‘Change is the process by which the future invades our lives.’

Alvin Toffler, Future Shock

Is insurance undergoing change? From where we stand, some, but not nearly enough. Is Claims? Change might be in the air, but we don’t see Claims teams gulping it in quite yet. “What about ECF?” you cry. Well, the truth is, that’s an externally-imposed change on the industry – more of an enabler than a self-generated necessity.

Claims is where the promise of insurance is really kept, or broken and how you do it, rather than what you do, is what really matters to those who do business with you. We’ve said this before, but all our surveys reinforce the point: ‘service’ is a critical element of any broker-insurer relationship, and Claims is a vital part of that service delivery.  But rather than see change as an opportunity, all too often Claims people are resistant, perceiving service as a dark threat to how they operate. Read more »

Following on from our last piece about the recent cross-market fall in claims service performance we take a look at what the brokers are looking for in 2012 and what might be causing the decline:

Gracechurch Claims Performance Monitor shows a market undergoing transformation, with brokers knowing they are in for an(other) eventful year in 2012.  Multiple process implementations (e.g. ECF 2 and CTP) plus a hefty backlog of claims from 2011 are all cited by the brokers as the main challenges for the rest of 2012.

Worryingly, nearly half of all claims brokers now see the workings of ECF as their main challenge. Many say that ECF is changing the way that insurers service them - the specific concern being centred on a perceived sharp decline in insurers wiilingness to engage personally. Read more »

Results from our latest Claims Performance Monitor (CPM) show that the improvements in claims service seen over the last two years are potentially being undermined by performance at the start of 2012. Read more »

“I don’t think I was constructed to be monogamous. I don’t think it’s the nature of any man to be monogamous…” Marlon Brando

What is the nature of the relationship with a broker?  It isn’t as simple as saying the ‘broker is the customer’, because there are some clear differences. The broker stands or falls by his expert buying skills and he also has to look after his own interests, those of his client and and, yes, even those of the underwriters.

Complicated.

The upshot is that ‘loyalty’ isn’t a particularly helpful term – brokers are pre-programmed not to be loyal.  The best that you can hope for is to reduce the tendency to promiscuity and in so doing reap benefits of more concentrated, durable set of relationships with your brokers. Read more »

People will remain an essential ingredient in the insurance market… ‘the human factor’…will continue to be a critical success factor in attracting and retaining business. So, if it is people that really make the difference, what does this mean for individual London Market players in terms of competing more effectively in the front line and securing a prominent place in the highly competitive global insurance market? The key lies in having the right business strategy – essentially, knowing where and how to compete, and having a compelling proposition to chosen markets – and then using great talent to deliver that strategy to best effect. Much has been reported about growth being threatened by a skills shortage in the industry, and this is a challenge that should not be underplayed. But for those firms that compete aggressively by successfully delivering the right strategy, their reputation will shine in the global market place and their brand will act as a beacon for attracting the top talent to their organisations going forward.

We are beginning to use infographics:  a great way to creatively and engagingly show large and complex data sets.  Watch this space – in the meantime here is one that I picked up and liked <

by Column Five Media. Browse more data visualizations.

 

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The full year CPM 2011 has been delivered to our clients today.

Our team has been burning the midnight oil to get reports completed in time for Christmas and to distil the research into clear direction for improving performances.  We will be meeting with clients in the New Year to discuss and refine these actions.

So, what will the claims managers find when they  flick through their reports before heading home for Christmas?

This has been a challenging year for anyone working in claims – apart from record catastrophes, teams are having to cope with Minimum Standards, CTP and ECF II to name but a few of the market initiatives.  I have certainly detected a degree of frustration as yet more requirements get piled on already under-resourced teams.  Brokers have sympathy for teams who have resourcing issues but still need to satisfy client needs.

Despite that, service standards continue to rise in 2011 and claims teams seem determined to move forward on the service front just as much as they (have to) on the regulatory and process areas.  The big needs-shift this year is away from process and onto relationships and while this has been a noticeable trend over the past two years it seems to have really accelerated in 2011, particularly as ECF seems to have become part of business-as-usual.

If I was a claims director reading this report the first thoughts I’d have would be:

• it’s an increasingly competitive space – how can we stand out from the crowd?
• how can I attract and retain the best claims talent in 2012?
• how can I best communicate the quality of the claims service that I am offering?

13 October 2011, LONDON – The London insurance market’s claims service has improved year-on-year since 2009 according to the latest study from leading research company Gracechurch Consulting.

Data from Gracechurch’s latest study reveals that claims service has improved gradually since 2009.  The research also reveals that there is a group of 7-8  high performing larger Lloyd’s insurers whose claims service is improving much more rapidly than the average;  in fact without these the performance is fairly flat. Read more »

Gracechurch and Refraction Cellar Club, Thursday 22nd September:  John Bullough talks about his experiences as CEO of the largest property company in Abu Dhabi.

John Bullough, former CEO of Aldar Properties, gave a fascinating and candid talk about his time as CEO of a company which was literally ‘building a nation’. With John at the helm, Aldar was responsible for a substantial portion of the huge national development programme for Abu Dhabi.

John also happened to become CEO at the point where the world economy was in meltdown and so had to manage, not only an incredibly ambitious development programme (“things that would have taken four or five years in the West, we had to build and complete in 18 months”) but also the impact on Aldar of the bursting of the speculative property bubble in the UAE.

Aldar’s most prominent project was the the Yas Island development, which included the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 race-track. This became the iconic centrepiece of Abu Dhabi’s development, slated to be a showpiece to the world: failure to deliver on time was not an option.

Against this backdrop John reflected on his ‘unconventional’ appointment and the subsequent challenge of managing a company and delivering an incredibly ambitious development programme at the same time.  At his disposal was a culturally and nationally diverse, largely expat workforce all with different notions of how to behave in commerce.  At the same time John needed to manage the expectations of the Emirati ruling elite. On top of all that Aldar needed some serious upgrading in terms of basic business processes and systems – it had, after all only been in existence for four years.

John recounted a number of humorous and frankly scary anecdotes about situations he had dealt with in the development phase, culminating in the exhilaration and relief of delivering the F1 Track on time. He told the audience that his keys to success were hands-on management, intense focus on and sensitivity to the cultural differences in his teams and establishing good business practices, processes and commercial behaviours.

While John was refreshingly honest about the frustrations and difficulties encountered he also emphasised the phenomenal spirit, hard work and sheer enterprise that his team, contractors and the workforce showed in making sure that key projects were delivered on time – a true 24-7 culture. John’s optimistic view also hinted at the potential for Abu Dhabi, especially that of a thoughtful, talented outward-looking Emirati leadership group that has a clear line of sight on building a nation that will be about much more than oil wealth.

There followed a lively bunch of questions ranging from the impact of the Arab uprisings to to the sometimes novel approach to planning control in the UAE.

Everyone agreed John was a breath of fresh air as CEO’s go and we’d had a realistic and rare insight into the opportunities and pitfalls of doing business in the UAE.

Ben Bolton MD of Gracechurch will be taking part in the panel session at the London Market Claims Conference 2011  (www.the-insurance-network.co.uk/lmc2011.aspx). Claims service is increasingly becoming a differentiator for P&C insurers;  technology and process change, coupled with improving personal claims service for brokers and clients is supposedly improving the reputation of individual insurers and the market as a whole.   This event will explore the current and future landscape of claims in the London insurance market, examining ‘initiatives and innovations that will improve claims process and performance for the industry and clients alike.’  Ben, along with other leading London Market figures, will be commenting on and discussing issues around claims performance and in particular the most effective metrics for measuring claims teams’ performances.