Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 29

Issue

29

ISSN 2515-3803

Connecting Insurers, Brokers, Lawyers & Claims Professionals

Let’s Get Connected “I strongly believe that connected technology has the potential to move traditional home insurance into prevention and prediction as well as protection” Jenny Trueman

Head of Connected Homes and Product Innovation at Direct Line Group

Making Insurance Fairer

Phoebe Hugh, Brolly

Smarter Homes, Smarter Insurance

Getting the balance right Niall Dickson,

Michael Postle, Neos

NHS Confederation

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MODERN Insurance

Editorial Contributors Chris Atkinson Head of Direct Zurich

Martin Milliner GI Claims Director LV=

Chris Weeks Director NBRA/VBRA Commercial

Nik Ellis Managing Director Laird Assessors

Daniel Chesney Commercial Director S&G Response

Richard Taylor UK Business Director GT Motive

David Williams Technical Director AXA Insurance

Shaun Smith Sales Executive EMEA iovation

Donna Scully Managing Director Carpenters

Shirley Woolham COO Minster Law

James Roberts Business Development Director Europcar UK Group

Simon Marsh Managing Director VisionTrack

Jason Tripp Operations Director Coplus

Steve Thompson Director Industry Insights

Jay Borkakoti Director, Home Insurance LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Tim Wallis Mediator and Solicitor Trust Mediation

Jonathan Hewett Chief Marketing Officer Octo Telematics

Trevor Lloyd-Jones Senior Marketing Manager, Insurance LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Lucia Grossi Cert CII Broking Manager Swinton Group

Zoe Holland Managing Director ZebraLC

WELCOME s I write this introduction, I’m sat in my home office with Alexa keeping me company. I’d wager the majority of readers instantly know I’m referring to Amazon’s connected device and not a person, and this demonstrates the degree to which this tech has now permeated our daily lives. While these devices are still in their early stages (mine sometimes struggles if I accidentally slip deeper into my Somerset accent) and are yet to reach their full potential, connected technologies are undoubtedly providing people with new ways to communicate with the world around them - and for this world to communicate with itself.

A

Engagement is becoming a buzzword in insurance lately, with major carriers on the lookout for new ways to add value to their products and to communicate with their customers more frequently than at the point of claim or renewal, and technology seems to have been identified as one way of achieving this.

Telematics have for some time been accepted by insurers and policyholders as an effective means of making insurance more accessible for young customers, and as the presence of the Internet of Things in the house continues to develop, the insurance industry is seeking to capitalise through new home insurance offerings.

The evolution of smart home technology has seen new roles created in the insurance industry, like the position of Head of Connected Homes and Product Innovation at Direct Line Group held by Jenny Trueman, the first of this issue’s interviewees. It has also enabled savvy start-ups to emerge and attempt to fill the gap before the big players can, something Neos’s Michael Postle told us about in our second interview. Clearly size doesn’t matter when it comes to smart technology, as giants and start-ups alike have seen success in this area. Instead, what’s important to the customer is that the product is genuinely useful and/or convenient, and only then will they accept it into their lives and their homes.

And anyone who’s ever experienced severe leak damage would tell you that a sensor that warned them about the problem ahead of time would have been both useful and convenient!

This technology is useful for insurers too. As with motor telematics, the data obtainable from smart technologies in the home is extremely valuable for assessing risk, pricing and preventing or reducing claims. It is now up to the industry to keep pace with developments in the connected home, because these are coming thick and fast. I’m already looking forward to a morning in the nottoo-distant future when I can tell my heater to heat and my toaster to toast before I’ve got out of bed, but until then I’ll make do with trying to make Alexa get my pizza order right.

Issue 29 ISSN 2515-3803 Editor Brendan Gurrie

Editorial Assistant Poppy Green

Project Manager & Events Sales Rachael Pearson

Modern Insurance Magazine is published by Charlton Grant Ltd ©2018

All material is copyrighted both written and illustrated. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. All images and information is collated from extensive research and along with advertisements is published in good faith. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this publication was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Issue 29

Brendan Gurrie, Editor, Modern Insurance Magazine.

01765 600909 | @ModernBrendan | brendan@charltongrant.co.uk

Modern Insurance 3

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Issue 29 | ISSN 2515-3803

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Issue 29

MODERN Insurance

NEWS 07 Natalie Larnder

Natalie Larnder, Association of British Insurers (ABI), takes a look ahead at 2018 and offers up some New Year’s resolutions for the insurance industry and civil justice reform.

29 How has Ogden impacted on law firm cash flow?

44 Ultimate ingredients for sustained collaboration

31 Survive and thrive

12 Jenny Trueman

Jenny Trueman is Head of Connected Homes and Product Innovation at Direct Line Group, a role that will allow the insurer to be at the forefront of evolving connected technologies in order to provide more tailored and engaging services for customers in a way that has not been possible in the past, as Jenny explained when Modern Insurance spoke with her.

17 Michael Postle

New entrant Neos is disrupting the home insurance market with its innovative use of connected technology to encourage customer engagement and risk reduction.

Michael Postle, CFO, explains how Neos’s unique approach is achieving this, as well as how the company overcame some of the barriers present to new insurers.

Tim Wallis, Trust Mediation

31 The trend of Insurtech

INTERVIEWS

Zoe Holland, ZebraLC

Jason Tripp, Coplus

33 Advancing automation

46 Industry Innovators Interview: Phoebe Hugh, Brolly

Martin Milliner, LV=

33 It’s the technology, stupid

Shirley Woolham, Minster Law

48 Clinical negligence: getting the balance right

Simon Marsh, VisionTrack

35 Using technology to connect with the wider audience

Chris Atkinson, Zurich

36 A valuable opportunity

Lucia Grossi Cert CII, Swinton Group

36 Connected technology continues to revolutionise more sectors through the IoT

EdiTorial Board

Steve Thompson, Industry Insights

23 Making insurance interactive David Williams, AXA Insurance

25 Providing clarity for the customer

Donna Scully, Carpenters

FEATURES

James Roberts, Europcar UK Group

29 Start with why…

40 Mobile Apps - changing the face of insurance

Dan Chesney, S&G Response

Issue 29

As consumer demand for instant services continues to increase, Stephen Marshall, Insure Apps, introduces the benefits of the mobile app for insurance.

42 Sector Soapbox

Modern Insurance’s panel of resident associations outlines the burning issues facing the claims sector.

Chris Croucher, AMC Insurance Appointments Ltd, outlines what today’s candidates are looking for from potential employers and how insurance companies can alter their approaches to recruitment in order to acquire the best possible talent.

51 The client takes centre stage

Shaf Govind, CRDN (Europe) Ltd, explains the role of a specialist clothing restorer in an insurance claim to save money and help policyholders.

52 Just a thought from Eddie Longworth

Nik Ellis, Laird Assessors

27 External partners can make the connections that internal departments can’t

Shaun Smith, iovation

Richard Taylor, GT Motive

27 Speak up to stand out

Jay Borkakoti and Trevor Lloyd-Jones, LexisNexis Risk Solutions

38 Preventing account takeover

Niall Dickson explains why the current system for clinical negligence is costing the NHS too much money and creating a culture of fear among NHS staff, and he discusses how the NHS Confederation is calling for improvements for staff and for claimants.

50 Specialist recruiters: the way forward

Jonathan Hewett, Octo Telematics

37 Getting the message across Chris Weeks, NBRA/VBRA Commercial

25 Should fraudsters fear the machines?

This issue’s Industry Innovator is Brolly, the self-styled personal insurance concierge. We spoke to Co-founder & CEO, Phoebe Hugh, about how the new entrant aims to improve choice for the consumer through the utilisation of artificial intelligence.

35 The changing landscape of insurance and why we should all embrace the revolution

37 Demand for data

23 A quest for efficiencies

Jo Evans, Unite Professionals, discusses the importance of collaboration when delivering rehabilitation as a case manager, and the positive impact this can have on the client.

Stop obsessing about customer satisfaction in the claims department.

53 Case Study: Eclipse

Eclipse secures deal with international loss adjuster, Spotlite Claims.

53 Case Study: Unite Professionals

Rachel Culyer - Supporting the client

10 MINUTES WITH 54 10 minutes with…

Marc Lafferty, EDAM Group.

Modern Insurance 5

NEWS

Natalie Larnder TALKS NEWS Natalie Larnder, Association of British Insurers (ABI), takes a look ahead at 2018 and offers up some New Year resolutions for the insurance industry and civil justice reform. hilst we resolve to set ourselves personal goals for 2018, the New Year brings with it the opportunity to consider what reforms need to be delivered in 2018 to help benefit hard pressed motorists. Below we set out the key areas of focus for 2018:

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Discount Rate Positive progress was made last year to address the outdated methodology for setting the personal injury discount rate, and the proposal to reform the methodology for setting the rate, announced in September last year, was a welcome development.

Pace remains key and legislation must be introduced as a Government priority for 2018.

The link between the setting of the discount rate and Index Linked Government Securities (ILGS) must be broken. The rate should not be tied to any one particular investment portfolio going forward, but should reflect the reality that claimants invest their lump sums in low risk, mixed portfolios of assets. Where claimants wish to minimise investment risk to the lowest possible risk, they can and should choose a Periodical Payment Order (PPO).

A change, which has been estimated to cost the NHS £6bn over the next four years, with about the same cost again estimated to impact on motor and liability insurers, which will ultimately have a negative effect on motorists and businesses, should be an absolute priority for Government and legislative reform.

Whiplash Reform It is now over two years since the former Chancellor George Osborne announced, in his 2015 Autumn Statement, the Government’s intention to reform damages for whiplash claims and to increase the small claims limit for road traffic accident cases, and all other personal injury claims.

Legislation previously introduced to Parliament by way of the Prisons and Courts Bill was lost as a result of the general election.

The intention to continue with the reform was affirmed in the Queen’s Speech in June of last year, with the commitment to introduce the Civil Liability Bill. Since then, significant progress has been made by the Ministry of Justice’s Whiplash Steering Group into the practicalities of the reforms. In addition, the Justice Select Committee have re-opened their Inquiry, with a focus on the reforms to the Small Claims Track, the impact on CMCs and BTE insurance.

We have been engaging with the FCA’s transition team and we are confident that they understand the scale of the challenges they will face in this sector, with far too many unscrupulous fififirms still in operation

2018 had brought an oral evidence session held by the Justice Select Committee (JSC). Upon the conclusion of the JSC Inquiry, we can expect to see the introduction of the Civil Liability Bill to Parliament and real progress with a view to introducing these reforms in the first half of 2019.

Fixed Costs Lord Justice Jackson published his Review on Fixed Costs at the end of July last year. In it, he recommended an expansion of fixed costs to all areas of the Fast Track, and the introduction of

Issue 29

Modern Insurance 7

NEWS

A failure to instigate meaningful reforms will inevitably result in the continued rise of insurance costs and the continued encouragement of a compensation culture team and we are confident that they understand the scale of the challenges they will face in this sector, with far too many unscrupulous firms still in operation. It will be important that the FCA follows through and implements a robust regime, and doesn’t get distracted by those stakeholders who seek to argue that the only issue they will need to address is cold calling.

Autonomous Vehicles It is important that the industry prepares for the future. With the Government committed to having automated cars on the road from 2021, the ABI was closely involved in developing the proposals being taken forward in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill. This legislation gives welcome clarity and is a sensible first step, but in 2018 we will be looking for significant progress on establishing how insurers can get access to data following a claim to confirm if and how the automated functions were being used.

We’ll be working closely with the Department for Transport as they develop the criteria that will be used for deciding which vehicles are authorised to be used in fully automated mode.

Brexit and Motor Insurance

a new intermediate track. Cases meeting the criteria for the new intermediate track, and up to a value of £100,000, would attract fixed costs.

The Review is to be followed by a formal Consultation expected in the first half of this year. Lord Justice Jackson originally stated the aim to extend fixed costs to cases up to a value of £250,000 and we see no reason why that should not be the ultimate aim of reform. The Consultation brings with it a real opportunity for the Government to tackle the ever changing landscape of civil litigation in England and Wales, and the compensation culture, which has recently seen a significant expansion of claims alleging sickness as a result of package holidays abroad.

IPT There must not be another rise in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) in 2018. IPT is an unfair tax on individuals and businesses who have acted responsibly by taking out insurance. Research carried out by the Social Market Foundation and published last year on the impact of IPT on UK households highlighted how the tax impacts disproportionately on lower income households, and now raises more revenue than taxes on beer and tobacco, amongst others.

The research found that IPT now raises £4.8bn a year, which is the equivalent of £179 a year for each UK household. Any further increases are likely to put additional pressure on insurance costs.

CMC Reform The ABI has long called for the FCA to take on responsibility for the regulation of CMCs. In 2018, we expect the necessary primary legislation to receive Royal Assent and this to be followed by a detailed consultation on the FCA’s rulebook. It is vital that the rulebook is substantive enough to hold CMCs to account, and in particular Senior Managers of CMCs, who for the first time will be personally liable for their behaviour, and the behaviour of their companies. We have been engaging with the FCA’s transition

8 Modern Insurance

Of course, the industry as a whole will be seeking to ensure the implications of Brexit are understood and the industry’s position is reflected in the Government’s negotiating stance. For motor insurers, a key question will be whether or not the UK continues to be part of the ‘free circulation’ zone where motor insurance is automatically recognised, or whether drivers will need to be issued with a Green Card to confirm their insurance status. As the talks progress, it will be important that consumers have clarity about what their insurance requirements will be to continue to drive in other EU states after Britain exits the EU. Alongside that, we will continue to work with the Department for Transport (DfT) to seek a proportionate response to the unintended consequences of the ECJ Vnuk judgment.

