Modern Insurance Magazine - Motor Insurance: Driving Synergies Supplement

Driving Synergies

right people. right skills. right technology.

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END-TO-END COMPLETE CLAIMS & LEGAL SOLUTION

Welcome Our very special Modern Insurance Supplement - Motor Insurance: Driving Synergies - is the result of a fantastic collaboration with a range of key voices from the industry.

Focusing on synergies, solutions provision and customer centricity, this supplement concentrates on the interaction and cooperation between those within the motor insurance world and aims to bring you an update on what you can expect moving forward.

You can find an article from Andrew Chandler, Sales Director at FMG, who discusses FNOL and its critical role in the claims journey. Peter Goodright, General Manager at Nationwide Vehicle Assistance, surveys the vehicle recovery and storage landscape, taking a look at how things used to be, what you can expect today, and some future innovations to look forward to. Kirsty McKno, Chair of the CHO, gives an update on the evolution of the CHO as we move forward into a new world of claims; and James Billham, Founder and Managing Director of Verius Risk Solutions Limited, highlights the need for further collaboration if we are to fight fraud effectively and efficiently.

Steve Turner, CEO att EDAM Group, questions how we can raise the skills base within firms to ensure that we are providing an innovation and seamless insurance journey and transaction; while Anna Fleming, COO at MIB, discusses the new portal, and why the consumer is at the centre of its construction. Increased collaboration is Jason Tripp’s vision. The Managing Director of Coplus, outlines the big picture benefits of outsourced claims collaboration.

S&G Response are celebrating ten years of business, and Dan Chesney, Commercial Director, touches on what factors he believes have driven their business into the success it is met with today. Lucy Woods, CEO at AX, answers our questions on flexibility and its role in the approach to replacement mobility. ControlExpert UK’s Regional Managing Director, Paul Sykes, examines the balance between technology and human expertise and experience as processes, products and solutions start to evolve.

David Williams, Managing Director of Underwriting and Technical Services at AXA Insurance (UK) considers vehicle capability as changes in risk and technology are influencing the future of mobility; and finally, Donna Scully, Director at Carpenters Group, updates us on the whiplash reforms, fraud, and customers’ expectations of the claims journey.

Poppy Green Editor Modern Insurance Magazine 01765 600909 @Modern_Poppy poppy@charltongrant.co.uk

Modern Insurance Magazine is published by Charlton Grant Ltd ©2019 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.

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Contents 6

FNOL, the critical role in the claims journey

Andrew Chandler, Sales Director at FMG, discusses FNOL, the first touch point with the policyholder, and how this can significantly impact both the customer experience, and the costs associated with the incident.

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A roundup on recovery

A lot has changed over the last twenty years in the world of vehicle recovery and storage.

Here, Peter Goodright, General Manager at Nationwide Vehicle Assistance (NWVA), takes a look at how things used to be, what you can expect today and some future innovations to look forward to.

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A new world for claims

Kirsty McKno, Chair of the Credit Hire Organisation (CHO), gives us an update on the evolution of the CHO as we move into a new world of claims.

22 Increasing broker value through outsourced claims collaboration

24 Driving synergies

James Bilham, Founder and Managing Director of Verius Risk Solutions Limited, highlights the need for further collaboration in the insurance industry if we are to fight fraud effectively and efficiently.

17 New risks from future mobility

Safety is paramount but there is a cost to safety. David Williams, Managing Director of Underwriting and Technical Services at AXA Insurance (UK), considers vehicle capability as changes in risk and technology are influencing the future of mobility.

18 Times have changed

The next generation of customers are placing new challenges on the sector. What can we do to raise the skills base within firms to ensure that we are providing an innovative and seamless insurance journey and transaction throughout? Steve Turner, CEO att EDAM Group, discusses.

21 Building a new journey to compensation

Anna Fleming, Chief Operations Officer at the Motors Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), discusses the new portal, and why the consumer is at the centre of its construction.

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Dan Chesney, Commercial Director at S&G Response, celebrates ten years in business while touching on synergies, solutions provision and customer centricity, all factors that have driven the business into the success it is met with today.

27 Insurance recap: Whiplash, fraud & the claims journey

14 Fighting the fraudster

Jason Tripp, Managing Director of Coplus, sees evolution coming in the form of increased collaboration between brokers and insurers.

Here he outlines his vision and the big picture benefits.

Donna Scully, Director at Carpenters Group, updates us on current affairs within the insurance industry, focusing on the implementation of the whiplash reforms next year, fighting fraud, and customers’ expectations of the claims journey.

30 Embracing flexibility

Flexibility is playing a greater role in the approach to replacement mobility, and as Lucy Woods, CEO at AX, explains, customer’s requirements are changing and we as an industry need to be prepared to accommodate their wants and needs, otherwise you could be left behind.

33 The rise of technology

Technology, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI), is continuing to drive greater efficiencies within the motor claims space. Paul Sykes, Regional Managing Director of ControlExpert UK, discusses the balance between technology and human expertise and experience as processes, products and solutions start to evolve.

Customers rate us as Excellent Find out why For accident aftercare & innovation solutions

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FNOL Andrew Chandler, Sales Director at FMG, discusses FNOL, the first touch point with the policyholder, and how this can significantly impact both the customer experience, and the costs associated with the incident.

Whether an insurer or outsource provider, the First Notification of Loss (FNOL) is likely to be the first direct contact with a policyholder, and one of the most important processes in the claims resolution cycle 6 | Driving Synergies Supplement

The critical role in the claims journey

What is it that we need, but hope to never use?

The answer? Insurance.

We all know the importance of being protected in the event of the unexpected occurring, that’s why we purchase insurance policies: to safeguard ourselves and be put back in the position we were in if things hadn’t gone wrong. At the same time, however, we hope to never make use of such policies. Should we need to, we want the experience to be as simple, straightforward and positive as possible.

In the case of motor insurance, when a vehicle is damaged, written-off or stolen, the initial report is the first step that takes place in the claim lifecycle. Whether an insurer or outsource provider, the First Notification of Loss (FNOL) is likely to be the first direct contact with a policyholder, and one of the most important processes in the claims resolution cycle. It is the highest value customer touch-point and remains a critical ‘moment of truth’ in the journey - presenting the single-best opportunity to deliver on the promise of a differentiated claim service.

This first touch point can significantly impact both the customer experience, and the costs associated with the incident.

Primarily with motor claims, when policyholders come to make a claim, they want to pick up the phone, engage with a real person, be listened to, empathised with and reassured; they want that individual at the

Drivers need to understand how FNOL impacts on the lifecycle of the claims journey, and be continually educated on the importance of good practice, most importantly, prompt reporting other end of the phone to understand their situation and take control of putting things right.

As an outsource provider, we are perhaps more aware of all the nuances in the handling of the FNOL process.

We work with a myriad of customers, all of whom want us to deliver a customer journey based on their philosophy, brand values and in-line with their committed levels of service. It’s important that the experience their customers have when liaising with a trusted partner seamlessly reflects the way they do business.

Our dedicated FNOL department is made up of a team of people with outstanding customer service skills; having the right individuals with the right attitudes and behaviors at the start of the journey is paramount. We know we can build on our peoples’ skills and expertise of the FNOL and system processes through our dedicated claims training and learning modules; we also look to instill behaviours in our people to show genuine care and empathy during what is, for most, an unknown and anxious situation.

In addition to having the right people at the start of our claims process, our focus is placed on two integral elements: speed, and accuracy of information recorded.

In terms of speed of reporting, this is an area which can provide the biggest advantage, yet all too often becomes the catalyst for claims inflation. Research has shown that the average cost of a claim when reported within 2 hours is £1,250 compared with over £5,000 when there is a delay (Source: Zurich Global Corporate UK). Delays in reporting the incident also drastically reduce the opportunity to capture and control the thirdparty costs.

While the timing of reporting an incident is critical, so too is the information gathered at the scene. Quality of information captured at FNOL is essential to the speed and success of the incident management process. Poor management of incidents leads to delayed validation, claims leakage, delays in authorising repairs, lengthy and protracted repairs and lengthy liability decisions.

