An Interview with Eddie Longworth by Eddie Longworth

QWhat makes you think that you have all the answers to the problems and opportunities in the world of claims?

AI don’t. The knowledge and skill within insurers and the supply chain is phenomenal. So, I spend a lot of time drawing out existing expertise and then getting my clients to apply it properly. I also bring a degree of objectivity that you can never have when you work inside a company. This means that I can ignore internal politics, established methods of working, and internal structures. I can’t always start with a blank sheet, but I can certainly start with a fresh and challenging view on what is happening today.

QHas there been much change in your 25-year career as a consultant?

ASurprisingly, not as much as you would think. Of course, technology has moved on enormously and new methods of managing claims and the supply chain are clearly evident. But a lot of the obstacles and road blocks to change are the same and it’s a part of my job to try and remove those barriers.

QWhat do you mean? Surely, it’s a very different world to what it was 25 years ago?

AAt the core of most developmental change is not just the technology but the people who are applying that technology. We also have these rather awkward things called claimants who do not necessarily respond in the way that we expect or would like them to. My job is often to look at the totality of the opportunity from a number of different standpoints and design new solutions that reflect the needs and abilities of different groups.

QThe insurance industry and their suppliers seem to be much more customer-focused nowadays. Has that changed the way you do things?

AMy very first assignment for an insurer all those years ago was to identify and analyse third party claims costs. My most recent assignment was to identify ways of making savings and generating better income streams from – you guessed it – third party claims.

Of course, nowadays we will look far more closely at the real needs of claimants and the core competencies of the insurer and their suppliers but, fundamentally, many of the problems remain the same. The solutions will look a little bit different but the core needs behind many of my projects are very similar in broad outline, even if the details differ.

QWhat do you think of the burgeoning Insurtech movement? Is that a help to you?

AThe original premise of Insurtech was to ‘disrupt’ the insurance industry and there certainly have been some gains to be welcomed. For example, product design is changing to be far more ‘instant’ and relevant but, in truth, the investment in the claims arena has been relatively slow to take hold. Not too long ago it took nearly 12 months for me to secure supplier access to an insurer claims system in order to exchange information – that is not how the face of the technology revolution is being depicted.

The simple reality in claims is that the opportunities are as vast as ever and there are new and exciting technology solutions, but the pace of change can be glacial in far too many cases.

QSo, what should we do now? A You mean apart from using the services of a great consultant?! Seriously, driving constructive change within the insurance claims and supply chain arenas requires more than just a technology solution. This needs to be married with a clarity of vision for the future and a deep commitment to professional change management. Add to this mix the need for challenging and original thinking, and what you end up with is the perfect recipe to deliver real and sustainable development.

Eddie Longworth is a Director at JEL Consulting.

QHas the industry changed drastically since you started working in it? A I’ve been in the industry for four decades, so I hope it has! I’ve been through the period where insurance was sold by agents visiting their customers every 4 weeks, to the rise and strength of the high street broker, to the seismic move to Direct and the game changing dominance of the now Price Comparison Sites. It is clear that distribution is king.

When you layer on top of this the incredible power and fast-moving pace of technology - and its influence on risk, pricing, data availability and customer engagement - with tools such as AI, machine learning and the Cloud all in a IoT world, how could insurance not change?

You would have thought that insurers would have embraced this new panacea, but the reality is, in my opinion, they have been very slow to adapt and adopt and are still too risk adverse and conservative in their behaviour. This has to change.

There is such a great opportunity for the insurance industry to make a real positive connection with their customers, making the world a better place in an increasingly complex environment. This can be achieved in many ways; saving lives on our roads by using connected car technology, improving health care by positive use of AI in early diagnosis, and real-time control of connected, in-home risk giving us all peace of mind and help when it’s most needed.

I continue to try to do my little bit with my new product range driveTheo, in my new insurtech company ThingCo, taking telematics to the next level and giving power of data to the consumer, but being there when needed if they have a motor accident. You always have to look to do things differently if you want to stand out from the crowd and keep things moving on.

QWhat has been the key positive or negative impact of change in your area of the market? A The key positive impact has been the use of telematics in motor insurance to help save lives and drastically reduce the cost of insurance for young people. I founded insurethebox, the specialist telematics only insurer ten years ago, at a time when everyone told me it would never work and no one would want to be monitored. During this time, insurethebox has sold more than a million policies, improving driving standards and saving many lives. I’ve now moved on to ThingCo with the aim to take telematics to another level and make it available to all, whether old or young. We’re about to roll-out our revolutionary solarpowered, wireless, self-installed telematics device called Little Theo, to insurers – it solves may of the problems related to telematics apps but is still low cost for the sector and convenient for the customer. Little Theo will detect when there is a collision and will speak to the driver in-car to expedite support.

A negative would be the scale of regulation. I think this is now gone out of proportion and is a real barrier to innovation, and ironically it is giving consumers less freedom of choice. Having travelled the insurance world for many years, I can safely say is that if the Brits are the best at anything, it has to be insurance. The UK is the best insurance market in the world and consumers have the best deals and levels of service in the world. We shouldn’t let regulation destroy this! Q Who inspires you and why? A This is a hard one. I always tell people to be your own person. Find your strengths and work hard at it. Don’t let the negheads get to you! Believe in yourself! You can achieve anything! I’m not sure where I got that from, I guess you’re just born with it.

QHave you had/got a mentor? If so, what was the most valuable piece of advice they gave you? A I once had a client many years ago in my consulting days. He was John Gaynor, the MD of NIG, and he knew motor insurance like no other. He grew to be MD from the post room. Whenever I went to see him, I knew I had to be fully prepared and know my stuff. He took no prisoners, but knew how to get the best out of his staff no matter what role they had. I learnt a lot from him. Q If you were not in your current position, what would you be doing? A In terms of career, it would have to be the medical world. There are so many problems to solve. Technology, AI and the mass of data available will make a real difference to early diagnosis and treatment. As for me personally, definitely no retirement in sight, it’s all too exciting and I don’t want to miss anything!

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