Young Drivers Finally, 2018 would be a good opportunity for the Government to re-think its stance on young driver safety. Although Northern Ireland is pressing ahead with the implementation of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) (with a consultation on the administrative arrangements for the new testing process having been launched in November 2017), the UK Government has yet to follow suit.

However, with the sustained reduction in road fatalities having levelled off in the last two years, more needs to be done to make the roads safer. International evidence shows that GDL has a meaningful impact and reduces the number of young drivers killed on the roads, and the ABI would strongly support any Government proposals in this area.

Effective reform in the areas considered above will not only help to address the cost of car insurance and public insurance policies, but should improve road safety for UK citizens. A failure to instigate meaningful reforms will inevitably result in the continued rise of insurance costs and the continued encouragement of a compensation culture.

Natalie Larnder is a Policy Advisor at the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Issue 29

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INTERVIEWS 11-19

INTERVIEW

I strongly believe that connected technology has the potential to move traditional home insurance into prevention and prediction as well as protection

12 Modern Insurance

Issue 29

INTERVIEW

Jenny Trueman Jenny Trueman is Head of Connected Homes and Product Innovation at Direct Line Group, a role that will allow the insurer to be at the forefront of evolving connected technologies in order to provide more tailored and engaging services for customers in a way that has not been possible in the past, as Jenny explained when Modern Insurance spoke with her.

Q

How are disruptive companies such as Amazon and Google influencing consumer trends, and how do insurers need to respond in order to capitalise on this?

A

Companies like Amazon and Google are changing consumers’ expectations around ease and speed of delivery. Information is at our fingertips whenever we want it, and things we need to buy can be bought with one click and delivered the next day or even the same day. People will absolutely expect the same from their insurer. This is why at Direct Line we are responding to these trends by introducing web chat and commitments on our claims service such as eight hours to get your electrical items replaced. We are continuing to build our capability to meet these expectations.

Q

What opportunity does the connected home present to insurers for increased engagement and improved communication with their customers?

A

Connected home technology offers a fantastic opportunity for insurers to build stronger relationships with their customers. Data from the devices that people are putting into their homes, coupled with the data, knowledge and experience of insurance companies enables a conversation to take place about how people could change their behaviours at home to make them and their families safer and avoid problems from occurring.

In a similar way to motor telematics, which is encouraging safer driving, the feedback and advice enabled by connected homes can improve safety for customers. That’s got to be a more meaningful and engaging way of talking to our customers.

Q

How might connected technology address the current challenges present in the home insurance market?

A

I like to look at how connected technology can help to enhance what insurers currently offer to their customers.

Having a greater understanding of a customer’s needs and risk through data, improving safety at home through advice, reducing the impact of claims or even preventing them in the first place are all valuable ways in which insurers can use technology to improve their customer propositions.

Q

Is the rising profile of connected technology indicative of a broader shift to a preventative or risk reduction approach to insurance, and how might this affect the way home insurance is sold?

Issue 29

A

I strongly believe that connected technology has the potential to move traditional home insurance into prevention and prediction as well as protection. It will take time for this to develop as insurers build their capability and as the adoption of the technology by consumers increases. The data available about people and their home will increase significantly, and it is not a great leap to assume the way the products are currently sold will adapt to these changes.

Q

How do other parts of the overall insurance function need to adapt and transform in order to keep up with the pace of service that connected technology facilitates?

A

Connected technology drives two major benefits; firstly insurers can very quickly know when something needs their attention in a customer’s home. Having the flexibility to know the right response for the scenario and being able to respond to that quickly is essential. I don’t especially want my insurer to contact me every time I set the fire alarm off cooking my dinner, but I really want them to step in and help me if there is a genuine fire.

Secondly, insurers need to be able to manage the increased, real time data flow. This moves away from how the industry may receive and process data currently, and it will be essential to have the right systems and skillsets in place to manage and maximise this opportunity.

In a similar way to motor telematics, which is encouraging safer driving, the feedback and advice enabled by connected homes can improve safety for customers.

That’s got to be a more meaningful and engaging way of talking to our customers Modern Insurance 13

INTERVIEW

Q

Are there advances in the Internet of Things within other products and industries that could be adopted by the insurance industry?

A

I often look towards sectors such as fitness and transport for inspiration and insight into how IoT might be used to influence consumers. Fitness trackers can drive a different behaviour, and it is interesting to see how companies like Vitality are using this to reward their customers for changes in behaviour and increase their engagement. In transport we see technology being used to prevent accidents; this will really start to move consumers’ expectations of IoT towards prevention and safety.

Both examples are already being used by the insurance industry and provide useful insights for home insurance and connected home technology.

Q

How will the role of personalisation and customisation in connected technology develop in the near future, and how will this allow insurers to better serve their customers?

As adoption of the technology increases, the companies developing this will learn more about how people are using it. Often the popular use cases are not the primary reasons why the technology was created

Jenny Trueman, Head of Connected Homes and Product Innovation, Direct Line Group

A

We are already seeing technology that learns about the way people live their lives, from thermostats that learn how you heat your home and anticipate this in advance, to security cameras that can learn to recognise you and then alert you to the presence of a stranger. This ability to learn and adapt to individuals will continue to develop as the technology develops.

Currently, insurers base their knowledge of customers on a standard set of questions, models and previous experience of similar people and properties. In the future, there will be data available to be much more specific to individual circumstances and adapt products and services accordingly.

Q

Will we see automation become a prominent feature in the connected home of the future, and what forms could this take?

A

Automation will certainly be a prominent feature in connected homes, and as the user experience of this improves it will become increasingly popular. For example, homes can learn how you use the rooms in your home and when, and then heat and light these automatically for you. Different settings may apply depending on if the home is occupied or not, or what the weather is going to be like. I’m personally really looking forward to the day when my washing and ironing can be automated!

Q

How will connected home technology continue to develop over the next few years, and how will Direct Line Group be driving this?

A

As adoption of the technology increases, the companies developing this will learn more about how people are using it. Often the popular use cases are not the primary reasons why the technology was created. For example, indoor cameras become an engaging prospect when people use them to see when their children are home from school or to keep an eye on their pets during the day, rather than as a security tool.

Connected door bells have significant appeal when it comes to being able to speak to delivery drivers even if you are not at home. The development of the technology will be driven by the way in which we all use it day-to-day. At Direct Line Group we want to deliver meaningful customer propositions using the technology, starting with when our customers need us at point of claim. We have a great opportunity to help to develop these use cases with our customers.

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As Head of Connected Home and Product Innovation for Direct Line Group, Jenny is responsible for defining and delivering product innovation through the Connected Home strategy. With almost 20 years’ experience of working in the insurance industry, most recently in insurance product development and trading performance management, Jenny brings an unrelenting focus on the customer and how to deliver value in a relatively unknown area of opportunity. She has an eye on the future, monitoring consumer trends and market insights, analysing how these create opportunities for Direct Line Group. Working across all functions within the organisation and externally with technology partners, Jenny is passionate about driving the strategic focus on the future of connected home technology in insurance.

Issue 29

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INTERVIEW

Michael Postle New entrant Neos is disrupting the home insurance market with its innovative use of connected technology to encourage customer engagement and risk reduction. Michael Postle, CFO, explains how Neos’s unique approach is achieving this, as well as how the company overcame some of the barriers present to new insurers.

Q A

How was the need for a company like Neos identified, and what steps led to its creation?

When I first stepped into the insurance industry it was a bit of a culture change. However, what I’ve seen in that time is that the face value of what insurance provides is incredibly valuable.

Insurance by its very nature is based on customer concerns; there has been a bit of a lack of focus on the operating model to drive the customer value journey forward.

Digital transformation is one of the hot topics. We usually talk about customers as being other people, but actually we are all customers. We have all got assets that we are all trying to protect and therefore we all buy insurance. As an industry we are behind the technology curve, but technology has become an enabler.

Neos is the Greek word for new, and Neos is a new and current insurer. It has had some challenges getting into the mass market; the UK personal lines market is dominated by motor and home.

The ability for devices to start bringing in IT and communicate to the home owner in a way that they have never done before brings an almost revolutionary excitement, and those sorts of things allow the insurer to tell a customer what’s happening in a way that’s never been done before.

The way we would articulate our industry is as an umbrella, when in reality an insurer is not like an umbrella at all; it doesn’t protect customers from bad things happening, but what it does do is to try to rectify those situations through financial compensation, which is incredibly valuable, but it’s not the way people define it.

Technology is starting to bridge that gap and allows us to really engage with customers; it allows customers to have a single point solution and get value from insurance that they have not been used to.

Whilst we have a strong view of what works, we need to engage the customers as they can shape what works for them, and that is an opportunity that won’t be available in a few years’ time Issue 29

Modern Insurance 17

INTERVIEW

Sensors provide customers, organisations or insurers with real time data, and that real time data will allow a much more pro-active form of connection and risk assessment

Q A

What do you identify as the key challenges in the home insurance market, and how is Neos addressing these?

The challenge in the market is to now re-engage and reproposition customers, and we now find ourselves in an industry that has a commoditised market, which means that there is an imbalance in pricing models. The general rule of the industry is if you are a loyal customer, chances are you are probably paying more than you would do if you were a new customer. We believe that a use-based value added proposition will help us articulate to customers what a fair price for insurance is.

For any new insurance company coming into the market, whether that is in home or motor, you have to challenge that pricing model in a way that makes perfect sense for customers and the insurance industry. The great thing about being a new, agile and low cost model is that you can start to operate it in a way that you might not be able to as a larger company. Therefore, we don’t want to dominate the market, but we want customers to understand the value of what we are offering and then provide a fair and relevant price to those customers.

Q

How is the wider insurance industry responding to the advent of smart technology and the connected home?

Where is the industry ahead of the curve in this area, and where is it behind?

A

The landscape is quite mixed. What we are seeing in the insurance industry is an emerging set of players who are coming to the front. You’ve got Aviva setting up their Digital Garage and Aviva Ventures, and reinsurers such as Munich Re coming to the fore who understand the market dynamics. You can then start to look overseas, where there are insurers who have taken a number of proactive steps, from a strategic level but also from an investment level. But there are other insurers who are probably struggling with their digital transformation journey

18 Modern Insurance

and are not in a position where they can consider other uses of technology.

Q A

What are the biggest barriers in establishing yourself in a crowded market, and how were these met?

The key thing is commoditisation; it is all about how we articulate, discuss, communicate and in essence find customers that are relevant for Neos and who we are relevant for.

Through supporters such as Aviva and Zoopla, we’ve got probably one of the best networks in the UK, if not globally, to communicate with customers. Zoopla is the leading online household portal, which allows them to communicate with customers in a way that insurers have never done. It is all around that convergence, and bringing insurance forward as a key component of the way we live our lives and think about our properties.

Q

What challenges currently exist around cyber security for smart technologies, and how can these be mitigated in the connected home?

A

If you look at the adoption of technology coming through, even on a non-insurance basis, you then have to look at the risk. The insurance industry has a fantastic opportunity to step in and manage those risks, and to ensure that those technologies and protocols that will be developed now and in the next few years are shaped in a way that will protect customers.

I think we can do that in an incredibly positive way. In an essence that is why we have created Neos; we’ve got a voice and we’ve got a view, and we are communicating with customers because customers want insurers to try and help them find solutions. If we can start to integrate and work with the tech providers, then we can start to manage and shape that positivity.

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INTERVIEW

A

We are seeing a big uptake of sensors, and the sensors are improving, but some of the big tech giants coming into the market have started to take this much more seriously. Sensors provide customers, organisations or insurers with real time data, and that real time data will allow a much more pro-active form of connection and risk assessment.

Q

How do you foresee the connected home and smart technologies evolving in regards to home insurance in 2018 and beyond?

A

At the moment we are arguably the largest smart home insurer globally, and providers will start to move into our space. For example, we are expecting Hive to move in, which is a fantastic thing for us because it validates our model, but also it provides the ability for us as an insurance industry to start communicating and marketing to customers. We see it as an incredibly positive move.

How does that market develop going forward? I think you start small, but we expect to see a quick uptake by customers. Will everyone in the country have smart technologies? No, I don’t think that will happen, but a large majority will. 2018 will be a continuance, where we will find some of the tech giants pushing smart technologies in home and fraud.

Whilst we have a strong view of what works, we need to engage the customers as they can shape what works for them, and that is an opportunity that won’t be available in a few years’ time.

Q

What are the potential applications of the data gathered from smart technologies for improving the insurance experience?

A

Customer interaction with an insurer, at either a point of renewal or the point of claim, may be quite a negative experience due to the customer not understanding the policy or process. Now what you can start to do is integrate insurance into the whole customer journey, so people can interactively connect with their insurer. Connecting with and working with some of the top tech players going forwards will just help us provide insurance in a much more positive fashion, allowing us to understand from the data how to prevent the bad things but also how to create the good things.

From that data you might find patterns before something bad happens. In healthcare, models are based on how to get the algorithm to identify things before they happen. Informing the customer might modify their behaviour, but also their knowledge, and if you empower customers in that way you can then have some real positive effects.

Q A

Do you predict wider utilisation of app technology within the insurance industry, and what forms might this take?

Maybe a way to answer the question is to ask if our customers are using apps regularly, and the answer is yes. When I do my banking, I do it on my phone; I can’t remember the last time I logged onto a computer to do it. Our lives are pretty much all on the go, and insurance has to keep up with that. People just want instant access because they haven’t got the time anymore.

With that instant access, I think you can then start to provide the information in a much clearer and transparent way.