The nature of our FNOL claims process enables the detailed capture of the incident circumstances, allowing us to allocate and progress the claim with minimal further effort from the policyholder.

Our in-house developed software, Ingenium, has built-in capability to guide customer service representatives through the loss reporting process. Our FNOL solution uses step by step questioning to guide the call, with the answers provided determining the next set of questions or options. The prompts are based on pre-set rules which are unique for each customer, whether this be an insurer, broker or fleet etc. The Ingenium system also identifies and allocates the anticipated work to the most appropriate repair/recovery solution utilising the information captured, including location, vehicle type and damage sustained.

The accuracy of information, which we collect during the initial call, determines the course of best action

for each individual claim, including liability, third party involvement, loss recovery, and hire/courtesy car solutions. A mistake at this stage can result in claim mis-direction, with potential implications of delays, complaints and additional costs incurred.

Good practice should highlight the importance to drivers involved in incidents of reporting their claim as instantaneously as possible - as long as it is safe to do so. A driver’s first step following an incident should be to phone through to the relevant insurer or support provider.

Drivers need to understand how FNOL impacts on the lifecycle of the claims journey, and be continually educated on the importance of good practice, most importantly, prompt and accurate reporting.

There are many ways a refined FNOL process will bring benefit to a business; customer experience will be amplified, claims processing cycle times will be reduced, claim mitigation efforts will be improved and resources will be optimised.

Andrew Chandler is the Sales Director at FMG.

Top tips for effective FNOL Management: 1. Invest in the right individuals delivering outstanding customer service at every interaction 2. Managed claim process through increased automation and business rules management 3. Improved quality and quantity of data captured during the initial claim reporting 4. Embed ‘the need for speed’ and equip drivers to provide key information promptly, from the outset; the earlier an incident is reported, the more effectively the resulting outcome 5. Provide clarity around the next steps; don’t leave a new claimant wondering what will happen next – put them in the know and assure them regarding status updates.

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A roundup on recovery A lot has changed over the last twenty years in the world of vehicle recovery and storage. Here, Peter Goodright, General Manager at Nationwide Vehicle Assistance (NWVA), takes a look at how things used to be, what you can expect today and some future innovations to look forward to.

Historically, it was common practice for the police to engage with contractors directly. There was a reluctance from police authorities, recovery agents and insurers/ accident managers to form the type of supply chain relationship that we see today.

As such, there was little or no control over charges, which led to unnecessary elongated storage invoices of 25-35 days on average.

Also, there was no control over the daily storage rate and, more often than not, there was no indication of where the vehicle was stored. The combined result was high levels of litigation, further increase in cost and of course, above all, a huge detrimental impact on the customer journey.

It’s hard to believe in the compliance driven world that we operate in today, that there were no regulatory checks carried out on truck drivers who would often be the only person meeting the customer face to face in the entire claims journey.

There was also very little proactivity when it came to the recovery vehicle itself. The vehicle attending

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the scene could be too large and therefore unable to gain access, or too small to be able to collect the load. Like the issues referred to above, the outcome was uncontrollable spend for this element of a motor claim as a second call out charge would be incurred.

How have we changed this?

Using vast experience in the recovery industry, Mick Jennings, owner of LJ Transportation, which is the largest recovery operator in Essex, set about sorting out the disarray. He took a solution to the insurance market that would enable a fully transparent and cost effective solution and so created Nationwide Vehicle Assistance.

He built a like-minded Nationwide network of reputable operators that have to pass a specific set of regulations and an on-site annual audit to enable them to be included within the network. All of the agents must be able to prove that they are ISO and PAS 43 qualified, all insurances are up to date, all drivers are CRB checked and correctly licensed to drive the relevant types of vehicle and audited regularly.

The network consists of an in excess of 1000 agents with a wide spread of capabilities and specialisms that enables Nationwide to guarantee and to be a one stop shop for any type of recovery anywhere in the UK and across Europe.

To ensure that the network remains compliant in all aspects of recovery, Nationwide employs a dedicated network team that constantly audits and monitors the agents and every invoice they submit before it is sent to the Nationwide customer.

As the popularity of EVs increases, the recovery and safeguarding of electric vehicles following an RTA is of major importance

It is vitally important that as recovery operators become a recognised part of the supply chain, that the relationships develop, and technology is used to aid the recovery process and ensure that at the point of instruction as much information as possible is exchanged This team will also proactively manage the customer’s vehicles that are held in storage ensuring that Nationwide, their agents and customers work together to move the vehicles on to their ultimate destination as quickly as possible to limit the number of days that charges accrue for.

It is vitally important that as recovery operators become a recognised part of the supply chain, that the relationships develop, and technology is used to aid the recovery process and ensure that at the point of instruction as much information as possible is exchanged. This will ensure that the right recovery agent is dispatched in the right type of vehicle to suit the need of the job. This will guarantee that upon arrival, the recovery driver will know exactly what to expect and what needs to be done to make the car and all the occupants safe and secure.

It is also important that this information is used to protect the recovery drivers’ safety as they are often placed in dangerous situations. Working at the side of a busy dual carriageway in torrential rain is no place for the faint hearted, sometimes it will be necessary to send a second driver to assist.

Making this decision in advance and using the information provided will alleviate unnecessary delays.

What’s next for the industry?

Advancement in technology over the years has dramatically improved

the levels of communication within the supply chain.

Taking advantage of the transparency that technology provides, Nationwide are able to offer several solutions to ensure extremely efficient service levels and customer satisfaction combined with the most costeffective solutions. Nationwide invest heavily in technology and will continue to do so. We have many innovative and future proofing projects underway currently and would welcome the opportunity to share and develop these ideas further with our current and future customers.

As the popularity of EVs increases, the recovery and safeguarding of electric vehicles following an RTA is of major importance.

Unless your chosen partners are fully aware of the dangers and requirements of a safe recovery, there is potential for very serious and expensive consequences.

Nationwide have been rolling out training information and updates to their network over the last couple of years in anticipation of the proliferation of electric vehicles hitting the road.

Despite the new level of transparency, there still needs to be a focus on cost control, the recovery industry still has operators stuck in their old ways, charging for the use of specialist equipment

or additional people that weren’t actually required, deliberately holding on to vehicles in storage for longer than necessary, etc.

Nationwide has launched its newest specialist charges cost control programme for those who do not yet have Nationwide as part of their supply chain. The team will apply their technical expertise to each recovery invoice and provide a short report on what equipment should have been used and at what cost. This includes commercial vehicle invoices that can range from £1.5k-£30K. Albeit early days, the programme has already saved the industry over £1m in unnecessary cost.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss any aspects of the recovery industry and how Nationwide could be of assistance to you or your business.

Peter Goodright

is the General Manager at Nationwide Vehicle Assistance (NWVA).

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A new world for claims

Kirsty McKno, Chair of the Credit Hire Organisation (CHO), gives us an update on the evolution of the CHO as we move into a new world of claims.

As someone once said: ‘to know credit hire is to love it,’ yet this £1bn industry is responsible for making sure that, each year, hundreds of thousands of people involved in a car accident have mobility while their own vehicle is being repaired. Mums and dads can still take their kids to school each morning, people can get to work and back again on time; taxi drivers, driving instructors, and delivery drivers can get back to work quickly. In short, credit hire keeps people and the economy moving.

Despite fulfilling this important public service, for years credit hire companies (CHCs) have been under scrutiny from regulators, the courts and politicians. Insurers too have sought to muzzle the sector, although they don’t offer mobility services to non-fault customers themselves. They more often than not outsource that service to credit hire companies.

The CHO is, therefore, firmly in the spotlight, but as the claims industry has evolved and developed during the last five years, driven by the challenges of technology, cost and a more demanding and customer experience, so the CHO has evolved too.

The CHO’s members are responsible for the vast proportion of hires each year, and most claims are subject to the GTA (a set of industry-agreed protocols

that insurers and CHCs use to manage replacement vehicle motor claims) or bilateral agreements signed as a partnership arrangement between individual insures and CHCs. And it is an ‘agreement’ which is driving the nature, scope and strategy of the CHO as we prepare for the 2020s, and in particular, the post reform world for personal injury. What has become clear is that conflict, between insurers and CHCs, means increased costs, distrust, and ultimately a poorer customer experience.

