The Strategic Claims Conference 2012 – Review

Our thanks to all who joined us at The Double Tree Hilton Tower Bridge for The Insurance Network’s second annual Strategic Claims Conference. Over one hundred and fifty insurance professionals across operations, strategic development and finance were in attendance – and there was a lot to think about.

 

Is your claims function championed at board level? The need for this in any effective transformation project was loud and clear in the opening session – therefore it was good to have Willis UK CEO Dan Wilkinson kick things off. Issues for the industry coming from the session as a whole included the increase in reservations of rights and common themes in claims disputes – just how overcomplicated is your own reporting?

Pump up the volume

Stream 1 focused on volume claims and how you achieve efficient and effective claims processes. Two presentations established the practical barriers to achieving this and a framework for engaging staff and turning around a failing claims function.

The discussions focused on what the biggest two obstacles are to efficient and effective claims processing? Comments ranged from, “fragmented processes and technical expertise at the point of delivery” to resourcing issues and the ability to empower front line staff. The discussions also touch on the perception of the industry and the impact poor claims handing had on brands. The slow adoption of technology was also identified as a driver of the industries poor perception with some tables commenting: “The insurance industry is a little in denial about customer service and has not wholly embraced multi-channel.”

Gains from specialisation

Meanwhile in the specialist claims stream we were treated to a fleet traffic incident captured on film from the employee’s driver seat. This was not mere voyeurism – it emerged that use of this technology turned a potential client loss of £75K to an award of £5K costs.

However the key point was that the client’s insurer’s support was critical to this outcome, as was the insurer’s understanding of that client. For example do you really understand how important your clients’ brands are to them? This was further developed in the session’s roundtable discussions with individual insights on achieving clear communication channels in language the client can understand.

Transformers

We next turned to the subject of claims transformation itself, opening with a thoroughly knowledgeable examination of how the London market operates and the respective roles of broker and underwriter. The problem of how comments are communicated to clients was addressed, as was that of the insured or cedant being cut out of the agreement chain by experts.

This had resonance with the roundtable discussions where there were more silos identified than on a ballistic missile base. The insights that emerged here were around identifying where these have a negative impact on claims performance, and steps to put this right. Cross training across the claims and underwriting functions was one that would be echoed later in the day.

We have the technology

Meanwhile stream 4 focused on harnessing technology and featured a great case study on the practicalities of implementation and a visionary talk on the future shape and impact of technology on the claims environment.

The round table discussions focused on identifying the top 2 technology developments that would make a real difference to claims operations as well as exploring how effectively insurance is moving into the new mobile/social/digital space of communications. Top 2 technology developments stimulated various answers including, “a web portal and Visual/Skype claims reporting”, “electronic payment capability and end to end technology integration throughout the claims process” and “Amazon style online tracking of claims”. Claims data management was a big issue encompassing workflow systems, standardised data sets, “the ability to generate real time MI allowing transparency and analysis of data”.

In terms of the industry’s approach to new media there was general consensus that on the whole the industry had failed to grasp the way mobile and social media could be exploited. Many thought that lessons could be learned from banks, who appeared to be a lot further down the road in this regard, and also retailers that are able to successfully show and sell a product online and deliver a great customer experience, for example John Lewis.

Claims’ got talent?

We closed the day with a panel looking to the future of the claims function in terms of finding the people who will deliver it. Are claims departments destined to forever have the demographics of a 1970s golf club committee, practicing premier league poaching tactics? Not in the view of this panel, where both broker and insurer outlined the steps they are taking to outline the importance of claims within an overall career path in insurance, a fitting conclusion to the day.

Time and again it was stated that claims performance is critical to the business – that claims experience is vital to leadership. There is still much to do, the key questions that emerged leave much to be answered at The Strategic Claims Conference 2013.