As the story of Kanye West’s battle with Lloyd’s of London enters the media, the old cliché of the insurance industry being unwilling to pay claims is yet again revived. A Claims team will always be caught in the delicate balancing act of trying to help our clients but within the realms of the intent of the policy coverage, no matter the cost.
But Claims play an even more important role in a soft market, which is why we were very proud to have recently been awarded The Gracechurch Consulting Outstanding Quality Marque for Mid-Market Claims Service.
With a combination of increased competition leading to an increased capacity and low interest rates making it difficult for Insurance companies to use investments as a way of creating revenue, the current market conditions have been soft for a few years. The value of coverage has stayed the same or even been increased, in addition policy wordings have become broader in order to keep up with competition, whilst premiums have declined.
In order to keep up, Claims have had to become more commercially minded, whilst also being better at maintaining communication with underwriters, reporting their findings of policy wording repercussions and tracking trends. But a soft market is not all bad news as it often leads to greater innovation from the Insurance industry such as new policies and pioneering products in order to maintain market share and advantage.
A Claims team is also an important part of this process, as clients still look for a good claims service as well as, or even more so than, the most competitive rate. We are very committed to providing our clients with the best possible service, receiving feedback and continuing to move our service forward.
Here are some of the ways we strive to provide the best possible service:
- Expertise: Being able to confidently and efficiently handle, adjust and respond to claims
- Availability: We pride ourselves on having great relationships with our brokers, service providers and clients, including going out of our way to make our expertise available to them
- Excellence: As part of the Lloyd’s platform we strive to not only meet expectations but to exceed them, by meeting the necessary requirements and going beyond them
- Innovation: we set ourselves apart by looking at our clients’ needs and what we can do to meet them. An example of this is when we set up our express claims service so smaller claims could be met more quickly and efficiently.
Andrew McGarry, Marine Claims Adjuster (Cargo and T&L)