Although the CHO won’t hesitate to defend our members, our focus now is on finding areas of common agreement to ensure customers come first. That’s why we successfully concluded this year’s GTA rate review with insurance colleagues in July, and continue to work towards future-proofing the GTA. It’s why we have called for more co-operation between CHCs and insurers to reduce the incidence of fraud, the costs of which inevitably lead to higher premiums. It’s why there is more interest in arbitration as a mechanism to reduce the number of credit hire cases ending up in court. It’s why we are working with consultants to determine a long term agreed approach to hire rates across all classes of vehicle.

Consensus-building is at the heart of the CHO because the claims sector is in the throes of radical change following the government’s reforms to personal injury, and this change threatens the customer’s claims experience Driving Synergies Supplement | 11

Never is there a more important time than now for the industry to come together and shape the post reform world for the benefit of customers Consensus-building is at the heart of the CHO because the claims sector is in the throes of radical change following the government’s reforms to personal injury, and this change threatens the customer’s claims experience. The best solutions to this challenge lies in cross-industry agreement, rather than dispute. It’s why we wholly support the GTA’s mission: frictionless, transparent and collaborative, set out on the new GTA website.

Fraud is a ‘whole-of-industry’ issue that could also do with a little more collaboration from all sides. The CHO has also made strenuous efforts during the last two or three years to ensure our members adopt the highest possible standards of customer service and compliance, including anti-fraud. What is clear is that insurers and CHOs working against each other will simply encourage fraud, but opportunities now exist, through various stakeholder groups, to ‘turn the page’ on fraud and acknowledge the value of co-operation and consensus.

The GTA mission – frictionless, transparent, collaborative - could also very well apply to the LiP portal. The government has charged the MIB with building the portal, which must improve on the current system and deliver a high-quality experience for injured people.

Insurers and claims organisations, including the CHO, have expressed concerns about the portal’s current direction of travel. On credit hire in particular, the MoJ says the portal process will account for non-bodily claims, but officials have fundamentally misunderstood how credit hire works, and this misunderstanding risks customer detriment.

Credit hire is not an insured loss (as the MoJ avers).

Neither is it a subrogated claim; each claim is unique.

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The current outline journey uses terminology that claimants won’t understand, and it favours insurers by enabling them to intervene in the claim by default.

Intervention means, probably, a poorer customer outcome, which of course goes against the rationale for the portal – that it will be a better customer journey than now.

Insurers are keen to reduce their claims costs, so the risk is that claimants will not be offered like for like replacement vehicles, and neither will they be offered the host of other services credit hire companies provide as a matter of course. These include, for example, home pickup and drop off, reduced excesses, provision of child seats, and legal help should the claim go to court. All of these are things a busy mum or dad, or any citizen, should expect as a right under the law.

Never is there a more important time than now for the industry to come together and shape the post reform world for the benefit of customers. Serving customers in their hour of need is why we are all in business, and the CHO will be first in line to defend the rights of our members to continue to serve their customers as the new world for claims takes shape.

Kirsty McKno

is the Chair of the Credit Hire Organisation (CHO).

Fighting the fraudster James Bilham, Founder and Managing Director of Verius Risk Solutions Limited, highlights the need for further collaboration in the insurance industry if we are to fight fraud effectively and efficiently.

Insurers, credit hire companies, solicitors, brokers, price comparison websites, accident management companies, engineers, garages, and the general public.

When we talk about insurance fraud they all have three things in common:

1. They have all be accused of facilitating insurance fraud.

2. They have all been victims of fraud.

3. They all blame each other.

The PCW that didn’t check the details provided at the point of quote. An insurance company that didn’t validate the information provided when writing a policy.

The CHO that provided a hire car following a staged accident. The engineer that didn’t spot that some damage was pre-existing. The list goes on…

The CHO that had a hire car stolen. The insurance company that paid out a total loss before identifying a claim as fraud. The engineer that didn’t get paid.

The member of public that paid over the odds for their insurance policy or, worse still, was targeted by a fraudster in an induced collision.

The insurance company blames the claimant solicitor for encouraging an injury claim, the credit hire company for allowing a fraudster to hire a car and the engineer for not spotting the pre-existing damage. The solicitors blame the insurer for not telling them about the previous claim a fraudster had, the CHO blame the insurer for not telling them that the policyholder had ‘connected’ to their customer on social media a day before the alleged RTA and the engineers blame the garage for not providing good images.

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We need to stop fighting each other. We need to collaborate, and fight the fraudster We are missing the point. We need to stop fighting each other. We need to collaborate, and fight the fraudster.

“Make it work. Make it right. Make it Fast. In that order”.

It’s a phrase often used by software developers when building new applications but it is a useful starting point when thinking about how the insurer customer journey, data sharing, collaboration and counter fraud strategies have evolved over the last few decades and will evolve in the future 20 years ago we made it work. A counter fraud strategy consisted of a stash of hand-written score cards, a referral to a counter fraud team and an astute investigator asking pertinent questions.

Are we going to trust our emotions for the next decade or start to trust the science? conclusions - ‘judging a book by its cover’. Emotion is also a slow way to screen millions of quotes and tens of thousands of claims, which is why computers and the use of AI is great for filtering out the good from the bad. Computers are learning to deal with human emotion better, and it has its own subset of data called affective computing, it still relies on the data that it is fed. Computers are not emotional, feed them with good, rich and diverse data and a well-trained data scientist, then some magic happens and you get great results.

It’s scientific, evidence based and it’s stupidly fast. But we still need to ‘make it right’ - feeding a computer with human emotion, without the data it needs to ‘overwrite’ that emotion and you will simply get the same results.

By only looking at fraud claims featuring a fixed group of CHOs, for example, or customers that fit the same demographic as those that an insurer already has within their book of business, will identify risk patters that look exactly like the data that has been fed in. Start to add more diverse data from across the market, in effect, using a range of human emotions to feed the data set, and the results will look different and hopefully better represent the real risk profiles. With these changes we can ‘make it right’ With the growth of technology, we are very close to our customer strategies being right and making it fast is right around the corner.

A customer journey and counter fraud strategy today will likely look very different from 20 years ago. Over the last 20 years we have started to make it right, market competition through PCWs has changed customer acquisition beyond recognition from the traditional high street broker model, emphasis has been added to treating the right customers fairly and the development of CUE, CIFAS, SIRA and similar have enhanced the way that we can filter out bad customers for thorough investigation.

Most insurers will now screen all their customers through some form of data sharing platform. By sharing data we can find more fraud, better verify genuine customers, price millions of policy quotes and renewals every minute and check every claim that is presented to them. Using data matching, profiling, automated intelligence and machine learning, insurers can highlight the best claims for immediate payment and those that need further investigation by a human being, because ultimately, a proper investigation should be conducted by a trained human.

Humans have emotion. Emotion is a special skill that computers don’t really have. It is also a skill we have to treat very carefully; emotion can lead to misjudgement.

It is great for ‘sniffing out’ a lie – when somebody says something in a tone or manner that just doesn’t ‘feel right’ but emotion can also lead us to jump to

The future is definitely fast and there is an expectation that computers will do the work for us. They will.

Sometimes. And they need to. But we cannot rush it.

The growth of the internet has enabled data sharing and collaboration in a way we maybe never envisaged.

The growth of the cloud platform, AI, machine learning and blockchain has changed the way we can scale our solutions. A consumer expects to type in a few details into a computer, or better still their mobile phone, and have an insurance quote in a few seconds. Claims can now be made, paid and money in the policyholder’s bank account in under three seconds. That is insane!

A claim settled quicker than reading this paragraph.

The post-millennial generation don’t just expect this.

They demand it, but it creates a risk – suddenly we are settling a claim without a real person reviewing the information and that eliminates the benefits of human emotion.

Making it right needs genuine collaborative data sharing; take out the human emotion in identifying risk in the screening process then, add a little sprinkle of human intervention at the right point to ‘sniff out’ any problems.

Are we going to trust our emotions for the next decade or start to trust the science? Are we going to skip the last bit of making it right, to make it fast?

James Bilham is the Founder and Managing Director of Verius Risk Solutions Limited.

