Insurance
A Smarter Way to Report Lost or
Damaged Items
At-A-Glance
Filing a claim for damaged or lost belongings shouldn’t add to the stress. But for customers, the process was slow, disjointed, and hard to navigate. The business wanted an in-house solution. This summer, I interned at TD and designed a solution that made it easier to report belongings, reduced back-and-forth, and helped claims get settled instantly.
Heads up
Due to internal limitations, only portions of the process are shown
My Role
Team
Evan Ahmed, Strategy Analyst
Alex Chan, Project Manager
Colin Schotsman, Business Analyst
Timeline
Toronto, ON
Jun - Aug 2025
THE PROBLEM
Filing claims for lost or damaged belongings is slow, stressful, and disconnected
Customers had to call in and manually recall lost or damaged items on the spot, upload evidence on external tools, and wait weeks with no updates. The process lacked clarity, felt frustrating, and burdened insurance advisors, and even costed the business money.
THE SOLUTION
Turning a Painful Process into a Guided Flow
A new experience that lets customers start a claim and submit their belongings directly through TD’s self-serve insurance app, powered by AI for clearer guidance, progress tracking, and almost no delay.
Smart Upload
Item Autofill
Less Guessing
Instant Offers
Smart Matching
Value Breakdown
Quick Payout
Live Confirmation
Direct Deposit
RESEARCH
Where the claims process falls apart
In 2024, over 24 million TD home insurance claims included damaged or missing belongings. Most weren’t high in value, but still ate up hours through phone calls, manual entry, and confusing workflows.
1
89% of these claims were valued under $10,000, yet required the same manual effort as large-loss claims.
2
3.3 million of these were theft related, a category known for missing receipts, unclear timelines, and high back-and-forth with customers.
3
Current workflows cost an average of 3.3 hours per claim, often across multiple departments (intake, adjustments, follow-up).
All this friction adds up.
That’s time lost across intake teams, advisors, and customer support, time that could be better spent on high complexity cases and faster settlements. This could save up to $800,000 annually.
Stuck on hold, retelling the same story
Most claims start with a phone call with long wait times, repeating the same details, arguing, and hoping the advisor understands the situation.
Forced to recall on the spot
Customers are expected to name every lost item, with brand and description, on the spot to the advisor. If they forget, they have to call back.
Sent to a confusing third-party tool
During or after the call, customers are sent to a tool to submit evidence. It requires a sign-up and forces them to start over if unprepared.
Left in the dark after submitting
Once the claim is sent, customers rarely get updates or confirmations, and are left to wait up to 83 days for their reimbursement(s).
EXISTING TOOL
A form that collects, but doesn’t guide
TD currently uses a digital form to collect claim info. After telling the advisor everything, customers are sent a form to upload proofs. The form cannot save files, so everything must be submitted at once.
Exclaim by Edjuster
There’s no checklist, no structure, and no information to recall the items in question. It’s just a blank file upload form, assuming the customer has everything ready and knows what to do.
Add an Item
Choose Reimbursement
Get Paid Instantly
SELF REFLECTION