Q

How is the Internet of Things developing in other industries, and should any of these developments be on the radars of the insurers as potential risks or opportunities?

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Q A

What are Neos’s key goals and projects in 2018 as it continues to grow and establish itself in the market?

We started off wanting to scale up and making sure that the promises we make to customers are delivered. We’re looking at how we then take Neos and support other insurers, and particularly how we can support a more global development of the smart home. As long as we keep to our values, I think customers will tell us what they do and don’t want, so it is about keeping those communication channels open. Once you stop listening to customers, you are no longer delivering the services that they want. The aspect of the customer always being right is very relevant in the insurance industry.

Michael Postle

Michael Postle joined Neos ventures in April 2016 as the Chief Financial Officer. He holds a wealth of knowledge specifically in the insurance industry. Before joining Neos, Michael was a Corporate Development Director at RSA and Corporate Finance at PwC.

The great thing about being a new, agile and low cost model is that you can start to operate it in a way that you might not be able to as a larger company Modern Insurance 19

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A quest for efficiencies What do you feel should be the insurance industry’s 2018 New Year’s resolution? ith any luck my suggested New Year’s resolution for the insurance industry will be easier to achieve than my New Year fitness campaign that I have embarked on… In all honesty, anything worth achieving is never easy, but hopefully the benefits outweigh the efforts employed. One such area that I feel the entire insurance industry needs to review in 2018 is that of ‘efficiency’. This is not restricted to just insurers, but the industry as a whole, whether that be insurers, brokers or supply chain.

W

During some of the research work that Industry Insights carry out, we see many examples of how efficiencies could be gained, which would not only reduce cost in a marginal industry, but would also result in an enhanced service delivery to the end customer.

Inefficiencies can take many forms and they will vary in each part of the industry. The fundamental principles of identifying inefficiencies, if adopted as a rule by every member of a business, will bring dramatic results and can often engender a team ethic in working together to find solutions. It is important to note that speed and efficiency are two different things, it’s about finding better and more efficient ways to do things. One of the frustrations I have felt for many years as a director of supply chain businesses, which serve insurance companies, is that there seems to be a general view that suppliers are inefficient and could operate with lower costs and a lower sales price. In some cases this is true, however, I would ask insurers to look at how they operate and are they as lean and efficient as they themselves desire from their own supply chain?

Clearly this will vary from insurer to insurer, but to tackle some of the challenges facing the insurance industry as whole (I think we have a few, and some emerging ones too), we need to all be cohesive as an industry in becoming more efficient in what we do, with the goal of claims excellence for the policyholder and sustainable profitability for the insurer and its supply chain.

STEVE THOMPSON, Director, Industry Insights.

Making insurance interactive How can insurers provide more frequent interaction and engagement with customers to improve the service they receive? he current situation we find ourselves in is that as insurers, our interactions with customers are very rare, and when we do interact, the exchanges aren’t the most pleasant.

Every year we take money off our customers, something I am sure they don’t enjoy, and then spend the rest of the year hoping they don’t have a claim. If they do have a claim, even if everything goes swimmingly well, it still isn’t going to be that pleasant an experience; claims are inevitably stressful and linked to an event our customers would rather have not happened.

T

All this helps to firmly cement that feeling of insurers not being the sort of people you want to deal with, and the reality is that with so few interactions we stand little chance of changing this and building a decent relationship.

That lack of frequency of contact also makes it difficult to build the familiarity that’s needed to have ‘best in class’ interactions, and also makes even technology solutions difficult to implement.

Mobile banking, for instance, feels intuitive, but that is only because you are dipping in week in week out; can you imagine how it would feel if you only went in once a year?

Fortunately, most insurers now recognise this and are talking about providing ‘services’ in addition to a promise to pay, not just because they think that’s what people want, but also simply as a way to increase those interactions. The AXA strapline is ‘Payer to Partner’, and like others, we see we have a wealth of risk management expertise and technology, giving us ways of industrialising dissemination. Tech progress is also bringing down the cost of ‘Risk Mitigation’ devices that will be a vital part of our futures.

Connected devices provide updates on security, moisture detection, air quality as well as reducing risk and adding to customer confidence; it gives an excuse to the insurer to contact the customer and improve familiarity, so when there is a claim, the response feels less stressful. Insurers need to be looking at the technology options, partnering where appropriate and planning a future where we interact more regularly, build meaningful relationships and start rising up that customer satisfaction table!

David Williams, Technical Director, AXA Insurance.

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Providing clarity for the customer

Should fraudsters fear the machines?

How can insurers provide more frequent interaction and engagement to improve the service they receive?

What role will automation play in combating insurance fraud in the future?

T

his is an interesting debate that has been discussed for many years and is one of the key areas where a supplier such as GT Motive can assist.

A collision for a customer is a stressful time; not only do they have the stress of the situation to deal with and any potential injuries, they are also at the mercy of the unknown, in terms of an experience that they hopefully do not end up in too many times.

The one thing that a consumer needs in this situation is clear, relevant and timely communication.

Putting the customer into this process will assist all parties. I suspect there is nothing more frustrating (having never had an accident – touch wood) than not knowing what is happening, as this just compounds the situation and I suspect causes a lot of unnecessary calls to either the insurance company or the bodyshop, and is costing a considerable amount of wasted time and money.

As an example, at GT Motive we have a platform called Workcenter from our partners Mitchell. This is a cloud-based technology, which allows all parties to communicate in real time without the need for calls to be made for updates. The consumer also has the ability to be involved in this process by logging into the system to get an update on the latest position and has the ability to then communicate with all parties involved in the claims.

Link this to consumer self-service and you can see that this gives a very simple solution for parties involved in the collision process.

Another relevant example is our mFNOL platform, which allows the customer to have a seamless process for reporting a collision, and this does not need any type of app or installation on the device. Our Photo Based Estimate service allows the customer to capture pictures of the damage and get an estimate created by an engineer at the earliest point.

During the repair process we also offer the needed touch points with the customer, but only the needed ones; a customer probably does not want to see his car stripped down as I do not need to see my goodies leaving the amazon warehouse. Just let me know when my car will be ready and if there will be any changes to the estimated completion date.

Richard Taylor, UK Business Director, GT Motive.

e may not immediately make the association, likely focusing on factory robots or autonomous cars, but modern automation in the information age impacts our lives multiple times every day as data is gathered, processed by algorithms and decisions are guided or indeed made for us.

W

For many years, the claims sector has fully utilised the opportunities afforded by data management software as information is cross-referenced and processes are digitally automated. As the technology develops, so too will the sector innovate to find further efficiencies and provide better services.

Tackling the incessant insurance fraud that plagues the sector will inevitably be at the heart of these developments. The development of the Claims Portal, askCUE, and more recently, MedCo, has shown that the sector can use modern technology collaboratively to improve sector standards and combat poor behaviour.

We should not fear the machines, providing we get the parameters within which they operate right. There are already warning signs.

In the future, Portal and MedCo must be fully aligned, sharing data and querying potentially fraudulent behaviour. This takes time to develop effectively though, and the lessons of MedCo, beset with problems initially, teach us that this must not be rushed. askCUE took four years from conception to implementation. The Government’s current rush to reform the whiplash claims market casts doubt over whether the lessons of the past will be learnt, with the Ministry of Justice seemingly intent on creating a market where there will be similar kinds of abuses. Indeed, the likely abusers are to be given effective access to the system for the first time. This is a short-sighted and potentially highly damaging vision for the future.

We must also ensure that automated systems flagging “suspected” fraud cases, on the basis of cross-referenced data, should be carefully scrutinised before there is a rush to judgement. Too many “suspected” frauds in the past are likely to have been legitimate claims, withdrawn through fear of the risk of losing or costs incurred. Suspected and detected fraud are very different.

The machines may already be here, to be used for the good of all in the sector, but we should be cautious about replacing human judgement and experience with algorithms entirely. They can certainly tip the balance in the fight against fraud, but they are not a panacea.

Donna Scully, Director, Carpenters.

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Speak up to stand out What are the main challenges for start-ups when standing out and establishing themselves in a competitive market?

T

hey need two main things; a brilliant idea and a platform to tell the world about it.

The most successful start-ups ponder over problems and discover ways to solve them, preferably in a unique way, better than any solutions currently available. That, in itself, is quite a challenge. Sometimes there is a eureka moment where a previously unseen route becomes clear; often it is a case of trial and error, with the better start-ups knowing how to fail fast and move on the next round of testing. They need to break through with something genuinely useful, whether it be time or money saving, adding extra value or features, or something else unique to give the customer a reason to consider them.

However, even the best idea needs an audience. For a startup to shout their idea from the rooftops takes a significant amount of marketing and as a loose rule of thumb, the bigger the budget, the louder the voice. The dilemma being that startups tend to have relatively limited resources, so rather than the more traditional marketing platforms, some clever, more frugal, marketing techniques must be employed.

Start-ups tend to be less risk adverse so can often employ more precarious strategies, and none is more risky than a good stunt. Richard Branson famously dressed up in a wedding dress to launch Virgin Brides and as an astronaut to launch Virgin Galactic; a relatively cheap way to attract a huge amount of press attention.

Social media can be incredibly powerful if used, analysed and managed by a creative team who know what they’re doing. Dollar Shave Club is probably better known for its incredible debut advert than its razors. Their humorous and colourful language filled video went viral on YouTube, generating 12,000 orders in the first 48 hours. Not bad for a $4,500 budget.

Aside from getting their name known in the industry, start-ups need to keep their eye on growing pains as they start to upscale.

Cash flow blockages can restrict growth in the early days, whilst IT can also present problems as companies make the shift from prototype to enterprise scale systems. The initial team will tend to be close-knit, dynamic and focused, but as the company grows they will need to hire outside their circle, whilst retaining the ethos, drive and passion of the original team.

The first year or so is an incredibly exciting time for a start-up, but also dangerous, with one in three failing in the UK within the first year. It is so important that a start-up is driven forwards with fervour, enthusiasm and huge amounts of determination and stamina.

Nik Ellis, Managing Director, Laird Assessors.

Issue 29

External partners can make the connections that internal departments can’t he business of insurance is complex – and that makes how insurance businesses are structured complex. But, for the customer, the process needs to be simple. And nowhere more so is that the case than when it comes to the claims experience. However, the 2017 Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) published by the Institute of Customer Service revealed that 62% of insurance customers felt they had to put more effort into dealing with organisations than they did in the previous year.

T

The ICS suggested that insurers need to think about how they respond to customers across all channels, from the call centre to email, text and apps, with a need to work harder on consistency as well as demonstrating greater empathy to the customer issue.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

The big challenge is how to empower different departments within an insurance organisation to work together and talk to each other in such a way that the customer experience is, at the very least, not undermined, and ideally is enhanced. But, for established organisations working with legacy systems and processes, this isn’t necessarily easy to achieve. The objectives of different departments can also conflict, creating a disconnection, not only between departments, but between insurers and their suppliers.

To overcome these problems, I think insurers could have more confidence in their partners who, I believe, can play a fundamental role in helping insurance businesses work better within their organisations and, therefore, deliver a better customer experience.

Partners can bring new processes and technologies, without requiring insurers to make significant internal investment or process changes. And partners with a good understanding of the insurer’s brand values can enhance the customer experience simply by doing their job.

At Europcar we are working with a number of insurers to provide a replacement vehicle service that not only streamlines the process and provides transparency on costs but gives policyholders and not at fault motorists alike choice and control. And we are working to bridge the differing goals of different departments involved in the process. This is enabling insurers to eliminate some of the friction that often adds cost to the claims process, instead achieving a positive claims experience for everyone involved.

And that has to be good news for overall customer satisfaction which, as proven by a recent Institute of Customer Service study, The Customer Dividend, directly correlates to financial performance. According to the ICS report, on average, organisations that maintain a customer satisfaction score above their sector average, achieve 9.1% revenue growth year-on-year.

Surely that’s as good a reason as any to exploit the experience and expertise of external partners to improve the connections between different internal departments, thereby improving the customer experience and enhancing satisfaction?

James Roberts, Business Development Director, Insurance, Europcar UK Group.

Modern Insurance 27

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Start with why…

How are consumer buying habits forcing change in the method and structures of product delivery in the insurance industry? he mandatory need for motor insurance is legislatively set. The usual psychology for a purchase by the customer is therefore thrown out of the window, along with any real opportunity to innovate the product itself. Innovation and true product delivery therefore, must be driven through delivery and the customers’ experience; additional policies sold and the features and benefits of buying from the insurer, i.e. multicar, family policies, mid-term additions to policies and links to home insurances etc. Critically, the claims journey has never been more important.

T

In a world in which convenience and consumer centric sales processes are being constantly refined, consumers no longer expect to be on the wrong end of a ‘bad deal’. Aggregators and online quotes have made it simple for consumers to view multiple products, all with the same level of commoditised features in a matter of minutes. Yet still in the last week I received an email renewal that was £100 more than the previous year and £80 more than the aggregated average, not the cheapest. There may be reasons for such activity, but pricing pressure is critical; there will soon be competition from businesses that are driven by customer choice and service delivery.

These brands have fiercely loyal customers who return time and time again to purchase a range of products and services, and even pay for the privilege of doing so. Do you really think that these customers will accept being offered a ‘bad deal’? The gap that has been left in the market has left the door wide open to a business that is truly customer focused from the moment the purchase is considered, right through the purchase itself, services delivered throughout and at the point of renewal, a point, which in their existing model, they are very successful at. In Simon Sinek’s book, ‘Start with Why’, he describes how having a ‘why’ can drive loyalty and commitment of customers to the true ethos and values of what a company stands for. New entrants to the market have a strong sense of ‘why’, and they have customers who believe in their visions.