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New risks from future mobility

Safety is paramount but there is a cost to safety. David Williams, Managing Director of Underwriting and Technical Services at AXA Insurance (UK), considers vehicle capability as changes in risk and technology are influencing the future of mobility.

We are in a period of massive disruption for the motor Insurance industry, and whilst I don’t want to worry people who might feel they are already struggling to cope, I believe that what we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg!

Risks come in many forms, and its not just understanding the changes to the conventional insurance view of a risk, we also need to understand the impacts on society, cultural changes, and the responses of those who may have either a vested interest, or feel they have an ‘edge’ going forward.

All of these things are important considerations that sensible businesses should be considering and planning for, setting their strategies going forward.

We are fortunate to have Thatcham, the motor vehicle research Institute, both from the relationships they have with motor manufacturers, getting early access to new vehicles, but also the influence they have through things like EuroNCAP. Safety is paramount, something we can all rally behind, and Thatcham have done a great job there over the years, making insurers aware of issues, and lobbying manufacturers and authorities to simply do things better and safer.

There is a cost to safety however, and the numerous driver assistance features we see, often positioned in the areas most exposed to accidents on a vehicle, are forcing the average cost of damage claims up at an alarming rate.

Yes, they will help prevent accidents, but with the majority of vehicles still ADAS free, they can’t stop random manual vehicles clipping them whilst parked or in other scenarios.

Sadly, that means claims costs are rising overall, and premiums therefore inevitably follow.

A pricing response is possibly all we can do here, but as ADAS turns to autonomy there are more levers, more to consider, and more need to influence the future. The UK Government has been clear, autonomous vehicles, where insurers will pick up the risk of injury to what previously would have been the driver, refers to SAE level 4 and 5 vehicles only. These are the ones where the human isn’t the fall back, the failsafe, the vehicle can safely stop if it comes across something it doesn’t understand or can’t cope with.

We should be able to better understand and price risks, influence better driving and provide more than just an insurance promise

The whole idea of calling a vehicle autonomous, but then it demanding a disengaged human gets back into the loop at a moments notice gives me nightmares. But if you look at the European working parties who define what’s required for ‘safe’ motoring, I see the OEM’s pushing definitions which bring less capable vehicles into their automated definition.

Mis-marketing of a vehicle’s capability is possibly one of the largest risks we have to contend with, and there are already legal cases in this regard targeting the most well known of electric vehicle manufacturers and their ‘autopilot’.

Manufacturers want to sell their vehicles, we need to understand the technology, encourage the technology as I genuinely believe it will make roads safer, but not at the expense of lives lost and people injured by shortcuts in testing and legislation. As well as learning from Thatcham, AXA and other insurers have got involved with Government Funded consortia, getting hands on with the technology, providing data to our actuaries and performance information to our risk engineers. We need to do more of this, we won’t have the mass of historic performance data that we have on the existing motor fleet, we won’t be able to relay on human behavioural analytics, as humans won’t be controlling when the accidents occur!

I saw one prediction that 100% of vehicles would be connected by 2025. Whilst I’m getting used to over optimistic estimates, it does highlight a massive opportunity for insurers, huge amounts of data that if we play our cards right, could be available to us to help us understand the changes in risk, as well as potentially offering new services to our customers.

We need to make sure that we do get access to that data, complying with GDPR, understanding cyber and hack risks, as well as resisting any challenge for control from the OEM’s. We should be already making sure we have the infrastructures, actuaries and data scientists to make use of it, partnering where appropriate for clever tech and specific expertise. With that, we should be able to better understand and price risks, influence better driving and provide more than just an insurance promise. All this of course contributing to much safer roads and less accidents, injuries and fatalities; who wouldn’t want to be part of that future?

David Williams

is the Managing Director of Underwriting and Technical Services at AXA Insurance (UK).

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Times have changed The next generation of customers are placing new challenges on the sector. What can we do to raise the skills base within firms to ensure that we are providing an innovative and seamless insurance journey and transaction throughout? Steve Turner, CEO of EDAM Group at EDAM Group, discusses below.

As one of the UK’s market leading service provider of credit hire and post-accident services, our team at EDAM Group have worked tirelessly to preserve our position in a crowded and competitive market. We consistently deliver an exceptional customer journey for direct users and valued business partners alike and we’re proud to work day in, day out, to do better by both.

As the sector grows, so do the expectations of its customers. As such, it’s never been more important than now to focus on the service they receive. Times have changed, the industry has moved on and the customer experience is paramount to ensure healthy profits and business growth. That considered, it is not just us reaping the rewards of a healthy business, with the positives extending to the customer. Our priorities extend to who we serve with our excellent levels of service, and we are reaping rewards for our business partners.

We’re committed to doing better by our team too. They are the lifeblood of our company and the reason we continue to thrive during these rather uncertain times for British business.

Employee engagement and job satisfaction underpin our intentions for strategic development and growth and our ambitious 2020 Vision to double the size of the Group hinges upon it. As such, we take the wellbeing and happiness of our people seriously and our brand values are a bold reflection of that.

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Innovation, integrity, respect, passion and fun, while working as one team, is what drives everything we do and we’re proud to invest heavily in establishing and maintaining a nurturing work environment for each individual.

We operate a number of coaching and development programmes, open to our 400-strong team to encourage personal and professional growth. Providing new and exciting opportunities for progression at all levels means our people are supported to be market leading service providers who flourish in their roles and are passionate about EDAM and what we do.

Happily, we know that valuing our staff works. We encourage feedback and have recently won a coveted two-star Best Companies award alongside being named in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For in recognition of our outstanding levels of employee engagement.

Keeping people at the heart of our operations, with a firm focus on our core values sustains a happy

workforce equipped to do their jobs to the best of their ability.

The resulting effect is an exemplary level of service and a seamless customer journey. We’ve secured our reputation around it and are pleased to stand apart from the competition because of it.

We specialise in keeping drivers mobile after a non-fault accident – getting them back on the road with minimum fuss and maximum support.

As a leading service provider of credit hire, we make it clear that working with EDAM offers peace of mind for both the insurer and the policyholder, bridging the gap between the two.

It’s a critical time for all parties and delivering exemplary customer experience is essential to make sure the policy holder is well taken care of during a potentially emotional time. We work hard to ensure our business partners not only retain their customers and guarantee policy renewals after an accident but know they have driven away happy with the service they have received from EDAM.

Keeping people at the heart of our operations, with a firm focus on our core values sustains a happy workforce equipped to do their jobs to the best of their ability

Our skilled team of claims handlers get the policyholder back behind the wheel as swiftly as possible, while providing a positive, reassuring and considerate service from start to finish. More often than not, a customer’s only real interaction with their insurer is in the event of an accident. How their journey and overall experience of that business develops from the very first call, to having their car back on the road is critical. It can make the difference between a policy renewal and losing a customer. At EDAM we are committed to a customer experience which dictates the former rather than the latter.

stress associated with claiming after an accident. We’re proud to have introduced a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) compliant complaints process before the company was officially regulated and aim to do everything we can as the UK’s market leading service provider of credit hire and post-accident services, not because we have to, but because we want to.

How? We’re constantly honing the process. Analysing data, talking to policy holders, inviting comment from business partners, working with outside organisations and acting upon complaints. We operate a continuous improvement programme to perfect the customer journey from start to finish. We utilise feedback from Trustpilot and take our Net Promoter Score (NPS) seriously to deliver the best experience at every touchpoint.

We place a continued focus on improving the customer experience while upholding both EDAM’s brand values and the insurer’s brand values.

It’s a synergy. And it’s our bread and butter. Working in partnership with an independent credit hire provider such as ourselves not only offers unrivalled resources in terms of fleet access and quality, but the benefits of a highly trained and highly driven team who treat customer care as their top priority.

We endeavour to stay ahead of the curve, proactively working to ensure EDAM delivers the best customer experience at all times.

By integrating our service with our business partners and aligning with their level of service, we make the claims journey seamless. Introducing innovative approaches at every stage to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and to remove the

We provide a service to hundreds of businesses who impart consistently positive feedback about our offering; citing unparalleled levels of customer service, a proactive, positive approach and unrelenting focus on delivering an exceptional customer experience as being a core part of EDAM’s way of operating.

