in deep research, collaboration, and iterative problem-solving. By partnering with CAA stakeholders, we conducted workshops to uncover critical insights into user pain points and business needs.

These insights informed the creation of Transparency, Accessibility, and Empowerment as design pillars, which guided the development of foundational artifacts and prototypes for both the claimant and broker experiences.

1. Immersion & Workshops

To align with CAA’s mission and better understand user and business needs, we facilitated a 3-day workshop in CAA's headquarters in Toronto, Canada. The workshop brought together over 20 stakeholders, including representatives from business, development, and accessibility teams.

CAA Workshop, Day 1: Claimant Focus

CAA Workshop, Day 2: Broker Focus

CAA Workshop, Day 1: Completed Artifacts

CAA Workshop, Day 1: "5 Why's Activity", Team CAAA

CAA Workshop, Day 1: "Solution Sketching" Activity, Team Claim "I.T"

CAA Workshop, Day 1: "Crazy Eights" Activity, Team NEO Claims

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Hurdles", Team Broker Squared

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Journey Mapping", Team Best Brokers

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Feature Brainstorming" Activity, Team Fab 5

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Feature Brainstorming" Activity, Team Broker Squared

CAA Workshop, Day 3: "Empathy Mapping" Activity, Team EZ Claim + Megan Squared

Through activities such as empathy mapping, solution sketching, and open discussions, we uncovered critical pain points:

FOR CLAIMANTS

Lack of visibility into claim progress and inconsistent user experiences across platforms led to frustration and increased reliance on call centers.

FOR BROKERS

Inefficient workflows, including multiple logins and scattered tools, hindered productivity and required significant support from service centers.

Through activities such as empathy mapping, solution sketching, and open discussions, we uncovered critical pain points:

FOR CLAIMANTS

Lack of visibility into claim progress and inconsistent user experiences across platforms led to frustration and increased reliance on call centers.

FOR BROKERS

Inefficient workflows, including multiple logins and scattered tools, hindered productivity and required significant support from service centers.

CAA Workshop, Day 1: Claimant Focus

CAA Workshop, Day 2: Broker Focus

CAA Workshop, Day 1: Completed Artifacts

CAA Workshop, Day 1: "5 Why's Activity", Team CAAA

CAA Workshop, Day 1: "Solution Sketching" Activity, Team Claim "I.T"

CAA Workshop, Day 1: "Crazy Eights" Activity, Team NEO Claims

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Hurdles", Team Broker Squared

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Journey Mapping", Team Best Brokers

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Feature Brainstorming" Activity, Team Fab 5

CAA Workshop, Day 2: "Feature Brainstorming" Activity, Team Broker Squared

CAA Workshop, Day 3: "Empathy Mapping" Activity, Team EZ Claim + Megan Squared

These discussions led to actionable insights, including:

Claimants desired a "pizza tracker"-style progress bar to make claim status updates transparent.
Brokers needed a centralized dashboard for streamlined claim management.

2. Synthesis: Defining the Design Pillars

After synthesizing the findings from the workshops, recurring themes emerged that shaped our design pillars:

Transparency

Provide clear, accessible visibility into claim status and progress for claimants and brokers.

Accessibility

Ensure compliance with AODA standards and create inclusive experiences that meet diverse user needs.

Empowerment

Equip users with intuitive tools and guidance to confidently navigate their tasks.

These pillars became the foundation for all subsequent design decisions, ensuring alignment with both user expectations and CAA’s business goals.

2. Synthesis: Defining the Design Pillars

After synthesizing the findings from the workshops, recurring themes emerged that shaped our design pillars:

Transparency

Provide clear, accessible visibility into claim status and progress for claimants and brokers.

Accessibility

Ensure compliance with AODA standards and create inclusive experiences that meet diverse user needs.

Empowerment

Equip users with intuitive tools and guidance to confidently navigate their tasks.

These pillars became the foundation for all subsequent design decisions, ensuring alignment with both user expectations and CAA’s business goals.

3. Foundational Design Artifacts

Guided by the design pillars, we translated our insights into key artifacts that set the stage for actionable designs:

Persona + Journey maps

Captured the needs, pain points, and goals of claimants and brokers, grounding our designs in real user scenarios.

Breadboarding

Structured the architecture for both experiences, outlining page-level functionality, key user flows, and navigation paths.

Wireframes

Developed lo-fi wireframes to explore layouts and workflows, iterating toward hi-fi designs that reflected the pillars, minimized cognitive load, and provided step-by-step guidance.

3. Foundational Design Artifacts

Guided by the design pillars, we translated our insights into key artifacts that set the stage for actionable designs:

Persona + Journey maps

Captured the needs, pain points, and goals of claimants and brokers, grounding our designs in real user scenarios.

Breadboarding

Structured the architecture for both experiences, outlining page-level functionality, key user flows, and navigation paths.

Wireframes

Developed lo-fi wireframes to explore layouts and workflows, iterating toward hi-fi designs that reflected the pillars, minimized cognitive load, and provided step-by-step guidance.

4. Iterative Prototyping

With foundational artifacts complete, we began prototyping, using a two-sprint approach to focus on each experience individually, ensuring quality and alignment with project goals:

Claimant Portal

Introduced progressive disclosure to guide claimants through manageable steps, reducing cognitive load and increasing accuracy.
Implemented a mobile-first responsive design, ensuring claimants could access the experience on any device.