In a world where insurance is now focused more around mitigation than restitution (telematics and driver aids are helping to reduce the number of accidents on the road), buying trends will reflect the customer’s immediate hierarchy of needs. No-one buys insurance and hopes that they will need it, but at this point of need, the last thing a customer wants, regardless of fault, is to feel that the provision in place isn’t supportive of their most basic requirements. A customer centric accident management model, which is delivered in a truly personal manner, can make a huge difference to the customer’s experience and future purchase decisions.

How has Ogden impacted on law firm cash flow? here is no doubt that the Ogden or Discount Rate was long overdue for review, having remained unchanged at 2.5% for sixteen years. Claimants, who had been undercompensated or exposed to unacceptable investment risk for many years, were elated by the reduction to -0.75% in March 2017. Overnight, Claimant Part 36 offers were withdrawn, schedules recalculated and awards of damages significantly increased.

T

The insurance industry responded with reports of impact of up to £7bn to the industry as a direct result of the increase to damages.

Almost immediately after the introduction of the reduced Discount Rate, the MoJ opened a further consultation in relation to the timing of review of and methodology for setting off the Discount Rate.

In September 2017, the MoJ published its post consultation response. The MoJ provided an indication that under the new approach the likely rate would be between 0% and 1%, providing a degree of certainty as to the likely future rate to be applied.

The timescale for implementation of the further review is unclear, however it is unlikely to be earlier than October 2018.

Whilst claimants have benefited from a welcome increase to their damages, there has been no comparable increase in legal costs, with success fees set by reference to general damages and past losses.

Delayed settlements and increased case length have inevitably impacted adversely upon claimant law firms’ cash flow. The greatest impact has been experienced in those law firms with the greatest volume of maximum severity claims with a significant element of future losses.

Delayed settlements as a result of the change to the Discount Rate are, for the most part, out of the control of claimant law firms. However, the impact may be mitigated to some extent, by proactive use of litigation to bring claims to a swift conclusion and effective, tactical use of the CPR, with the threat of costs, sanctions against defendants who refuse to cooperate in ADR such as mediation and JSM. Firms should seek to strengthen their relationships with defendant insurers and, in cases where liability has been admitted, claimant law firms should be seeking an interim payment on account of costs to ease pressure on cash flow.

This period of uncertainty will not continue indefinitely but in the short term there is clear evidence of impact on cash flow, which will last for several months to come.

ZOE HOLLAND, Managing Director, ZebraLC.

Dan Chesney, Commercial Director, S&G Response.

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Survive and thrive

The trend of Insurtech

What are the main challenges for start-ups when standing out and establishing themselves in a competitive market?

017 saw a wave of Insurtech start-ups hitting the headlines.

In fact, Accenture reported Insurtech investment in 2017 rose to £218 million from £7.3 million in the previous period. Whilst technology is being used in many different ways, the majority of Insurtech start-ups are focused on customer facing innovation.

or the first 30 years of my career I was part of an established law firm (now disappeared). For the past ten years or so, I have been closely involved with start-ups, namely a number of new mediation organisations and Claims Portal Limited (a start-up, albeit an unusual one).

F

I prioritise two challenges as equal firsts, the idea and survival. The idea, some would call it the vision, is the core of the business. The judgement call is whether it is good enough to found a business on. Survival may sound like a low level challenge, but given that more than half of new businesses don’t survive beyond five years, it is in fact a very serious one.

A real challenge is the commitment to succeed. “If you haven’t given up the day job for your new business why should I invest in you”, is the way one business angel put it.

The need for flexibility challenges those inclined to stick to “the plan” regardless. A radical change of direction is sometimes necessary. American management guru Tom Peters advised “failforward-fast”: if a new idea does not fly, learn quickly from the failure and move on. This may sound drastic, but the biographies of leading businessmen often have tales of bankruptcy along the way. Nimble flexibility can help avoid that end.

Accepting the wisdom that it is good to get help is a test many fail to pass. If you seek input from every quarter, it can be surprising how much willing assistance is available. More structured help is sometimes available in the form of grants or accelerator programmes. For a “tech” example, see https://www. startupbootcamp.org/.

The money, of course, is vital, and careful research is required about the funding of a new business. You may not be able to start the journey with a full tank, but you need to know how to access the filling stations.

Standing out, getting noticed and securing business is all about communication. Whatever the strength of the business idea, the marketplace needs to know who you are and what you stand for.

The right marketing strategy is a good start, but more important is the challenge to effectively engage with customers and influencers.

Anything else? A bit of good luck never goes amiss!

TIM WALLIS, Mediator and Solicitor, Trust Mediation.

2

In research by PWC, only 27% of consumers felt they had trust in their insurance provider. Insurtech start-ups, with their customer centric approach, have the capability to reconnect consumers with the fundamental promise that insurance provides - to protect the things we need and value the most.

Traditional insurers are investing in start-ups as a way of accessing new talent and ideas, but the vast majority of Insurtech companies are independent businesses who can greatly benefit from partnerships with those already established in the market.

The trend, which looks set to continue into 2018, is less about disruption from Insurtech and more about collaboration.

Existing players can add value beyond investment and incubation.

One of the key benefits being immediate access to a ready to go infrastructure in back office and claims functions, as well as expertise in supply chain management.

In order to deliver on the customer promise of protection that insurance provides, Insurtech businesses, whilst busy focusing on customer needs and building their brands, also need to ensure the necessary ‘nuts and bolts’ are in place to make their insurance proposition work.

Claims handling cannot be an afterthought for an Insurtech player; it has to be the starting point for any insurance proposition.

Failure to deliver an excellent claims experience is simply not an option. The repercussions for the brand and reputation for a small business that is just establishing itself in the market would be severe.

Delivery of the insurance promise at point of claim requires access to specialist services, together with the resources to manage those services, a good partnership to manage the claims fulfilment and a reliable, wide-ranging network of surveyors and assessors, repair and replacement specialists, mobility solutions, etc.

Strong partnerships are therefore a vital component of success.

The right partner of course must have good processes and governance, but also fit with the culture of the Insurtech business to ensure the organisations are able to work well together.

2018 will bring even more innovative and niche providers, and with collaboration with established partners the whole industry looks to benefit.

JASON TRIPP, Operations Director, Coplus.

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Advancing automation

It’s the technology, stupid

What role will automation play in combating insurance fraud in the future?

How are consumer buying habits forcing change in methods and structures of product delivery in the insurance industry?

The pace of change in the world is accelerating, and whilst technological advances present the industry with new and exciting ways of combatting fraud, it also creates opportunities for fraudsters to deploy new and ever more creative methods to avoid detection.

I

So what is automation and how can it help insurers? The simple definition is the method of making a machine, a process or a system work, without being directly controlled by a person.

We’ve already seen that criminals have been able to use robotics technology to target insurers with multiple quotes, looking for gaps to exploit in front end identity and credit checks. Once those gaps are identified and prevention measures taken, the fraudster moves on to a new insurer.

At times the industry has been heavily reliant on manual processes, which have sometimes led to insurers being slow to respond to threats. For example, many insurers still rely on document requests to validate motor policies, yet we have seen the ease with which fraudsters have been able to forge documentation.

In a world where technology is changing rapidly, we as an industry need to keep up and use these technological advances to our advantage, because one thing we can be certain of is that criminals will be trying to do the same.

The Internet of Things, robotics technology, data and digital advances are changing the world around us, and we should be excited at the opportunities that they create to increase automation.

We are also entering a new age of advancing vehicle technology with the prospect of fully autonomous cars on the horizon.

Semi-autonomous cars are already on our roads, and whilst such technology presents challenges, there lies huge opportunity for the industry in harnessing and utilising vehicle data.

Increased automation will help us detect the threats we face, respond to those threats more quickly, unravel the complex network of enablers exploiting gaps in our defences, and support our fraud investigators to make better and faster decisions with robotics technology taking over some of the legwork.

Automation alone isn’t going to be the panacea in the fight against fraud though, and it can’t be overstated that human intervention in the detection and investigation process will remain as important as ever. How we support our people and ensure they are equipped with the right skills to utilise new technology will be key.

MARTIN MILLINER, GI Claims Director, LV=.

“I

t’s the economy, stupid” was the slogan used by the Democrats during the 1992 US presidential election to propel Bill Clinton to the White House.

“It’s the technology, stupid,” should be the slogan of choice for those of us in insurance seeking to get under the skin of consumer buying habits in 2017.

At its heart, technology has driven the creation of new groups of customers or even whole new industry sectors, such as in the gig economy.

Take delivery drivers, for businesses like Deliveroo, Uber or Amazon. They are usually part time and they only want to pay for courier insurance when they’re working. If they apply to a standard bike or car insurer they’ll hit a brick wall. The traditional annual renewable motor policy is the last thing they need.

Amazon alone has 45,000 delivery drivers in the UK. Technology has created this huge new market segment, but traditional insurers have, to date, struggled to help them.

Insurance products for people who work in the gig should be an everyday purchase, when they clock on and off the job, and technology should be able to help.

Using technology to match the product to specific needs also applies to the legal sector, even though most clients rarely need legal services.

On average, people have a car accident once every seven years, but the products and services law firms like Minster Law provide must be as slick and friendly as those they use for buying groceries on their smartphone.

Easy-to-use online client self-servicing is a must, which inevitably requires AI, via workflow management software, to oversee a PI claim. Equally, clients may need to access expert legal advice delivered by a human.

So the structure of product and service delivery will mix AI and people. As somebody said, robots should do the work of robots and humans should do the work of humans.

In future, law firms, like Minster Law, will employ software developers and technology specialists alongside lawyers.

The structure and culture of our firm will change as a result, especially if we wish to grow the business into other areas where technology can be used to provide other services as well as personal injury claims.

SHIRLEY WOOLHAM, COO, Minster Law

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Modern Insurance 33

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The changing landscape of insurance and why we should all embrace the revolution Do you predict a plateau in technology adoption in the insurance industry, or is this something that will continue to evolve for the foreseeable future? he Internet of Things (IoT) has been making waves in the insurance industry for the last couple of years, dominating the headlines along with artificial intelligence and the many other breakthroughs in insurtech. There’s no doubt that these advances in innovation are changing the landscape of insurance and claims, improving efficiency in terms of pricing, assessment of risk and proven liability in an unprecedented way.

T

In my opinion, the potential benefits are enormous for those prepared to take the plunge and invest in IoT platforms or utilise the providers already out there who, like us, are able to instantly connect them to this technology without the time and investment required to create it themselves. The capability to provide policies that are totally connected has a number of benefits both to the customer and the insurer through more sophisticated pricing and better understanding of behaviour.

I see annual policies as becoming a thing of the past as this evolves, because the pricing will be so accurate that committing to a price for a year will seem archaic before long. This will clearly benefit customers who present a lower risk to the insurer. Those who carry a greater risk may however find this change has a sting to its tail, or even be out-priced in the market. Of course, the ideal would be that policyholders begin to modify their behaviour in order to receive a more competitive premium; driverless cars and ADAS technology will no doubt have an effect as well.

The reality is that this technology will not stop at motor or home policies. It will soon be the ‘norm’ for boats, shipping, aviation, health and any other insurance where huge volumes of data can be taken, analysed and assessed to provide a more considered risk. We’ll soon be able to connect to every aspect of a person’s life.

The challenge will be staying ahead of fraudsters who find a way to manipulate the data. Doing so will be an almighty task to the fraudster, but where there’s a will there’s often a way. However, with the advancements in fraud detection, we’re in the best position we’ve ever been in to fight fraud.

There’s so much technology coming into the market, the insurance industry has never been more exciting. I’m not sure that the words ‘insurance’ and ‘exciting’ have ever been used in the same sentence before – let’s try to make this a new trend that catches on.

Simon Marsh, Managing Director, VisionTrack.

Using technology to connect with the wider audience ot a day goes by in the insurance press without the mention of technology and how it’s being used to shape the future of the industry, whether it’s about insurance implications for driverless cars or how technology is improving the customer experience by allowing simpler access to new products and services.

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The industry is well aware that it needs to evolve if it is to thrive and continue supporting and meeting the needs of its customers. And there are some great examples of businesses of all sizes rising to the challenge. Lemonade, the US based general insurer, is one example, with reports of claims being paid in just three seconds.

Speeding up processes and simplifying the customer journey is something we’re all striving towards. But technology can also play a vital role way before the stage where customers are looking to buy.

We know that most people find things like pensions or life insurance dull. They would rather put it off for a rainy day or worse still, completely bury their heads in the sand and shut out thoughts about aging or the possibility of them becoming ill or dying.

There are a whole host of reasons for people not engaging, but research by Zurich has found that one of these is cost. A quarter of people in a recent study said they didn’t have life or critical illness cover because it was too expensive, and nearly a third (30%) said they didn’t feel it was relevant.

We’ve taken this insight to build an app called FaceQuote to try and challenge this perception, but more importantly to try and encourage people to engage with their finances.

By utilising face recognition technology, FaceQuote invites users to take a selfie, from which the app ‘guestimates’ their real age.

Based on this age, users are given a quote for ten years’ worth of life insurance based on them being fit and healthy. It’s one of a series of tools we’ve developed to connect with and support our customers.

So using technology, we’ve tried to approach ‘tricky’ issues through gamification in a fun and engaging way in the hope that some people will be nudged into action.

Technology has a huge role to play in allowing us to connect with a wider audience and give more people confidence in making financial decisions, but also inspiring and enabling them to take control and put proper plans in place.