And we know we’re doing a good job. Our Net Promoter Score (NPS) remains over 86 for the third month running. Concrete evidence that our team are motivated and doing their utmost for our customers.

And the outcome of our commitment

As the sector grows, so do the expectations of its customers to doing the best by our customers?

Outstanding levels of growth.

Record-high levels of NPS that few other businesses reach. A place in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100.

Exceeding our own targets for expansion. Maintaining our place as the UK’s market leading service provider of credit hire and postaccident services.

But more importantly, we’re delighted to celebrate the consistently positive feedback relating to our customer journey, the hard work of our team, and the high level of satisfaction amongst our business partners and their customers, who would recommend our service.

Steve Turner

CEO of EDAM Group

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DRIVING EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE When it comes to credit hire, you won’t find a better post accident service than EDAM. Not only are we the UK’s largest privately-owned company that deliver credit hire, we’re also the market leading service provider in the sector.

We can keep your policyholders mobile with a seamless customer journey from the moment they report a non-fault accident, to the day their claim is settled.

But don’t take our word for it. Take a look at what the people who really matter say, your customers: With comparable replacement vehicles, same day delivery for unroadworthy cases, and real-time updates to keep you informed, it’s no wonder we’ve achieved an excellent Net Promoter Score of 86+ for the past three months. Or that people give us such great feedback on Trustpilot. So for excellent customer service that you and your policyholders can trust, trust EDAM.

Align yourself with a leader, call:

0330 333 3344

or email: hello@edamgroup.co.uk

Excellent

very professional

Totally brilliant service Darren Champness

Tracey Stacey

Very helpful excellent job Pauline Troughton

Building a new journey to compensation Anna Fleming, Chief Operations Officer at the Motors Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), discusses the new portal, and why the consumer is at the centre of its construction.

There’s no doubt that building and delivering a new portal to process low value claims from next April is a significant and challenging project. And any business needing to prepare for next April will be well aware of how important it is that it works well for everyone from day one. However, for the MIB, it’s much more than simply delivering a service that is ‘just okay’. From the outset, our overriding goal has been to make sure we are putting consumers at the heart of what we are building.

Working closely with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which is leading the reforms, at every stage, we are challenging ourselves to think from a consumer’s perspective. Whether it is in the language we are using to explain the process or the features we are incorporating to make it easy to use, secure and accessible, we want unrepresented claimants to experience a service that is trustworthy, approachable, independent, unbiased, supportive and straightforward.

Central to this, is recognising that customers have different needs. Thankfully in today’s increasingly digital world there is lots of good information out there to help guide us and ensure that the digital service is made as accessible for as many people as possible. The Government Digital Service, which is leading the digital transformation of government, has been particularly helpful. But of course, not everyone will be able to use the digital service or have access to it. To ensure we cater for these individuals and their differing needs, as well as launching the digital portal, we will establish a contact centre and make clear supporting material available in various accessible formats. This approach will ensure everyone can use the new service and have equal and full access to a route to compensation.

We know that to do this well, we need to take an evidence-based approach, so we continue to engage and seek input from professionals, as well as consumer groups and advisory bodies; and getting feedback from all types of consumers is a core component of our public tests which will be conducted through professionally managed focus groups. We are already using feedback from the demonstrations we’ve done so far, to refine our development and the insights from the focus groups will be used to refine the service in the run up to launch, but of course it doesn’t stop there. We will have mechanisms

Anna Fleming Anna joined MIB in 2017 as the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the smooth running of all the MIB’s operational areas, including Claims and Enforcement Services. Anna is also responsible for the delivery of the Whiplash Portal including the set up and running of the customer contact centre for customers unable to use the digital service.

From the outset, our overriding goal has been to make sure we are putting consumers at the heart of what we are building in place to get feedback once live and we expect the refinement process to be ongoing.

We have also designed the portal so that a number of professional users can integrate their systems directly to it. Those businesses who will be integrating directly into the service to support the processing of large volumes of claims require Application Programming Interface (API) technology, which will have initial impact on their internal IT systems and staff training needs.

There has been some concern about whether we have time to complete a fully-fledged service by the April 2020 deadline. We are working closely every step of the way with the MoJ and we plan to deliver the system in time. Our IT development has used ‘agile methodology’ which, as the term suggests, enables us to respond quickly to make necessary changes.

In the meantime, as we continue our development to schedule, I would encourage anyone who wants to be kept up to speed on the programme to sign up to MIB’s regular email updates, which you can do here: www. mibmanagedservices.org.uk/ index.

Anna Fleming

is the Chief Operations Officer at MIB. Before joining the MIB, Anna spent 13 years at Zurich Insurance in a variety of claims roles, culminating in being appointed as Chief Claims Officer (ad interim).

Anna has significant experience in change management and running large IT programmes, having been the Programme Director for Zurich’s claims transformation from 2011 – 2016.

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Increasing broker value through outsourced claims collaboration Jason Tripp, Managing Director of Coplus, sees evolution coming in the form of increased collaboration between brokers and insurers. Here he outlines his vision and the big picture benefits.

The most successful businesses are those that can interpret the effect of external market changes and adapt the quickest. However, the very nature of insurance is backward looking, considering probabilities based on what has happened before. So, how do we as the insurance community keep continuously evolving, attempting to balance customer needs whilst managing costs and risk?

In the claims space I can see evolution coming in the form of increased collaboration between brokers and insurers. There are several significant drivers or threats on the insurer/broker horizon; the discount rate review and new legal measures for ‘whiplash’ reforms, reduced capacity through market exits and a hardening of the market in general.

In motor claims the broker FNOL model is well known. The broker benefits from branding the claims service as well as potential income from non-fault claims. It’s an approach which is common for brokers but can also be a cause of friction with their insurance providers.

For brokers, probably the biggest benefit they see from being involved in claims handling is the ability to provide a consistent, branded

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customer journey. Brokers work hard to ‘win’ the customer and at the point of claim it’s the broker’s brand that they want to be front and centre, the brand that is delivering for the customer.

Working with an outsourced provider can be the answer as the broker has access to the provider’s economies of scale to deliver advantages such as 24/7 operation, however this can’t be a trade off with achieving a customised service which supports the objectives of the broker, and also the insurer sitting behind them.

An unquantified FNOL provider engaging in the claims process could be regarded as a threat for the insurer, especially where there is a lack of transparency. Poor claims management for the insurer drives up costs. Where notification of a claim is delayed or missing, reserving will be inaccurate, allowing the claim to move outside of the insurer’s network can drive up costs where work is done outside of agreed terms. These factors, without control, pose significant financial risks, which ultimately materialise in rate to the broker.

From the broker’s perspective, a lack of claims control is definitely to be

I see significant benefit in outsourced providers working harder to align the interests of both insurers and brokers avoided, for a number of reasons, including of course the ability to secure lower premiums from the insurer, as well as increasing renewal prospects from a positive customer experience. Another risk for brokers, which the squeeze on capacity has brought into focus, is the ability to find and retain access to niche underwriters. If the underwriter has concerns about the claims control this could easily lead to a withdrawal of the agency.

So what does this mean for collaboration?

I see significant benefit in outsourced providers working harder to align the interests of both insurers and brokers. At best, this can be a triparty relationship where a claims management company holds a pivotal role, working on behalf of the broker to meet their requirements whilst also engaging with that broker’s insurers and their own claims process needs.

This probably seems obvious but it’s surprisingly not really common practise. Yes, of course any broker relationship will mean associated insurer contact but that doesn’t mean it’s collaboration and that all three

I can see evolution coming in the form of increased collaboration between brokers and insurers

parties are working together to solve problems, drive efficiencies and a better outcome for the policyholder.

There is a big picture vision needed to see all of the benefits of a more aligned broker/insurer claims model. Relationships, trust and understanding take time to build and might take months or years to come to fruition. This strategy may not drive the maximum income in the short term for the broker/claims provider but a bigger advantage at a future time. These future benefits may be harder to measure but it’s absolutely the right way to operate.

