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.

The finding is significant in that it is based on over 6000 individual broker service ratings collected since the beginning of 2009.  The benchmarking study is used by many of the leading insurers to help in figuring out howto improve claims service.

The study also shows that a gap has opened up between Lloyd’s and the companies market with Lloyd’s on average outperforming companies on service.

The study’s findings were welcomed by the CEO of the Lloyd’s Market Association, David Gittings, whose organisation has been at the forefront of efforts to boost claims performance in the Lloyd’s market.

Gracechurch notes that more and more Lloyd’s insurers are switching on to delivering better claims service for brokers and this is driving improving standards.

Ben Bolton MD of Gracechurch commented:  “When we first started measuring London claims service in 2005 it was distinctly mediocre;  now looking at 2011 data an increasing number of insurers have the majority of their brokers ratingtheir service as‘excellent’ – that represents exemplary service for any market and shows what can be achieved.”

But Bolton warns:  “The average improvement is good news but service improvements are not consistent across the board and there is still a rump of poor claims service providers who seem reluctant to accept thatgreat service is a vital component of London’s high quality reputation; this is creating a real drag on the pace of improvement.  The other issue is that insurers are often too modest about publicising good performance.”

David Gittings of the LMA commented;  “This is again positive news for Lloyd’s on claims – the study also highlights positive acceptance of ECF as delivering real benefits for brokers and client,  showing that process improvements are contributing too – we must though keep up the pressure to make sure that we are the leading market in claims service – and recognised as such.”

Claims performance in the London market has been the focus of a number of initiatives including ECF2 and the Market Processes project.

Contact:

Gracechurch Consulting:  Ben Bolton bbolton@grch.net  020 7002 7679  www.grch.net

Following our sponsorship of the British Printmakers exhibition at Bankside Gallery we have added another print to our small collection:

the title of work is “Smithfield”, (appropriate given where we are located), by Michael Kirkman.

Michael completed his MA at the Royal College of Art in 2010.  ’Smithfield’ is in a very small edition of only 5 and is a hand printed reduction lino print. Michael has had several commissions with people such as Faber + Faber, the National Theatre and is becoming very collectable. One of the 5 of these Smithfield prints was recently purchased for the Palace of Westminster Collection.

Our print was purchased from Emma Mason British Prints in Eastbourne:  emma mason specialise in original prints by British Printmakers working from the post war period to the present day.  The site and gallery are definitely worth a visit:  http://www.emmamason.co.uk/index.php