For more information visit https://www.zurich.co.uk/insurance/ facequote.

Chris Atkinson, Head of Direct, Zurich.

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A valuable opportunity he EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming into force in May 2018, and businesses across the UK, from global corporates to start-ups and one-man bands, must ensure that they are compliant ahead of the deadline.

Failing to do so carries with it significant fines.

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Connected technology continues to revolutionise more sectors through the IoT How has the Internet of Things become accepted in motor and property insurance and how are other sectors reaping the benefits from connected devices?

Commercial insurance underwriters and brokers have two major factors to consider in relation to GDPR. They need to ensure their house is in order, but also think about the implications of having potentially non-compliant customers as well.

he Internet of Things (IoT) has become mainstream for property and motor insurance. In particular, cars are becoming increasingly connected, from point of manufacture up to point of sale, enabled by the proliferation of telematics devices. This will continue as more insurers realise the value of the big data collected through connected technology.

This is not simply because under-prepared businesses carry greater risk for insurers. It is also because offering expert support and guidance to our clients transforms us from commoditised policy providers to vital business partners.

Gartner predicts over 20 billion connected devices will be in use worldwide by 2020 across a variety of sectors. It’s clear that many businesses will benefit from the data on offer. So, where are the next sectors that are ripe for an IoT takeover?

According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), only 31 per cent of all businesses in the UK see cyber security as a ‘very high’ priority, despite nearly half of them having experienced a cyber breach from April 2016 – April 2017*.

Healthcare is already using data gathered by connected devices.

New tools and efficiencies to transform the delivery of healthcare solutions are being developed. From ensuring patients are better cared for to significantly reducing costs, the healthcare sector is employing its own telematics to monitor and act upon real-time data. By adding sensors to the simple inhaler, doctors can accurately track whether patients follow treatment plans.

Healthcare insurance providers can also receive this data, and like motor insurers, provide tailored and accurate polices to their clients.

This lack of awareness is matched by a worryingly low understanding of what protections need to be in place to guard against cyber breaches. This is particularly true of SMEs. The DCMS found that only 10 per cent of small businesses are aware of the Government’s Cyber Essentials Scheme – the current go-to guide for cyber security best practice.

Failing to understand correct procedures will become far costlier with GDPR’s punitive fines - up to €20 million or four per cent of turnover (whichever is greater).

For the insurance industry, this knowledge gap among businesses is one we can and should seek to fill, helping our customers to better protect their data and ensure regulatory compliance.

Our experience of identifying risk can help pinpoint the vulnerabilities in our customers’ security that could result in them falling foul of GDPR. We can then suggest remedies that will lessen the risk of being fined, or needing to file an insurance claim.

At Swinton, we visit all our business customers, whatever their size, and have face-to-face relationships. This gives us a better understanding of the companies we work with, enabling us to offer more tailored guidance. Observing and highlighting employee bad habits, for instance, could be just as useful for a business as suggesting security products to build into its IT infrastructure.

Helping businesses to prepare for GDPR is a valuable opportunity for the insurance community to build and maintain better relationships with business customers.

Yes, assisting with compliance has the obvious benefit of reducing the likelihood of a claim. But the longer term and arguably more important advantage is the trust it builds between an insurer and a business that depends on it for reliable guidance.

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Pet insurance is another sector benefiting from connected technologies, employing smart devices that improve understanding of pet behaviour. Traditional dog collars, historically used for identification and attaching leashes, have evolved. The ‘smart collar’, using sensors and controlled by an app, tracks pets’ locations, health and exercise habits, allowing owners to care for them better and insurers to provide accurate cover.

So, what does this mean for the insurers? Regardless of the sector, insurers are always looking for ways to remain competitive amongst their peers and attract new users, while retaining current customers. Connected devices bring them closer to their clients and offer more personalised policies based on real data, resulting in cheaper insurance premiums for customers.

However, the sheer volume of the data produced is only useful after proper analysis. This is the role of big data analytics and machine learning tools. Sophisticated algorithms can take raw data and provide actionable insights for insurers. As IoT connects more and more industries, the data it provides will be used in a range of ways to benefit both insurers and their customers, some that haven’t even been thought of yet. With industries becoming more and more connected, the next step will be making sure data analytics continue to improve at the same speed.

Jonathan Hewett, Chief Marketing Officer, Octo Telematics.

Lucia Grossi Cert CII, Broking Manager, Swinton Group. *https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/609186/Cyber_Security_Breaches_Survey_2017_main_report_PUBLIC.pdf

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Demand for data

Getting the message across

How are consumer buying habits forcing change in methods and structures of product delivery in the insurance industry?

Where are there areas for improvement in communication between the different departments of an insurance business?

here’s been some interesting research over the years about how consumers feel about the insurance application and discovery process. One global study by EY found a lot of customer dissatisfaction, with insurers struggling in their customerfocus efforts. Only 14% of consumers in that survey were ‘very satisfied’ with the communications they receive from insurers. When asked what matters most to them in the insurance relationship, 47% said ‘value for money’ and 43% said the product was ‘easy to understand with clear communication’.

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Other factors, such as policy benefits or even the brand, are much less important.

All of this leads to an insurance experience that leaves customers with a high degree of turnover and low trust and loyalty. For insurers it means intense competition to recruit transient customers through the application process.

Recent research by LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that just 4% of personal lines insurers claim to be ‘all’ or ‘nearly all’ digitised, yet 92% believe digitisation has allowed new types of insurance to emerge. Recently we’ve seen micro-insurance, insurance-as-aservice and usage-based insurance products on a rising tide.

Meanwhile consumers are demanding change. We know from our insurer clients that all of them are convinced of the need to change.

The only difference we are seeing is in how individual insurers are disposed to deploying new customer interfaces. When we discuss homeowners’ insurance pre-fill, a tool for pre-filling the consumer’s application, we find that some insurers want to drive immediately for full automation. Other insurers say they want to pre-fill questions and then let the customer validate. But the unanimous view is that new services like pre-fill are what consumers are demanding, even if there are slightly different customer episodes for making it happen.

In the US, LexisNexis Risk Solutions already delivers faster, more accurate quotes by prefilling forms for motor, home and life insurance. As an interactive, single-inquiry solution it streamlines the consumer experience at point-of-contact, is able to deliver a ten-fold increase in close-rates for some insurers, and in some applications, working just from a photo of the consumer’s driving licence.

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or NBRA bodyshop members, the link between the claims, insurance supply chains and the insurance executive have the potential to be improved.

Whilst network management or supply chain teams from insurers seem to understand that suppliers, such as crash repair bodyshops, are struggling to survive with ever reducing margins, the NBRA feels that that message doesn’t filter through or is not well understood at an executive level. We say this because from experience, the insurance executive teams take the safety of their customers very seriously and equally are very keen to protect their valuable brands, and very low margins do not support this.

The consequence of very low margins, from our experience, is that most bodyshops are only able to afford to deliver the minimum levels of technical training and auditing for their staff, at a time when vehicle technology is growing rapidly. In many cases, repairers are not paid any time whatsoever to review and research essential repair methods that are a requirement for British standards.

A situation such as this is almost certainly going to lead to a serious liability issue at some point - such as the recent State Farm case in the United States. It is likely that executive teams would want to address these concerns and mitigate the risks to their customers and brand, yet the message almost certainly is not getting to the appropriate people or risk registers.

On a more positive note, supply chain departments within motor claims have a rich vein of information they can access from repairers. Whilst Thatcham provide group ratings to insurers on new vehicle models, it is only once these cars hit the repairers that the true insight for claims is gained therefore that could provide competitive advantage for underwriting and pricing teams.

Whilst there are some notable exceptions, many insurers fail to join these three stakeholders together and take advantage.

CHRIS WEEKS, Director, NBRA/VBRA Commercial.

In addition to new types of insurance, prospective new entrants like Amazon® and the Google®-Trov partnership are heating up. They’re no longer just waiting in the wings. This disruption and competition is demanding a new approach to consumer data.

To succeed, deploying data precisely where it is needed, close to the customer, at the point of quote and ensuring that it helps deliver personalised, accurate quotes is imperative.

JAY BORKAKOTI, Director, Home Insurance, UK, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Trevor Lloyd-Jones, Senior Marketing Manager, Insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

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Preventing account takeover BM’s 2017 ‘Global Cost of Data Breach’ study found that the average cost of a data breach is £2.67 million — £104 per record — and that 30% of businesses breached will be hit again within two years. With GDPR months away and other industries bracing themselves, why should the insurance industry be any different?

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Over the last three years, iovation has seen a dramatic increase in the tools needed for account takeover falling into the hands of criminals. Fraudsters are mining and phishing more identity details and even failing more when they try to get past our multifactor authentication methods. Last year our insurance subscribers began encountering true identity theft and account takeover, which has led to a 172% increase in reported 3rd party application fraud attempts and evidence being placed. Recent iovation Insurance User Groups have highlighted the topic of account takeover too.

The pressure across insurers and brokers to provide their existing customers with greater online access to their products and services is driving the risk of this occurring. This means they must now look to protect their existing customers as well as blocking fraud upfront at quote or policy inception.

In 2018, over 80% of all retail insurance will be purchased via desktop computers, tablets or smartphones, meaning fraudsters A5 landscape 1 01/03/2018 1 have a varietyAD.qxp_Layout of options when looking to10:16 utilisePage genuine and

MODULAR MOTOR SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS

existing customer information. The standard practice for many insurers is now to, post-sale, set up credentials for their customers to access portals. This small change has created a vault of hugely valuable information. With access granted, fraudsters can use the data to commit insurance fraud, sell the data for other criminals to use or even commit further financial crimes, such as loan or credit application fraud.

When a fraudster gains access to an insurance portal they are also able to add additional risk, make false claims and even change policy details such as adding new vehicles, drivers or changing locations.

Insurance companies should be examining how they currently authenticate their existing users to mitigate the risks of compromised credentials or stolen passwords and ensure that access to customer information is protected by strong (meaning multi-factor) authentication.

The key to preventing account takeover - know which customers you can trust.

If you can do this, you can avoid a breach in your web properties, brand damage and the penalties, €20 million or 4% or annual global turnover, whichever is higher, of GDPR. SHAUN SMITH, Sales Executive EMEA, iovation.

“Greater than the sum of our parts”

INSIGHTS

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FEATURES

Changing the face of insurance As consumer demand for instant services continues to increase, Stephen Marshall, Insure Apps, introduces the benefits of the mobile app for insurance.

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As the ‘access on-demand’ culture continues to expand, how important is it to have ‘service on the go’ for your business?

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It’s absolutely vital. People expect more and more in the way of instant response. Expectations have gone up and technology needs to match this. Our business exists because there’s a significant problem with time delays in people reporting claims.

In the UK, it takes an average of 23 days for someone to report a commercial motor incident. There are all sorts of reasons for this, but in today’s world that doesn’t fit. That problem needed to be solved and that’s what our business is all about; creating flows of information to multiple people at the push of a button on a smartphone.

If you look at Amazon, you’re expecting things to be delivered to you the next day, or even the same day. To compete in this IT space you need to be fast. So, for example, on our Claims Made Easy App, if a broker sees it and wants it, we can have brokers up and running within 30 minutes. That’s not a promise, but it’s possible. We had a broker called up on a Tuesday lunchtime, bought the app and was using it with clients by Thursday. It’s what people expect, so that’s how you have to operate these days.

Phone technology enhances the information that someone can provide. Think about the simple question, “Where are you?” This year, phone technology at a click of a button will be able to tell someone where you are within 30cms! Now answer the question on the phone, speaking to someone you don’t know. Which is easier?

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How can a mobile app help insurance businesses get and retain customers?

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Customers expect technology to develop. The things you use your phone for now are so diverse that why wouldn’t a customer expect insurers and brokers to utilise that technology?

It becomes vital as opposed to desirable. The broker or the insurer that has the right app, with the right level of accessibility and intuitiveness, will be the one that the customers move towards.

In terms of our app, it shows your business in a different light.

Brokers don’t have to understand the technical things in the background, they just need it to make their lives easier. If they communicate that to others, then they’re onto a business tool that makes a difference.

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How can mobile apps improve insurance businesses visibility and reinforce their brand?

Q A

How are mobile apps making insurance more engaging?

The phone trend is making its way into insurance because people carry their phones around all the time. There is a downside to that as you can miss out on engaging with people socially, but that sort of trend has meant that people will quite gladly take pictures of their accident, use GPS, speak into their phone and capture the information. They’d rather do that than phone somebody for help, because they’d rather hit a button there and then and expect it to be dealt with. We’re seeing three times the level of reporting via the app than via telephone. We think it’s to do with the position of apps and phones in society now, and therefore that is making insurance more accessible.

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We offer an app that can be branded to your business and that says something about your business. Yes you’ll interact with your customers face-to-face, by email, on the telephone etc., but you are moving with the times and offering time saving ways of interacting by using apps. It’s demonstrating that you are innovative and that you understand different people will want to interact in different ways.

We looked at a broker who can save £25,000 on admin a year by introducing an app. They are going to spend that money on supporting their customers in other ways – what a great way to promote their brand and business.

Stephen Marshall ACII, Managing Director, Insure Apps.

The broker or the insurer that has the right app, wi th the right level of accessi bi li ty and intui tiveness, wi ll be the one that the customers move towards

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Property Account Executive – £28 to £30,000 An opportunity for an individual who has been working as a Property Account Handler (preferably International business) to step into an Account Executive role with a leading Lloyd’s Broking Group. The role of the Account Executive will be to manage clients’ insurance requirements in order to achieve targets, develop the business and deliver an excellent and comprehensive service.