Balance is an important word in this vision. A non-fault claim presents the opportunity for an outsourced provider to generate income for their broker partner, however too strong a focus on achieving just this revenue alone can misallocate claims causing a range of problems, the claim is delayed, the cost for the insurer rises and the customer journey is poor. Those final few non-fault claims squeezed from setting the bar too high are usually not worth the damage caused in the broker/insurer relationship.

The individual businesses and people within each relationship create different dynamics and that can be another barrier to this more holistic triparty claims approach. The business structure and background, how it makes decisions, where it is heading – all drive different behaviours, and that’s the same for claim management providers, brokers and insurers, so it’s quite complex. I have spoken to Claims Directors at MGAs where managing the capacity provider, and their loss ratio, is

absolutely top of the tree. They won’t work with brokers who are slow to report claims, it’s just too big a risk for them.

Big picture benefits I’m sure all claims providers would agree that long term relationships are essential in order to build great services for our partners and their customers. I don’t think this is possible if real, three way, broker, claims partner and insurer collaboration isn’t taking place as business as usual. I see this as a central aspect of the role we perform for brokers - to protect their insurer relationship, or perhaps boldly to say, to enhance it!

Just a small improvement in the loss ratio can make a difference for the insurer behind the broker. That small improvement is driven out of lots of factors – from accurate assessment of liability, understanding the information capture requirements of the insurer and getting the claim information out immediately, giving accurate information to customers and working proactively to resolve their claim, all drive this bigger picture, holistic claims performance.

Jason Tripp

is the Managing Director of Coplus.

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Driving Synergies Dan Chesney, Commercial Director at S&G Response, celebrates ten years in business while touching on synergies, solutions provision and customer centricity, all factors that have driven the business into the success it is met with today.

As we celebrate our 10th year in business, I found it very apt that we should be invited to contribute to an issue of Modern Insurance Magazine which focused on synergies, solutions provision and customer centricity, as anyone who knows S&G Response or has met with us over the last few years will know that these are three topics that we have specifically defined and integrated into our service solutions.

We built the business on pillars of values and a culture that we treasure as one of our most precious assets.

These key attributes, coupled with our beliefs of delivering tangible solutions above and beyond the normal commoditised services offered to the customer (who is placed front and centre of every decision made), are one of the key drivers for the transformational growth over the last ten years.

This has given us real clarity to the journey which has been undertaken and the changes in all of the environments in which we operate, the customer base and their needs, and the tools and vehicles available to deliver a service, which can be transformational to any partner.

There have been many changes within the business over the last ten years and many highs, but as the business continues to evolve and transform, it’s obvious that the future will be shaped through synergistic relationships with partners where we deliver real and genuine value by being a part of their own core strategy and not simply a service provider.

Looking back over the last ten years, the claims journey experience was delivered in a way that would be almost alien to some of our claims handlers in the office today.

Previously, postal communications and telephony would have been the staple delivery methods throughout any claim, nowadays, FNOL solutions supported through artificial intelligence and electronic triage start a process of rectification delivered through a digital journey of apps, system integrations and instant fulfilment.

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Customer centricity In any business, a happy customer is important; in a market where price is sensitive, the product is perceived as commoditised and is purchased out of necessity rather than desire – a happy customer is truly priceless. We have developed and built all of our customer facing solutions to be focused on what really matters to the customer in that moment, and through empathy and understanding of their needs, deliver a service which exceeds their expectations and is communicated though the most appropriate channels at intervals which they choose.

If a customer wants to be communicated throughout their claim by text message, then they will never receive a phone call from us; but if they would prefer to speak with us then they will receive a call from their personal claims handler to keep them updated. And if the preferred method of communication is via an app, then we have enough data to ensure that they know exactly the current position of their claim 24 hours a day.

The customer profile has fundamentally shifted over the last ten years, their needs and desires are completely different and their expectations of service delivery too are now vast and immensely varied. This expectation and desire is then interpreted by our partners to whom we support and deliver repair and mobility solutions to and it’s at this point where the synergistic approach of delivering a cohesive service excels. Ten years ago outsourcing parts of a business to a third party was to achieve a tangible need and very little else. In 2019, outsourcing is core aspect of many organisations as all parties can specialise in delivering the very best total service experience to the customer, but it is now the way in which this is delivered which has changed the description of an outsourced partner.

The customer profile has fundamentally shifted over the last ten years, their needs and desires are completely different and their expectations of service delivery too are now vast and immensely varied Skills shortage In 2009 when S&G Response was established, employees joined the team in order to achieve a common goal. Highly valued as individuals, the teams were recruited to help deliver resolution to a claim in the quickest and most convenient way possible. However, as natural attrition and a diversified team grew, the business was winning new work that required further specialisms and a wider skills base in order to deliver what the customer needed.

Fast forwarding to today, the business is now supported by a strong set of apprentices who adapt to the culture and the ethos of the business and then given the opportunity to grow and develop under the stewardship of a team of leaders who truly care for them as individuals. We have integrated online learning platforms to enable anyone in the business to deepen and broaden their skills set and understanding of the business and the importance of customer centricity and have undertaken a wide range of external qualifications to support individuals with more specific development needs.

We have supported external partners such as Autoraise in order to support our network of suppliers whom themselves have immediate needs for skills.

Solutions provision As a true partner, we have stepped closer to our customers to help them to deliver and realise their own goals, aims and objectives; delivering a wider range of services that are not only core to their customer provision but essentially complimentary.

For example, in 2014 we partnered with FixAuto UK to deploy customers into their repair network, receiving mainly paper based instructions and relying heavily on the telephone to get updates and share progress.

Whilst successful, delivering a specific solution limited the capabilities of the combined businesses to create a much stronger proposition and competence.

Five years later we are now fully integrated and deploying thousands of repair jobs a month into a vast network utilising electronic triage to mobile repair, fixed site bodyshop or salvage coupled with automated repair and hire management; excelling in customer service and service provision by taking the heavy lifting out of our Principals - ultimately helping the customer to get back to their pre accident position in the most efficient and convenient manner as possible.

Who knows really what the next ten years will have in store?

This approach to strategic partnering and focusing solely on the customer journey was achieved by both partners committing to challenging the industry norm, and to create a greater proposition which not only differentiated the services delivered but excelled. Our teams work hard together to understand both the operational and commercial requirements of the principal customer, creating solutions which reduce the period of time a customer will be without their vehicle and in mobility.

The next ten years…

Who knows really what the next ten years will have in store? We have built our business to be agile because we recognise that one size does only not fit all but it can really annoy a lot of customers if they are forced into a process that doesn’t suit their needs.

We have spent ten years building the foundations of S&G Response to make it resilient to any challenges it may face and scalable to adapt to any opportunity presented as we know that the innovation of commoditised services creates tangible value to all stakeholders and differentiates the customer experience. Investments in every area of the business from IT to HR, leadership development to software development and the delivery of empathy and emotional intelligence ensure that we have built a solid foundation to be both nimble and able to deliver on customers’ expectations.

The next ten years will see a number of significant environmental factors affecting the insurance and motor market, from the impact of the forthcoming Civil Liability Act to the potential shortage of genuine motor vehicle parts. The customer will become increasingly empowered and knowledgeable, vehicles will become more costly to repair and the need for skills to deliver a professional claims solution will continue to evolve to the new generation. We already recognise a potential skills shortage in the future for vehicle repairers and the capacity issues which we are facing – regardless of the improvements in technology and driver aids, accidents will happen, it’s how the customer is treated and their experience of their claims journey which will denote if they remain a customer the following year.

Dan Chesney

is the Commercial Director at S&G Response.

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Insurance recap: Whiplash, fraud & the claims journey

Donna Scully, Director at Carpenters Group, updates us on current affairs within the insurance industry, focusing on the implementation of the whiplash reforms next year, fighting fraud, and customers’ expectations of the claims journey.

The Whiplash Reforms With summer ending, implementation of the whiplash reforms next spring suddenly looks alarmingly closer.

The Motor Insurance Bureau has now provided several updates about progress and development of the new LIP Portal. The build itself is seemingly progressing well, but it is now patently clear that delivery can only happen on time if design and policy decisions are made in a timely manner. MoJ officials remain confident that all will be ready by April 2020 but acknowledge that this is not yet guaranteed without further decisions being taken in good time.