Enhanced usability with inline validation, dynamic error handling, and progress indicators to boost confidence and reduce abandonment rates.

Broker Experience Center

Designed a dashboard consolidating tools like Guidewire, underwriting manuals, and claim tracking, reducing reliance on service emails and calls.
Streamlined workflows to improve broker efficiency and task visibility.

Broker Experience Center

Designed a dashboard consolidating tools like Guidewire, underwriting manuals, and claim tracking, reducing reliance on service emails and calls.
Streamlined workflows to improve broker efficiency and task visibility.

The Solution

Enhanced FNOL Experience for Claimants

We transformed the FNOL process into a more intuitive, accessible, and empowering experience:

Progressive Disclosure

Reduced cognitive load with segmented steps, making it easier to provide detailed information.

Mobile Optimization

Ensured seamless usability across devices, crucial for auto claims.

Accessibility Improvements

Designed with AODA compliance, including structured layouts, ARIA labels, and dynamic error handling.

The Solution

Enhanced FNOL Experience for Claimants

We transformed the FNOL process into a more intuitive, accessible, and empowering experience:

Progressive Disclosure

Reduced cognitive load with segmented steps, making it easier to provide detailed information.

Mobile Optimization

Ensured seamless usability across devices, crucial for auto claims.

Accessibility Improvements

Designed with AODA compliance, including structured layouts, ARIA labels, and dynamic error handling.

Broker Experience Center

For brokers, we designed a platform that increased self-service capabilities and reduced support reliance:

Centralized Dashboard

Consolidated critical tools, blogs, and claim tracking into one cohesive system.

Improved Usability

Simplified navigation, empowering brokers to manage their clients' claims efficiently.

Watch the prototype video preview of CAA’s Broker Experience Center, presented at the 2024 Broker Conference.

Watch video

Broker Experience Center

For brokers, we designed a platform that increased self-service capabilities and reduced support reliance:

Centralized Dashboard

Consolidated critical tools, blogs, and claim tracking into one cohesive system.

Improved Usability

Simplified navigation, empowering brokers to manage their clients' claims efficiently.

Watch the prototype video preview of CAA’s Broker Experience Center, presented at the 2024 Broker Conference.

Watch video

Scalable Design System

We developed a modular design system to unify branding across platforms and accommodate future growth:

Consistency

Delivered a cohesive experience across all CAA interfaces, fostering trust and usability.

Future-Proofing

Built responsive components adaptable for future tools, breakpoints, and accessibility enhancements.

Scalable Design System

We developed a modular design system to unify branding across platforms and accommodate future growth:

Consistency

Delivered a cohesive experience across all CAA interfaces, fostering trust and usability.

Future-Proofing

Built responsive components adaptable for future tools, breakpoints, and accessibility enhancements.

Key Improvements

FOR CLAIMANTS

Reduced Cognitive Load

Progressive disclosure broke the process into clear, manageable steps.

Increased Confidence

Progress indicators and inline error validation guided users, reducing abandonment rates.

Mobile-Friendly Design

Optimized layouts ensured usability on any device.

FOR BROKERS

Streamlined Workflows

Centralized tools and resources increased efficiency, reducing email reliance.

Improved Transparency

Enhanced claim visibility reduced call center inquiries.

Key Improvements

FOR CLAIMANTS

Reduced Cognitive Load

Progressive disclosure broke the process into clear, manageable steps.

Increased Confidence

Progress indicators and inline error validation guided users, reducing abandonment rates.

Mobile-Friendly Design

Optimized layouts ensured usability on any device.

FOR BROKERS

Streamlined Workflows

Centralized tools and resources increased efficiency, reducing email reliance.

Improved Transparency

Enhanced claim visibility reduced call center inquiries.

Design Handoff

To ensure smooth execution, we adopted a phased and structured approach for design handoff:

Overlapping Design and Development

Early onboarding for the dev team allowed them to familiarize themselves with the broker prototype while we finalized claimant designs.

Real-Time Collaboration

Regular check-ins with developers ensured clarity on interaction details and accessibility standards.

Comprehensive Deliverables

Delivered responsive designs with annotations, AODA-compliant components, and detailed interaction specs, empowering developers to work independently.

Reflections

This project reinforced something I already knew but had never experienced at this scale—the power of a lean, trustworthy team. With only two designers (shoutout to my partner in crime, Cimbron) and our design director, Adam, we tackled not one, but two entirely complex systems—each designed for different user groups—under a tight timeline. The original scope was 12 weeks, but as we dug deeper into CAA’s insurance operations and the intricacies of Canadian insurance, it became clear that this was a much bigger undertaking.

To stay on track, Cimbron and I had to divide and conquer, making strategic decisions about where to focus our efforts while ensuring design cohesion. Thankfully, we had an incredible support system (huge thanks to Vinny and Josh, our PM and client partner) who advocated for us and helped secure additional time to fully realize the potential of this project.

Another key learning was adapting to a new developer handoff process, as we worked with a third-party vendor team at HAVAS. Understanding their workflow and balancing scope limitations meant we had to be mindful about prioritization—some designed frames were backlogged simply due to level of effort constraints. But despite the challenges, the payoff was huge. The CAA team was thrilled with the results, praising our level of craft and the high-quality turnaround from such a small team. Seeing this project push to publish was one of the most rewarding moments of my career.