Private Capital Operations Assistant – London - £Neg This role would suit an individual with a grounding in the Lloyd’s Market coupled with excellent administrative ability and an interest in fund management. As a Private Capital Operations Assistant, you will assist in the administration associated with all types of corporate members of Lloyd’s of London – both new applicants and existing members.

Property Binding Authority Technician – London to £35,000 We are looking for an individual with a grounding ina Property Binding Authority business from a broking angle, to join a leading Lloyd’s Broker as part of a well established, professional and highly motivated team where you will be responsible for providing binder technical support, dealing with Worldwide property business emanating mostly from North America, including catastrophe exposed areas.

Commercial Account Executive – London - to £35,000 Our client, a well established International Lloyd’s Broker has an opening within their small Corporate and Commercial team for an individual who has gained experience in a similar environment as a Commercial / Corporate Account Handler or Account Executive.

Business Development Executive – London - £25k - £35k (negotiable) plus Car Allowance and Commission We are looking for a Business Development Executive to join a successful and well respected London based loss assessor that specialises in providing a complete property insurance claims management service to clients. The successful candidate will most likely be working for an insurance company, wholesale broker or underwriting agency and have a proven track record of selling a products or servicse to insurance brokers writing property business.

Group Assurance Officer – Various UK - £45k - £50k Our client, a well respected and growing insurance group is looking for a Group Assurance Officer to join their Group Risk & Compliance Department.

Applications are invited from candidates that have experience gained in an insurance broker environment, have done field based compliance monitoring and possess good communication, relationship building and report writing skills Business Analyst / Junior Project Manager – London - £30k - £40k One of the fastest growing technology companies in the London Insurance Market, who develop industry leading Claims Management and Document Management software for Lloyd’s and Company Carriers are currently looking to recruit a Junior Project Manager / Business Analyst to join its London team due to new client wins and continued success.

Account Manager – London - £30 - 40,000 Our client is a niche underwriting agency based in the City of London. Their requirement is for a strong, capable Account Manager who has gained experience in the insurance industry in an Account Handling / Account Management capacity and who is prepared to take on a wider role with operational and administrative elements - not one purely focused on generating business.

Business Producers / Underwriters / MGA Opportunities – London - £Negotiable We are working with a number clients that are particularly interested in individuals and/or teams of underwriters or brokers that have transferable business from a London, Lloyd’s, UK or International perspective. If you are looking for better financial rewards for your expertise and business this could be an excellent opportunity. Please contact us for an initial confidential discussion.

Technician – London (Docklands / City) - £30k - £35k Specialist Lloyd’s broker with offices in the City and Docklands is looking for a Technician with Binding Authority experience. The role will focus on Premium processing for individual risks placed under facilities or in the open market as well as for declarations attaching to in-house binding authorities, Premium bordereau processing and monitoring as well as Earned to incurred production and submission to the markets.

Property Underwriting Assistant – London - £23 to £25,000 Our client is seeking an individual who has a grounding in the insurance industry (preferably Lloyd’s Market) which may have been developed through an internship or work experience. The role will involve providing administrative assistance to the D&F Property Team in underwriting a portfolio of business.

ADVANCING MARKET CAREERS Please contact Shirley or Chris Croucher for further information Tel: 020 7621 1800 or email: insurance@amcinsurance.co.uk - www.amcinsurance.co.uk

FEATURES

Sector Soapbox Modern Insurance’s panel of resident associations outline the burning issues

Can the Spam! t APIL, we hope that 2018 brings about a proper ban on cold calls and texts about personal injury claims. We are not alone. Individuals and organisations from across the sector are in support of a ban.

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Work and pensions minister Baroness Buscombe told the House of Lords in October that an amendment will be tabled to the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill when it reaches committee or report stage in the House of Commons. Committee stage is expected to happen in early 2018. Of course, the exact details of such an amendment are unknown at this stage. The devil will be in the detail. But with the Bill, the Government has an opportunity to put an end to the estimated 51 million calls and texts received each year from regulated and unregulated claims management companies touting for claims.

APIL has been calling for a ban since 2012 when we published a 10-point plan for eliminating fraud in whiplash claims. The disrepute calls and texts bring into the personal injury legal system is far reaching. This area of civil law should be valued for putting injured people back to where they were before they fell victim to negligence. It should be about looking after vulnerable members of society. Instead, this nuisance practice by CMCs encourages attempts to make fraudulent claims and feeds the myth that claimants are simply out to make money for nothing.

APIL launched the Can the Spam! campaign in 2016. Members of the public are encouraged to report nuisance calls and texts, and we work with the Information Commissioners’ Office so that these calls are investigated. Since then we have lobbied ministers and parliamentary committees to support the call for a ban and to move the campaign forward. More recently, we worked with Baroness Altmann on her amendment to the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill. At that time Baroness Buscombe said that legislating “at this stage isn’t the right thing to do”. The Government has resisted a ban repeatedly, although it was quite keen to legislate for a ban on cold calls in relation to pensions.

The Government’s motivation in the Civil Liability Bill is to rid the UK of a so-called “claims culture”. It seems obvious that the Government’s brief would be better met by quashing the calls and texts, rather than restricting the rights of genuine claimants.

The tide appears to be turning in a sensible direction, as far as the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill goes, at least. Whatever form this amendment may take, APIL will continue to push for a ban on cold calling.

Brett Dixon, President of Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

Discount Rate delay hilst no doubt good news for him, solicitor David Gauke’s appointment as Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor has already caused meetings relating to other aspects of ongoing MoJ work to be cancelled, no doubt so that discussions can be had about priorities and portfolios. And, hence, there is delay.

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On 28 November 2017, two days before the publication of the Justice Select Committee’s report on the draft Discount Rate legislation, and in response to a written parliamentary question posed to Mr Gauke’s predecessor, erstwhile Justice Minister Sam Gyimah MP wrote, ‘The Government will respond to the Committee’s conclusions and other comments received on the draft legislation within two months of the publication of the Committee’s report’ - a couple of weeks from now. In the circumstances, that seems unlikely.

Outside of government, the delay resulting from ministerial changes at the MoJ will also no doubt exacerbate the general sense of uncertainty surrounding personal injury claims arising from the whiplash reforms and the expansion of fixed recoverable costs, and it will fuel compensators’ senses of frustration and unfairness at being required to over-compensate yet more claimants under the current discount rate than would otherwise

42 Modern Insurance

have been the case if, as ‘misspoken’ by Lord Keen when giving evidence to the committee in November, ‘…the legislation …[had]… come into force by the early part of [2018]’.

Let us hope that when the government’s response is finally published, the apparent enthusiasm to bring the new legislation in as soon as practicable remains. Notably, however, amongst its various recommendations, the committee’s report, compiled only a few weeks after hearing evidence from industry experts (including FOIL’s own past President, David Johnson), calls for the government to gather ‘…clear and unambiguous evidence…about the way claimants invest their lump sum damages…’ before any new legislation comes into force. Whilst claimants have undeniably failed to provide that evidence to date, if that aspect of the report in particular is listened to, then it seems likely that the first review under any new legislation is a considerable way off yet. For now, perhaps compensators should try to take solace in the adage ‘good things come to those who wait’…

Stephen Hines, President of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) and Barrister at Citygate Chambers Limited.

Issue 29

FEATURES

BIBA’s New Year wish list any of us start a New Year with enthusiasm and good intentions of what we would like to achieve in the coming months, and these usually start with New Year resolutions.

This is no different for BIBA, as it is the time of year that we take stock of what was achieved and what we aim to achieve in the year ahead.

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January saw the launch of the BIBA Manifesto at a Parliamentary reception hosted by Craig Tracey MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Insurance.

Amongst many other things BIBA is looking to achieve in 2018, the following are high on my list, including some aspects relevant to claims:1. It is within Government’s gift to make markets work better and in facilitating productivity in the insurance sector, they could seek to finally make the regulation of insurance more proportionate and give the FCA a global competition objective.

2. To promote market stability, Government needs to answer big Brexit questions relative to the sector. From March/April 2018, the first annual policies will be issued that will expire beyond the scheduled date for UK leaving the EU. How will those policies be dealt with post our departure?

3. Claims Management Companies will hopefully be regulated by the FCA.

4. I hope that the Discount Rate change review is concluded satisfactorily and amendments are made to ensure that claimants receive fair compensation for their injuries and that there is a suitable mechanism for adjusting the rate in relation to future trends.

The continuing concern surrounding under-insurance will remain high on the agenda of both insurers and brokers alike, but following the change to the discount rate, this problem is now firmly a problem with Employers and Public Liability insurance in addition to previous concerns raised about property sums insured and indemnity periods on Business Interruption.

So whilst there has been much progress, there is still much to do, but it is hoped that 2018 will result in further progress in all areas of the insurance market.

Andrew Gibbons ACII, Managing Director, Mason Owen Financial Services Ltd, Chair, Industry Claims Initiative on behalf of BIBA.

One step forward, two steps back he long wait for a ban on cold calling may be coming to an end. Against the wishes of the Government, a cross-party group of Peers successfully forced an amendment into the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, to universally ban cold-calling.

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It is not as straightforward as that of course. The proposal pushed through by the well-meaning Peers would appear to have some major flaws. The Bill, as it currently stands, provides the Secretary of State with the power to introduce a ban on cold calling, but only if recommended by a single financial guidance body which is being established by the Bill. Nor would the Secretary of State have the power to actually enforce the ban. The Government has made the reasonable arguments that this will take time to implement; the body needs to be established, develop a report and recommendations, and the secondary legislation needed to implement. They also questioned whether this new financial guidance body was the appropriate oversight vehicle.

MASS has long called for a ban on cold calling in the PI market by CMCs and others. We recognise, however, that whilst a ban might be one of most important single initiatives to deter fraudulent and other unwanted behaviour, it is only part of the solution.

Fines, enhanced powers for the regulators and caps on the fees that CMCs can charge will all help dissuade poor behaviour and reduce fraud. It will always be imperfect of course. Cold-calls may still originate from overseas, and some claims farmers may go underground in the UK, but by the time the Bill receives Royal Assent, significant progress will hopefully have finally been made in the fight against fraud.

It is little short of tragic that this positive step forward could be counteracted by a whiplash reform programme that will likely open the doors to a resurgent CMC market, resulting in a range of unwanted behaviours that could actively encourage fraud.

Simon Stanfield, Chair of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) and Partner at Simpson Millar.

Government Ministers have said that they will return to the issue when the Bill goes through the House of Commons early in 2018.

It looks likely that they will seek to replace the apparently flawed amendment from the Lords with their own legislative proposals to introduce a ban. In effect, they will tidy up the legislation.

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FEATURES

Sustained collaboration on the road to recovery Jo Evans, Unite Professionals, discusses the importance of collaboration when delivering rehabilitation as a case manager, and the positive impact this can have on the client.

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he 2015 revised rehabilitation code is keen to promote a collaborative approach to the delivery of rehabilitation.

Collaboration is defined as: a situation of two or more people working together to create or achieve the same thing.

Sustained collaboration begins with early agreement on the appointment of the case manager to provide the INA. Guidance suggests that the claimant themselves should ultimately make the decision on which case manager should represent their needs (Wright and Sullivan). The expectation of this document is that it addresses ten domains recognised within the Rehabilitation Code, corroborates relevant injuries and intervention from sight of discharge summary referencing how the injuries impact on the individuals; independence with activities of daily living, leisure, relationships, mental health, access to their community and work.

The case manager is expected to explain their role to the client/ litigation friend confirming independence from the litigation process and obtaining consent to assess. It is important that the client has sight of the INA and agrees the report recommendations are supported by their legal representative.

If the explanation is not clear, clients can feel vulnerable and consent may not be given. The independence of the case manager from the litigation agenda is vital in establishing the trust and recommendations agreed with, the client should be informed by assessment and relevant clinical experience, taking into consideration the personality type and motivators of the individual. A one size fits all approach rarely works.

Case management makes a difference to people when rehabilitation is tailored to the individual, not the injury type.

The INA is not admissible in court, and it is important that it is respected for its intended purpose. The joint referral can be

challenging to an inexperienced case manager as there can be the unfulfillable expectation that this document has to accommodate two masters rather than the client. The skill of an experienced case manager is in maintaining a client centred approach, regularly reflecting/challenging the client and treating clinicians on the progress being made. In addition, completing cost benefit analysis of the input costs against the sustained outcomes for the client updating all stakeholders. CMSUK provides annual training for new case managers to extend their awareness of the PI arena.

A seamless approach to communication ensures individuals across many agencies, private and statutory, disseminate information regarding rehabilitation. Silos of treatment rarely realise the best outcome for the client or empower them to take more ownership of their own rehabilitation goals.

Keeping the client’s position central, supporting the process through funding under the rehab code and conference calls to transparently address any issues which arise are positive ways to maintain collaboration, which can successfully continue throughout the rehab process. This is reliant on stakeholders trusting the case manager’s clinical aptitude, ability to work flexibly to maintain the momentum of the case and the client’s rehab progress.

Finally, a comment from a client illustrates the point of the process well: “I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope with my injuries, it was tough. I needed my case manager and the rehabilitation funds she made possible to make a real difference to the outcome of the surgeries, and although I did not achieve all my goals, I have a good understanding of how to continue to improve. My life is different but the things that are most important to me I can do now and I can work, differently, but I can work as I have done all my life to support my family.“ Jo Evans, Managing Director, Unite Professionals Ltd Case Management and sits on the board of CMSUK.