From the information that we have, the new Portal will work well when a claim is straightforward, where liability is admitted, with one medical report for a whiplash injury lasting six months. If a claim is complicated by

Somehow down the long path that has led us to the reforms, it has been forgotten that combatting fraud was supposed to be the driving force for change

disputed liability, a loss is not included or there are problems with a medical report or indeed a host of other circumstances, then the system begins to stutter and may fail.

When the Director of General Insurance Policy, James Dalton, says that the new system has “technical, legislative and planning hurdles to overcome”, we should take notice. When he says that the deadline will not be met unless “the pace of preparations fails to quicken substantially”, there are clearly some major problems.

There will be no process to migrate claims between the current and new Portals when claims exceed the limit. There will be different processes to apply within the LIP Portal, depending on whether the claimant is represented or not. If MoJ is right that 70% of claimants will still be represented, it would make sense that the majority of claimants should be able to use the current tried and tested Portal process.

Leading charities, who are being expected to shoulder the burden of advising those unrepresented claimants who are not ushered into the arms of claims farmers, have warned that there have been little or no communication with the third sector organisations who are expected to help the digitally excluded unable to access the new Portal.

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The current system is far from perfect and the claims journey is already changing, but we must ensure that the new claims landscape delivers upon customers’ expectations for the future and does not go backwards Confirmation that minors and protected parties are to be excluded are welcome but should be made permanent.

The absence of new measures to prevent abuses in providing rehabilitation and vehicle damage claims is storing up problems for the future. The timetable for the expansion and integration of MedCo with the new Portal looks unrealistic.

If the new process is not going to be ready and fully fit-for-purpose, quite simply it should be delayed by six months, or more if necessary. Neither the sector nor claimants will be served by a deficient system that causes anxiety and confusion or increased costs and further litigation.

Fraud Somehow down the long path that has led us to the reforms, it has been forgotten that combatting fraud was supposed to be the driving force for change. It was fraudulent claims that contributed to increased motor insurance premiums, not the very existence of the claims themselves. Across the sector, whether insurers or solicitors, there are real concerns that there is the potential for considerably more fraudulent claims with the new Portal, not less. By creating a frictionless claims process with fewer checks by real thinking people, we are potentially opening the door to fraudsters keen to exploit the new process with digitalised ghost claims. Anti-fraud specialists remain very concerned that fraudsters will game the system and take advantage of genuine motor customers. Some of the insurance sector may believe that this is a price worth paying for largely squeezing lawyers out of the system to be replaced by bad claims farmers.

Many do not.

The signs from the claims management sector are not encouraging. Several hundred CMCs have dropped from the FCA radar since the move from MoJ and the fear is that many have gone underground or indeed overseas.

New finance for claims farmers is flooding in, spotting an expanding market. The bullish noises from more established CMCs optimistic about their future prospects are in direct contrast to the fears being expressed by those who represent claimants.

The industry knows all too well how adaptable rogue claims management companies can be when it comes to identifying new avenues of income to exploit. There is a real danger that claimants will be squeezed for every penny possible, there will be displacement into “minor injury” claims and the expected savings from the whiplash reforms will be lost.

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The sector remains united that more needs to be done collaboratively on fighting fraud, but this will prove increasingly difficult when the wolves have knowingly been let loose in the sheep-pen.

The claims journey The digital-only new claims Portal may face major hurdles and digital fraud will continue to plague us, but technology will generally greatly benefit the customer claims journey in the years ahead. Insurance customers will progressively benchmark their experience with those of larger first-class retail services. They will want a claims service that is increasingly easy to navigate in a way that suits them, with support when needed, because a claim, and certainly an accident claim, is far more personal and sometimes critical. If they can track a parcel online as it crosses the globe, why can’t they track their vehicle repairs or replacement goods?

Customers’ expectation to have the ability to communicate instantly will only be matched by utilising technology such as in-car smart devices, live online chat, instant messaging or easy access to someone with the skills and knowledge to help in the first call. Customers being rewarded by discounted premiums by driving safely will be prompted by ever improving telematics systems.

Customers’ expectations about the claims journey will certainly evolve, but the fundamentals will likely remain the same. A high quality, prompt service that provides guidance, assurance and support when it is needed most, particularly in the event of an accident. The current system is far from perfect and the claims journey is already changing, but we must ensure that the new claims landscape delivers upon customers’ expectations for the future and does not go backwards. Genuine access to justice must be retained when it is needed.

Effectively deregulating claims to £5,000 from lawyers to claims farmer and McKenzie Friends, wholly focused on milking claims for income, will be a retrograde step and not what is needed.

Donna Scully

is a Director at Carpenters Group.

Embracing flexibility

Flexibility is playing a greater role in the approach to replacement mobility, and as Lucy Woods, CEO at AX, explains, customer’s requirements are changing and we as an industry need to be prepared to accommodate their wants and needs, otherwise you could be left behind.

Q A

What does mobility mean to the insurance sector?

People are leading ever more busy lives. To keep a modern life moving and to meet all of the demands on our time from careers, family life and personal interests, it is increasingly clear that the personal vehicle has become central to our lives. Any loss or interruption to that personal mobility can cause real stress and pressure on a busy person, making their life impossible as they generally live it.

Meeting the needs of these people in the event that their vehicle is stolen or damaged in an accident is a key way to help a customer and by doing so, encouraging loyalty. In my years in the telecommunications industry, customers left suppliers looking for lower prices but always returned when they realised low prices and good service quality are rarely combined. The insurer that doesn’t offer an equivalent replacement vehicle or tries to do it as cheaply as possible risks alienating clients and losing them at renewal.

From a strategic point of view, I consider the future requirements for personal mobility to be interesting. We hear that millennials are interested in subscriptionbased car payments (never owning the car but paying monthly for the use of one, and all car costs included), we hear people may

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share cars, they may demand variable insurance depending on usage and a long list of other alternatives. Couple this with the evolution of the motor industry as vehicle technology changes and the real possibility of autonomous cars, and we have a complex market to navigate – who will want what? And who will own or insure what? How will people use these opportunities to manage their own personal world? Who and how will businesses develop to become key players in this new world as technology changes the market?

Q

Where could flexibility play a greater role in the approach to replacement mobility?

A

If customer loyalty is important - and to most of us it is - then a flexible approach to customer requirements is key to improvement whether, as in our case, we are dealing with insurers, brokers, fleet managers, accident management companies, dealerships, manufacturers or the end user/ driver of one of our vehicles.

Delivering such flexibility requires not only an open mindset from management and staff to create new propositions, but what is also vital is a genuine wish to accommodate customer requirements and to not try to dictate what suits us but listen. The key to succeeding in the delivery of flexible solutions are systems and processes that can accommodate variations with ease. This is where the complexity lies. Our approach is to embrace the opportunity that being flexible offers us and to find ways to provide back office solutions and process management tools that enable speed and accuracy. Management of data and privacy are always front of mind.

Building flexibility into hours of business, service standards, discussions with insurers and all aspects of our business allows us to be competitive and financially strong. The ability to stretch ourselves is breeding innovation and creativity which, in the future, as we contemplate market changes will equip us well to develop our customer proposition and product portfolio.

Q

Have you noticed a shift in customer expectations when it comes to accident aftercare, and what are you putting in place to suit the needs of the ever-evolving customer?

A

Each customer, or at least each customer group, has different needs and creating an organisation that can flex its offering to accommodate these needs is the key to our high growth and good reputation.

We are committed to flexing our existing service standards to accommodate new and more demanding expectations. We are experiencing requests for sevenday opening, exceptional delivery service standards, requests to assist partners with brand loyalty and many other extensions to our previous offering. AX prides itself on the quality of the customer experience and our genuine willingness to challenge ourselves to deliver delight to our customer provides my team with immense satisfaction.

We are about to launch seven day working, 24hr call handling; we are tightening up on delivery timescales and standards and we are setting ourselves new, higher levels of customer satisfaction targets, dropping traditional customer surveys and now relying on NPS scores and Trustpilot reviews to monitor opinions of our service.