Case management makes a difference to people when rehabilitation is tailored to the individual, not the injury type

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Keeping the client’s position central, supporting the process through funding under the rehab code and conference calls to transparently address any issues which arise are positive ways to maintain collaboration

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FEATURES

Industry Innovators Interview:

Phoebe Hugh, Brolly This issue’s Industry Innovator is Brolly, the self-styled personal insurance concierge. We spoke to Co-founder & CEO, Phoebe Hugh, about how the new entrant aims to improve choice for the consumer through the utilisation of artificial intelligence.

Q A Q A

How would you describe Brolly in three words?

Making insurance fairer.

What makes Brolly different from traditional insurance companies?

We’re building the smartest insurance aggregator in the world. Brolly does not – yet - offer insurance ourselves, but instead helps customers find the best insurance from the market.

We’re different from traditional insurance companies in that we’re a technology company first and foremost; everything we do is focused on giving our customers a seamless experience, powered

by AI for the best insights.

The insurance market is broken, and the current model is not sustainable for customers.

We’re using technology to build the next generation insurance marketplace

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Q A

What would you identify as the gap in the market that Brolly aims to fill?

People feel as though they are being taken advantage of, and they are. 25% of the population think they don’t have access to enough information to decide between insurance products. And it’s hard to find the best deal each year; over 65% people use price comparison sites, which is time consuming and focuses on the lowest price, meaning you’re not always getting the best cover.

Once you’ve made the decision, you have to keep track of all your policies that come up for renewal at different times throughout the year. For the average person, that’s five to six policies. And then you have to go through the whole process again, as insurance companies increase insurance premiums every year. In fact, after five years, loyal customers pay 75% more than new customers, which results in overspending of over £10 billion each year in the UK alone.

The insurance market is broken, and the current model is not sustainable for customers. We’re using technology to build the next generation insurance marketplace. People simply don’t engage with insurance, and so we’re trying to automate the decision-making process to make sure that customers are always getting the best price and the right cover. There is an incredible opportunity to make insurance fairer, easier and far more affordable for people.

Issue 29

FEATURES

After five years, loyal customers pay 75% more than new customers, which results in overspending of over £10 billion each year in the UK alone

Q A

What were the main challenges in standing out and establishing yourself in a competitive market?

Q A

How is the wider industry responding to challenges in your area of the market, and how are you tackling these?

We are treading new ground, as nobody has done quite what we’re setting out to do before, although market adoption will be a challenge. So far we’ve grown organically with zero spend on marketing, though to take our product to the mass market we have to go up against the price comparison sites, who collectively spend over £130 million on marketing every year and dominate distribution. Changing consumer behaviour is hard, as not only do we have to get in front of people, we have to convince them that changing their behaviour is in their best interest, and show them the value of change.

There are other new entrants in insurance focusing on providing insurance in one vertical, for instance on-demand car insurance for those who just need cover for a few hours or a couple of days, or innovative approaches to distributing unused risk pool income for good causes. We see the innovation in insurance verticals as long overdue and really exciting, as it means better insurance for people. This works really well with our model, as the more accurately insured people are the better, and it all needs to be managed somewhere! We’re in a unique position as we sit between customers and insurers, and can design insurance around people. We are already noticing gaps and overlap in customer portfolios, which gives us insight into product needs and opportunities.

Q A

How are new consumer buying habits forcing change in the insurance industry?

Consumers expect to be able to transact on their mobile phones and to have a more tailored experience. People want access to information and for things to be easy. These are not qualities that come to mind when you look at the insurance sector, so any company actually solving these will drive customers to try new products and services. When the market starts to feel the impact of customers moving to new products, they will be forced to change or will be left behind.

Q A

How is technology influencing Brolly’s service offering, and how will this be developed in the future?

Q A

What’s unique about the culture of Brolly?

Q A

Where do you see Brolly this time next year?

Q A

What advice would you give to anyone else looking to disrupt the insurance industry?

We believe that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to make better decisions on behalf of people, which is a driver behind how we accomplish our mission to create a fairer insurance market, where customers always have the right insurance protection and are paying the right price. We’re already using machine learning, a form of AI, to find insurance policies in people’s inboxes; and to advise customers on which insurance products they might be missing. In the future, we’ll be optimising insurance portfolios based on our understanding of people’s personal circumstances and preferences, combined with a deep understanding of the insurance market.

The team is really smart, and there is nobody in the company with an insurance background apart from me, so everyone brings a really different experience, mindset and skill set. We are building an autonomous culture where everyone is given a lot of ownership to solve customer problems, speaking with customers and looking at data. This speeds up our iteration cycles and means we don’t have bottlenecks such as managers slowing down decision-making.

This time next year, we will have multiple insurance products available in our shop and will have our automatic insurance switching feature running. We hope that we’ll be able to start creating real impact in people’s lives, saving them money and ensuring that they’ve got the right protection; and enabling as many people as possible to be part of that.

People and businesses face many problems with their insurance, and it’s a massive market, so there is plenty of value to be created. My advice would be to find a problem worth solving, speak to as many customers as possible to validate your assumptions, and build a minimum viable product to test. You also have to be willing to change your beliefs if you find that your assumptions are wrong. The main thing is to just ‘do it’ - take the plunge and see how it goes!

Phoebe Hugh is Co-founder & CEO of Brolly. If you think you could be on of Modern Insurance’s Industry Innovators, get in touch and tell us why.

Issue 29

Modern Insurance 47

FEATURES

Clinical negligence: getting the balance right Niall Dickson explains why the current system for clinical negligence is costing the NHS too much money and creating a culture of fear among NHS staff, and he discusses how the NHS Confederation is calling for improvements for staff and for claimants.

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he NHS Confederation has brought together a coalition of organisations to reform the system of clinical negligence in England – last year the health service paid out £1.7 billion.

The current and rising cost of clinical negligence claims is unacceptable and we believe we have passed the point when government should have acted. Our publicly funded healthcare system is not only spending a vast amount on meeting claims but is facing costs that are rising at the rate of 12% a year.

The current liability for claims in England is a staggering £65 billion, enough to run the entire NHS for around six months.

The current liability for claims in England is a staggering £65 billion, enough to run the entire NHS for around six months

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FEATURES

We are making progress, but we have not yet got this balance right between the need for accountability and the need to make sure blame is a last, not a first, resort It must be right that patients harmed by the NHS should be compensated fairly and it is essential that the NHS should do everything possible to reduce and, where it can, eliminate mistakes, but we have got the balance wrong. There is also undoubtedly more the service can do in the way it manages the situation when things have gone wrong.

But the reality is that billions of pounds are being diverted that would otherwise be available to provide care and treatment for the mass of NHS patients.

It is right too that claimants should have access to appropriate legal advice, but we do need to ask whether the amounts currently spent on legal fees can be justified, for example where more of the award goes in fees than is paid out to the claimant.

Likewise, some cases are pursued to the door of the court, only then to be withdrawn, leaving the NHS out of pocket and with at least the suspicion that the other side were ‘trying it on’. If we are to develop a fairer system, the input of the legal profession will be vital, as will the voice of victims and their families.

March 2017 has pushed compensation payments in personal injury cases where there is an element of future care costs and earnings.

This change needs to be implemented as quickly as possible, either as part of the forthcoming Civil Liability Bill or through a single purpose bill.

But we also need more fundamental reform. The rising cost of awards is not justified or affordable but is also damaging patient care.

The Government has committed to publishing a cross departmental strategy by September on controlling the rising cost of clinical negligence. It is vital that the debate around this is measured and that all parties have a voice in shaping the future. Ultimately we need to find a solution that ensures patients who have been injured continue to receive compensation that is fair, consistent and based on their needs whilst also ensuring the overall cost is affordable to society.

A terrible place

A culture of fear

But to be clear, the NHS is facing massive bills, not because it is becoming less safe – quite the contrary – it is because the current system, government policy (or lack of it) and the courts’ interpretation of their responsibilities have taken us to a terrible place. This is neither just nor inevitable. Other countries have found better ways of achieving a balance between the legitimate need to compensate those who have been harmed, and what is reasonable and affordable for society to pay out. This is all the more pertinent given we have a healthcare system that is free at the point of use and, in most cases, capable of meeting the healthcare needs of the population.

We now have a culture where too many professionals are frightened of being sued, which in turn affects the way they practice. The impact is insidious and hard to nail down, but defensive medicine can cause practitioners to intervene too much and too often, subjecting patients to unnecessary tests and investigations and subjecting the health service to unnecessary costs.

We need action now. That is why we recently joined forces with a range of interested organisations to urge the Lord Chancellor to act. As a start, we desperately need him to implement reforms to how compensation payments are calculated. This would reduce the impact of a decision made by his predecessor that has had the disastrous effect of further inflating awards.

The ‘discount rate’ determines how damages are calculated – the decision to change the rate from plus 2.5% to minus 0.75% in

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Ironically, it can also ferment a culture that is less open, with doctors and other health professionals being less willing to admit mistakes. A litigious environment dominated by fear and blame is not conducive to best practice.

Instead we need to develop an open culture that encourages learning when things have gone wrong, and which encourages everyone to do everything possible to make care as safe as it can be. We are making progress, but we have not yet got this balance right between the need for accountability and the need to make sure blame is a last, not a first, resort.

Calling for the legal reform of anything in the current political climate may seem a lost cause, but there will come a time when parliamentarians can think of something other than Brexit, and we need to lay the groundwork now.

Niall Dickson is the Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation.

Modern Insurance 49

FEATURES

Specialist recruiters: the way forward Chris Croucher, AMC Insurance Appointments Ltd, outlines what today’s candidates are looking for from potential employers and how insurance companies can alter their approaches to recruitment in order to acquire the best possible talent. believe that the insurance industry has never been a more attractive and relevant place to build a long-term career in than it is today. There are few major events that happen in the world that don’t have significant insurance implications; after all, we have only just seen the back of the ‘Beast from the East’!

Flexible working is another subject that is often raised, although usually only by candidates. Many of our clients embrace flexible working in a variety of ways and see the benefits. However, research has found that less than 10% of jobs are advertised with options to work flexibly. If it is an option, make it clear!

Recruitment is about acquiring new talent to help businesses grow whilst also remembering the importance of retaining the talent that you have already probably invested a significant amount of time, money and effort in developing.

So how do you attract the best talent? Ensuring you always use a specialist will go a long way.

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In terms of attracting talent, surely more can be done to promote careers in insurance, within schools as well as universities, and the wide range of jobs that are available; let new entrants understand that it is not just about underwriting or broking!

Whilst an attractive salary will always be an important factor for people at all stages of their career, candidates have become more interested in what a company is like to work for, what their culture, philosophies and aims are and what support they provide for training and professional qualifications. Employers have to address these areas and continue to do so to not only attract but retain the best talent. With the competition for finding talent so intense, it is also important that companies can move quickly when presented with the highest quality candidates.

Diversity and inclusion is quite rightly a hot topic right now, and some very good work is going on within the insurance industry to address these issues, notably by Lloyd’s itself with the annual Dive In Festival. There is however a long way to go, and where specific skill sets are in short supply, thought should be given to developing skills matrices to identify less obvious candidates that could also be considered.

Anonymous CVs are not the way forward in my opinion. Everyone should be proud of who they are and what they have achieved in their careers. They should not feel pressurised to hide information or, in the case of older workers, feel that they have to accept lower salaries than their experience should command. With a perceived talent shortage in the insurance industry workers of all ages should be welcomed with open arms.

There are benefits of using specialists, quite apart from the cost and time saving compared to companies trying to do it all themselves.

The best specialist insurance recruiters will have worked in technical insurance roles themselves and developed contacts from that side of the industry over a period of many years. Such detailed knowledge cannot easily be trained or learned. Whilst improvements in technology and the emergence of LinkedIn and other forms of social media have helped, not everyone is on LinkedIn or necessarily happy to be contacted that way.

We work closely with the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) who do a tremendous amount of work for the recruitment industry. They also conduct insightful research on issues that are relevant to everyone involved in recruitment. For example, the REC’s research ‘Perfect Match’, published last year, highlights that making a bad decision when hiring can be a very costly mistake, estimating that the cost of a poor hire at midmanager level with a salary of £42,000 could cost a company as much as £132,015!

I would also like to see more insurance organisations sign up to the REC’s excellent Good Recruitment Campaign.

Can you afford not to partner up with specialists?

Chris Croucher MIRP is Managing Director of AMC Insurance Appointments Ltd.

Wi th the competi tion for finding talent so intense, i t is also important that companies can move quickly when presented wi th the highest quali ty candidates 50 Modern Insurance

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FEATURES

The client takes centre stage Shaf Govind, CRDN (Europe) Ltd, explains the role of a specialist clothing restorer in an insurance claim to save money and help policyholders. ertified Restoration Drycleaning Network or CRDN started providing support to the UK’s insurance industry in 2001 and, as our name implies, we are the people who are called when a claim has clothing that needs to be restored.

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We can also help with getting some emergency items back in a very short period. Business dress and school uniform are key items that often mean an insurer pays out for replacements when the owned items can be quickly restored and returned, saving the insurance company money on replacing the items.

Many of the people we meet have just suffered a huge traumatic event in their lives, and it’s not untypical for them to have a procession of tradespeople and insurance specialists visiting them in a very short period of time. We know from experience that seeing the remains of their lives dumped into a skip outside the shell of their home adds massively to the pressures and stresses they are already under.

Once we have an idea of the items that fall into our scope, we start to carry out a full detailed inventory; we go room by room making detailed notes and taking photographs of items. At the end of this process, we give the policyholder their own copy, detailing what we have taken and into which bag it went.