We also are mindful that controlling costs is vital to increase our profitability and we are working through our end to end process seeking opportunities to use system enhancements that may enhance productivity.

None of it would be possible without our excellent management and colleagues – who are well trained, trusted to try and delight the customer, and who are willing to embrace new approaches to technology.

Q

How is the customer’s relationship with their vehicle changing?

A

We have noticed that loyalty to a vehicle brand is diminishing, but the need for a vehicle is as strong as ever. We have seen an increase in demand from customers requiring repairs through manufacturer approved repairers and due to the inconvenience caused by an accident they are less likely to accept a lower category vehicle than their own. Customers certainly seem to know their rights these days and are becoming more demanding.

Research seems to indicate that millennials, particularly those living in cities, may not be as keen to own a car as previous generations were and are. There are many alternatives: l Low price taxis (like Uber); l Cars paid for by monthly subscription where the subscription includes a price for the car, vehicle tax, vehicle maintenance and insurance; l Access to cars parked at strategic locations e.g. like Zip Car, bookable on line.

It will be interesting to see which of these (and others I haven’t mentioned) gain traction in the marketplace, how accident rates change, and how the insurance industry accommodates the various options.

Each customer, or at least each customer group, has different needs and creating an organisation that can flex its offering to accommodate these needs is the key transparent proposition. We have created trust within the market and built a proposition that can seamlessly support any brand.

We are keen to continue to grow AX Automotive, our credit hire business, which is performing extremely well having grown substantially since 2017. Our focus is on professionalism in our relationships with all of our referrers, customers, suppliers and investors, aiming to deliver high quality services to enhance referrer brands. Continual investment in technology to improve the customer journey even more will be a significant focus. We have a strong in-house development team which gives us speed and flexibility, which can give us an edge over our competition.

We also have AX Innovation, the home of our AX Connect, AX Protect, and AX Manage products.

These services combine telematics

products with our unique intuitive software to provide fleet managers with valuable information on their fleet from driver behaviour to location of stolen vehicles.

We plan to take advantage of the opportunities regarding the combination of AX Innovation products and elements of our credit hire business to broaden our appeal and explore other markets. I also believe that there are significant opportunities for AX to broaden the business offering and to take advantage of our knowledge and capability to enable manufacturers to benefit from the investments they have made in “in car” technology.

Lucy Woods

is the CEO at AX For more information on the suite of partner services AX has to offer, please call 01675 435216 or visit ax-uk.com/partners .

Q

What challenges and/ or opportunities are on the horizon for AX?

A

AX has an exciting future. We have made huge strides by listening to both the market and customer requirements to help develop what we believe is a unique and

Driving Synergies Supplement | 31

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF DIGITAL ENGINEERING & SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS

OUR CORE BUSINESS

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We blend Technology with ‘Experts’ to create a market leading motor claims propositions. Our core services include Advanced Triage, Digital Engineering and Forensic Investigations.

A white labelled web app to capture customer images which are then interrogated to allow highly accurate advanced triage for any claim.

Seamlessly blending Technology with Human Intelligence to technically engineer 100% of motor claims without compromise. .

Specialist investigators with the bespoke expertise to determine causation, capture forensic information, provide detailed reporting and secure documented evidence.

The rise of technology Technology, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI), is continuing to drive greater efficiencies within the motor claims space.

Paul Sykes, Regional Managing Director of ControlExpert UK, discusses the balance between technology and human expertise and experience as processes, products and solutions start to evolve.

Technology has been a major factor in driving change over the past few years, some of the more recent innovations that’s set to move the needle is centred on AI. AI is a fantastic innovation that, if executed well, has the ability to drive huge benefits into our industry, but we should be mindful of thinking that it will replace expertise or experience in the near term. Whilst we battle a significant skills shortage in the repair sector, the number of data scientists working on claims related AI has never been greater. So, in the motor claims space we could be heading for some challenges over the next few years as AI drives greater and greater efficiencies whilst repair capacity and skills reduce. I suspect this will see insurers continue to invest heavily in their own accident repair networks both organically and inorganically.

With that in mind, it’s also worth noting that the UK is one of, if not the most aggressive and competitive insurance markets in the world, which means that getting things wrong simply isn’t an option. How does that fit with AI? Generally speaking, Artificial Intelligence offers a decision about a particular scenario or question which is supported by a percentage level of certainty.

To give a crude example; an AI might suggest that a vehicle could be triaged into a one-day repair process,

which is fantastic, however it may only be 70% sure that the decision is correct. Is that good enough? In some markets, it might well be good enough, in our market I’d suggest that more certainty is required to avoid delays or additional costs. ‘Motor’ could in no way be considered a high margin business for either the insurers or large parts of their supply chain, getting it wrong at the claims stage will lead to waste, cycle time delays and poor customer service.

How do we fully benefit from Artificial Intelligence without the compromise right now? I believe that the only way to fully embrace technology without compromise is to bookend the process with experts, human experts!

The danger with many of the AI based solutions being thrust upon insurers is that they simply do not cater

The only way to fully embrace technology without compromise is to bookend the process with experts, human experts Driving Synergies Supplement | 33

Those of us in the supply chain should be laser focused on what techology and services we can deliver that enables insurers to delight their customers whilst still containing costs for anywhere near every claim and every scenario, this means that they can become a distraction as the insurer still needs the same people involved in the claim to ensure it is handled appropriately and that the claimant is delighted. Using AI as a decision support tool to help the experts take the right decision more quickly and effectively than before is the most viable use case for many of the AI solutions on offer. In a high risk and low margin business, it is essential that a ‘check and verify’ approach is adopted to ensure new technologies are in fact adding value. In the longer term, I have no doubt many of the mundane functions of claims will be handled

by Artificial Intelligence. Like many, we are investing very heavily in the technology on a global scale and will be a driving force for change, both now and over the coming years. We also believe that a seamless blend of people and technology is the only way for insurers to truly capitalise on Artificial Intelligence right now and without the inevitable compromises.

Technology is now also prolific in all new passenger vehicles; this has become another defining shift over the past few years. As with most material change there are winners and losers, insurers are paying more than ever to repair vehicles with even entry level models having sensors that may require replacement and/or recalibration after an accident. Vehicle manufacturers have done a good job of creating a greater range of captive parts, meaning that parts inflation continues and shows no sign of stopping. This is offset to a small extent by insurers pushing the use of non-genuine parts, however, this will only ever be a relatively small percentage of the parts basket. I appreciate that there are arrangements in place with a small number of insurers, but I am certain that a greater level of cooperation between insurers and OEM’s would drive value for all. I say this at a time when post-claim liabilities for insurers have never been greater and the absolute hard and fast requirement to follow appropriate methods of repair is more important now than ever before.

Worryingly, I can foresee insurers having to justify themselves legally when a repaired vehicle hasn’t been returned fully to pre-accident condition with all sensors being calibrated according to the vehicle manufacturers specification and is involved in a subsequent accident.

There are plenty of options in the market for recalibrating ADAS sensors (Cameras, Radar, Lidar etc.), but I’m concerned that if the worst happens and a particular safety feature, Autonomous Emergency Braking for example, doesn’t function correctly at any point after an accident repair, that insurers may find themselves exposed by the decisions taken at the claim stage. That exposure is somewhat mitigated if both the OEM and the insurer are involved in returning vehicles to their preaccident condition, especially when it comes to parts and ADAS recalibration.

Things have certainly evolved over time but there’s still a policyholder or third party that requires their property to be repaired or replaced, however, consumer expectations have risen sharply whilst the perception of our industry has worsened. It is easy to see why insurers are working hard to increase customer service and deliver on the promises they make when selling the policy. Those of us in the supply chain should be laser focused on what techology and services we can deliver that enables insurers to delight their customers whilst still containing costs. For the next few years at least, I believe those companies that can offer both the technology and services to cater for all claims, including the inevitable exceptions, will find themselves as a longterm and trusted strategic partner of the insurers.

Paul Sykes

is the Regional Managing Director of ControlExpert UK Ltd.

Those companies that can offer both the technology and services to cater for all claims, including the inevitable exceptions, will find themselves as a long-term and trusted strategic partner of the insurers

34 | Driving Synergies Supplement

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