So we start by putting the homeowner in the centre of our process by conducting a triage process with them. Ideally, we will get to the home before the strip out has started. This enables us to capture the details of the claim and get an understanding from the policyholder about exactly what items have been contaminated by the incident.

Why is this important? The simple answer is insurance claims can take a long time to settle. We will have the items restored and ready for return in a matter of weeks. However, building works can take a lot longer. Once we have completed the restoration, we store the policyholder’s items, cleaned and ready for them. But if the season changes and you want your winter coats returned or your beachwear ready for a holiday, then you need to know which items these are. And a detailed inventory helps this.

People hold on to and store things for a variety of reasons; they may have a sentimental attachment to them, they can be heirlooms or just clothes they feel comfortable in and with. It’s our job to explain what can and cannot be restored. Luckily, we manage to restore 98% of what we collect, and if we can’t restore it then we don’t charge for it. But not everything needs or even warrants restoration; inexpensive cheap t-shirts or unwanted clothes just eat up the amount of money available for the claim.

It’s amazing how many people have clothing in the back of the wardrobe ready for “one day” when it may fit again or come back into fashion.

We have developed processes not available on the high street or from a domestic washing machine. We get 98% of the items we take away cleaned, and if we can’t, then we don’t charge for them, and we are around 84% cheaper than replacing someone’s complete wardrobe of clothing.

Restoring treasured items, saving the insurer money and giving people back their lives; that’s what we are all about.

Shaf Govind is Managing Director of CRDN (Europe) Ltd.

Business dress and school uni form are key i tems that often mean an insurer pays out for replacements when the owned i tems can be quickly restored and returned

The better way to manage leads and onboard new clients Issue 29

Capture all incoming enquiries

Track and manage ongoing communications

For a free demonstration

01274 704100

Easily create live client files

info@eclipselegal.co.uk eclipselegal.co.uk/capture

Modern Insurance 51

Just a thought

Just a thought

from Eddie Longworth Stop obsessing about customer satisfaction in the claims department. don’t know who invented the concept of customer satisfaction, but they did a grave disservice to the claims department. Like many other well-intentioned beginnings, it has become a destructive force of original thinking, solutions delivery and genuine understanding of root causes.

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The obsessive pursuit of customer satisfaction in the claims department has resulted in little that is satisfying but much that is confusing, unnecessarily costly and the creation of a tool – the dreaded CSI score – that serves only to distract from the true tasks at hand.

The job of the claims department is not to ‘satisfy’ a narrow band of claimants but to ‘get it right’ for the whole business

Claims has more than one customer Firstly, we need to understand that claimants are not the only ‘customers’ of the claims department. True, they are the only consumers of the services on offer but it seems to me that the claims department is also entrusted with protecting the interests of a great many other people, not the least of which are the 90% or so of policyholders not making a claim in any given year.

After all, the quickest and easiest way to generate great satisfaction ratings with claimants is to spend money on them.

That money might be in the form of direct fulfilment costs that are poorly controlled (but easy to spend), or it might be in the form of inappropriate investment in structures, people and process, which are deemed to be customer friendly and therefore worthy of the cost.

Consciously seeking dissatisfied customers Paradoxically, the customer whose claim is denied for some valid reason would be the most dissatisfied of people (which is why their views are rarely canvassed), but in this instance that is exactly what the claims department is trying to achieve – a dissatisfied customer.

One who might score a big fat zero on any CSI scale.

Even if the claim is not actually denied, it might still be that the right course of action would be to restrict restoration in some way, or to ask for a betterment payment, or to be legitimately exacting in defining scope of works, all of which would lead to a degree of dissatisfaction amongst claimants.

Doing the ‘right’ thing for an individual claimant as defined by the needs of all claimants, all policyholders, all of the business and the shareholders is often the quickest way to lower a CSI rating. So the natural human instinct is to do the exact opposite, especially when the powers that be are excessively focused on an arbitrary scale that can be swayed more by the way in which survey questions are asked than the operational details of the services being provided.

We encourage suppliers to make it worse To make it even worse, we often demand of suppliers that they also seek an uplift in CSI scores and so they too are subjected to the same pressures to find an easy solution.

So now the poor insurance company and their non-claiming policyholders is subject to the double-whammy of supplier distraction from the real issues, piled upon the potentially profligate and misguided practices of the claims department itself.

52 Modern Insurance

To me, the claims department sits as a central hub of monetary and service management that is answerable in varying degrees to claimants, policyholders, underwriting, shareholders and even brokers. To obsess on a single measure of CSI driven by the narrow and understandably self-interested demands of claimants who are seeking immediate restitution is to miss the whole point of a claims operation. The consequences can be serious distortion in the way services are designed and delivered, costed and financed, resourced and managed.

A new index of claims outcome So, my suggestion is simple.

Abandon all attempts to solely measure and pursue the current definitions and descriptions of customer satisfaction. Instead, what we need is a new matrix of claims scorecard that balances the needs of the varying stakeholders and produces a meaningful score for the whole claims function, which would certainly include a CSI, but only as one element and, to my mind, not even the key factor.

Dubbed the COI – Claims Outcome Index – this new measure will bring the focus back onto what the claims department is supposed to be doing. The job of the claims department is not to ‘satisfy’ a narrow band of claimants but to ‘get it right’ for the whole business.

Eddie Longworth is Director at JEL Consulting.

Issue 29

CASE STUDIES

Eclipse secures deal with international loss adjuster, Spotlite Claims pecialist loss adjuster, Spotlite Claims, is implementing the Proclaim Case Management Software solution from Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

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Based in Hertfordshire, Spotlite Claims specialises in providing loss adjusting services to the entertainment industry internationally. Its core services cover film and television claims, contingency, adverse weather, advertising, and cancellations of musical, sporting and leisure events. With over 35 years’ experience, the team combines strong, technical industry and adjusting skills with consistent and efficient customer service.

Darren Gower

Due to the nature of work carried out at the firm, it required a configurable case management system to ensure all files, claims and documents could be dealt with consistently and in keeping with Spotlite Claims’ standards.

of the system to fit in line with requirements – including screens, data fields, reports, workflows and documents.

In addition, Proclaim’s Task Server tool will provide the firm with a solution to administrative hurdles, automating regular tasks and carrying out labour-intensive duties such as creating and distributing reports.

Steven Jones, Spotlite Claims’ Operations Director, comments: “With such specific requirements, the search for a robust yet flexible case management system has been somewhat challenging. After meeting with Eclipse however, it became clear that its Proclaim solution could – and will – provide complete customisation, ensuring my team can progress cases efficiently, and in the manner our clients have become accustomed to.”

For further information, please contact Darren Gower, Marketing Director at Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita plc, via darren.gower@eclipselegal.co.uk or call 01274 704100. Alternatively, visit www.eclipselegal.co.uk

The company has selected Eclipse’s Proclaim Case Management Software solution thanks to its inherent flexibility and userfriendliness. Utilising Proclaim’s wide range of market-leading toolsets, the management team will be able to tailor any element

Rachel Culyer - Supporting the client achel Culyer, case manager with Unite Professionals Ltd, was voted runner up in the CMSUK Case Manager of the Year 2017 awards. This overview focuses on a client she recently supported. A jointly referred case, both TPI and claimant solicitor were keen to engage with Unite Professionals and agreed Rachel’s CV on the basis of skill set, Rachel Culyer relevant CM experience and locality. Injuries sustained were complex, including brain injury and incomplete spinal injury.

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Rachel was extremely proactive ensuring she made early contact with the client’s partner and the clinical team within the rehabilitation unit. This collaborative relationship enabled Rachel to regularly provide information relating to the client’s previous interests, physical abilities and challenges regarding discharge destination. The Claimant Lawyer noted that “Rachel provided significant support to my client and his family, to help them in coming to terms with significant trauma as well as other delicate issues - dealing throughout with the utmost sensitivity and dedication”.

The client’s home was inaccessible and unable to be adapted, necessitating urgent identification of an appropriate rental bungalow. Funding of the property was agreed under the rehabilitation code until the long term physical picture was clearer.

Rachel also identified and agreed funding under the rehab code for private hydrotherapy, offering critical access to regular conditioning and exercise therapy, facilitating significant and sustained improvement in her client’s mobility as well as enhancing statutory physiotherapy.

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Rachel facilitated regular dialogue between private and statutory services, relevant to the new home environment and local community access, ensuring the client and his partner’s priorities for rehabilitation were always central to the process and that intervention was meaningful and motivational, helping to make rehabilitation part of his daily routine.

Direct payments were sought to meet social care needs and helped fund the employment of an enabler to continue supporting the rehabilitation programme, guided by statutory services on discharge. Following discharge, CM continued to advocate under the rehabilitation code, funding for other therapies including occupational therapy, music therapy to promote ongoing independence and education within the home, local community and even holidays abroad.

The provision of regular updates to both sides under the joint referral was maintained throughout the journey of the claim, delivering transparency and collaboration in the process. The insurer’s feedback was glowing in praise: “Rachel’s caring and conscientious approach is self-evident in how she works with her clients as well as the way she negotiates the difficult tightrope between insurers and claimant lawyers to make sure that the injured person remains at the heart of the process and that an optimum outcome for them is achieved. I will always instruct Rachel in the future to assist people when they and their family are struggling to deal with a life changing injury.”

Rachel Culyer, Operations Manager and Senior Case Manager, Taunton office. Tel 01704 508777, admin@uniteprofessioanls.co.uk Rachel was a finalist at the CMSUK Catastrophic Case Manager of the Year Awards 2017.

Modern Insurance 53

10 MINUTES WITH

Marc Lafferty Q A

The key positive change for us is the increased collaboration between companies across the insurance sector

Perhaps strangely, I’m going to say yes and no. The industry is undoubtedly developing, and will continue to do so as technological advances accelerate the move towards autonomous vehicles.

At EDAM Group, we are slowly overcoming this by delivering an exceptional service at every opportunity. Clear communication at every stage of the process educates the customer, while also putting their mind at ease and ensuring their mobility. Our service levels are proven with our industry-leading Net Promoter Score of 74, and we encourage other companies to adopt a similar approach to help change how credit hire is seen by the public.

However, the increased levels of technology available are not exclusive to the vehicles, and updates to our internal systems for managing the customer journey have transformed our processes.

This has created efficiencies across the board, meaning we can deal with each claim more effectively.

Q A

While the introduction of autonomous vehicles will drastically change how the industry operates, until that happens the changes we experience will be a case of evolution not revolution. The fundamentals of our services haven’t changed, merely the systems that support them. Internally, our focus has always been on delivering the best possible customer service, and that is never going to change.

If I had to give a single name in a business context, I would say Richard Branson. How he has been able to continually grow his business is commendable, and I admire him for his ability to pick great leaders and surround himself with excellent individuals.

Has the industry changed drastically since you started working in it?

Who inspires you and why?

That’s an interesting one as throughout my career I have been inspired by many people. That isn’t limited to those working in similar environments either, as you can learn a great deal by looking elsewhere to see how others adapt to varied situations. In particular, I am inspired by those who have overcome great adversity.

Our ‘Roadworthy Repair Scheme’ is a good example of this, where we’ve updated the process of inspecting and replacing a damaged vehicle to provide minimal disruption to the customer, while improving communication between the inspecting engineer and the garage. That can’t be described as a drastic change, but is a way by which we’ve innovated the claims process to the benefit of our customers.

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Q A

One of the best pieces of advice I was given a few years ago now was ‘back your instincts’. Intriguingly, I have got better at doing so with greater experience (and age!), as your instincts will always help you to remember, and learn from, your mistakes. Undoubtedly, key business decisions need to be based on facts, figures, information and insights; but I am a firm believer that your gut will always give you a good steer when it comes down to it.

That friction causes inefficiencies across the entire industry, and you end up with an endless cycle of companies billing each other for conflicting work. By taking an open and honest approach, we build trust with other companies, helping to keep the cost recovery stage efficient and fair.

Q A

What has been the key positive or negative change in your area of the market?

The key positive change for us is the increased collaboration between companies across the insurance sector. A source of significant delays to the claims process is when friction exists between the insurers and the involved partners.

Trust extends to those outside of the industry too, where parts of the industry are perceived quite negatively by members of the public. That is predominantly down to lack of knowledge, so a few high-profile examples of poor practice have created longstanding, incorrect views. As an industry, we collectively have to overcome these perceptions.

Have you had/got a mentor? If so, what was the most valuable piece of advice they gave you?

It is impossible for me to single out just one individual for that, as I have received great advice from a great number of people throughout my career.

If you were not in your current position, what would you be doing?

Not a clue! I have had so many different senior roles throughout my career, and they have really varied in terms of the people I’ve worked with and the sectors I’ve operated in. However, I would definitely be doing something interesting that provided me with fresh challenges, while being involved in leading a business that was trying to make a difference.

Marc Lafferty, Chief Revenue Officer, EDAM Group.

SAVE THE DATE UK Customer Service Excellence Awards Wednesday 25th April 2018 Café de Paris, London CONTACT Event enquiries | ellie.campbell@charltongrant.co.uk | 01765 600909 Sponsorship enquiries | rachael.pearson@charltongrant.co.uk | 01765 600909

54 Modern Insurance

Issue 29

The better way to manage leads and onboard new clients Capturing new client details is vital if you are to maximise your marketing efforts and get files off to a clean start. Eclipse Capture enables you to do this faster, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively.

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Eclipse is the UK’s favourite legal software provider, with our Law Society Endorsed Proclaim solution in use by 25,000 people in 1,000 businesses. Our experience in providing software for law firms of all shapes and sizes means that we understand your problems and know how to solve them.

For a free demonstration

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