Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 33

33 Issue

ISSN 2515-3803

What does the future hold?

Leading by example

Danielle Head WNS Assistance

Coplus Roadshow A 2020 Vision: Next steps for the industry

Invest in tech Industry Innovators Rob Cooper ME Group

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MODERN Insurance

Editorial Contributors Adam Rates Head of IT Strategy and Architecture Allianz Insurance

Marc Lafferty Chief Revenue Officer EDAM Group

Daniel Chesney Commercial Director S&G Response

Michael Lewis CEO Claim Technology Ltd

David Williams Technical Director AXA Insurance (UK)

Pablo Liñares Director of Consulting and Innovation Services GT Motive

Donna Scully Director Carpenters Group Professor Hugh Koch Clinical Psychologist and Director Hugh Koch Associates Janette Evans-Turner Head of Procurement Zurich Insurance UK Jason Tripp Managing Director Coplus Katherine Best Clinical Operations Manager Unite Professionals Ltd Keith Tracey Managing Director Aon Global Professionals Nik Ellis Managing Director Laird Assessors

Paul Doyle AT Expert Bush & Company Rehabilitation Paul Tasker Managing Director REG UK Paul Taylor Managing Director, Operations Plantec Assist Shaun Smith Sales Executive EMEA Iovation Stephen Marshall ACII Managing Director Insure Apps Steve Thompson Director Industry Insights Trevor Lloyd-Jones Senior Marketing Manager, Insurance LexisNexis Risk Solutions

WELCOME W

hat does the future hold for the insurance industry?

There are many factors influencing the industry.

Customer expectations are continuing to change in this digital economy. The insurance industry is in a technologydriven revolution, which is going to change the way that we do business. But technology need not be the only consideration of the industry. In June, we partnered with Coplus to hold a series of roundtables across the UK with the aim of bringing together a range of experts from across the industry to discuss and consider the current set of challenges and opportunities facing the insurer and broker markets. Each roundtable brought forth a number of considerations for the insurance industry such as disruptors, company culture, diversity and inclusion, customer engagement and innovation, with the core of the conversation focused on the whiplash reforms. We have aimed to cover all of the above topics in this issue as we look to the future and consider what the next steps of the industry should be. You can read all about the roundtables and their conclusions in this issue’s write-up on page forty-one.

In the previous issue we had just heard word that there would be a delay to the implementation of the Ministry of Justice’s whiplash reforms to April 2020. This came as no surprise to many in the industry, but many began to question the reasons for the push back. Samantha Ramen, Keoghs, has a few theories for us as she discusses how and why this has happened in our latest News feature.

Our interview with Danielle Head, WNS Assistance, focuses on how the insurance industry is becoming more proactive when addressing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Although gender diversity is in the current spotlight at the moment, it is only a small element of the bigger picture as stated by Head.

Businesses need “to ensure an agile and dynamic workforce that can drive and not simply react to change you need a diverse team in place.” Our Women in Insurance feature also backs this statement as they exclaim that diversity and inclusion should be second nature to all businesses.

Make sure you check out our fantastic panel of industry experts on the editorial board and some interesting content from Chris Weeks at the National Body Repair Association (NBRA) and Mike Brockman, ThingCo. I hope you enjoy this issue, and if you have any comments or feedback, then please do get in touch via the details below.

Issue 33 ISSN 2515-3803 Co-Editor 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 33

Poppy Green, Co-Editor, Modern Insurance Magazine.

01765 600909 @Modern_Poppy poppy@charltongrant.co.uk

Modern Insurance 03

MODERN Insurance

Issue 33 | ISSN 2515-3803

07 10 27 34

41

52

Innovation in Information Get the essential insights you need to more accurately price

contributors

and underwrite risk from LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

Combining cutting-edge technology, unique data and advanced analytics, LexisNexis

04 Modern Insurance

Risk Solutions provides products and services that address evolving client needs, while upholding the highest standards of security and privacy.

Issue 33

MODERN Insurance

NEWS 07 Samantha Ramen talks news

After the delay of the implementation of the whiplash reforms was pushed back to April 2020, Samantha Ramen, Director of Market and Public Affairs, sets out her theories for why she believes they have been postponed.

INTERVIEWS 10 Danielle Head

The insurance industry is becoming more proactive when addressing issues surrounding diversity and inclusion. Danielle Head, Chief Executive Officer, discusses how businesses can create an inclusive environment and culture.

14 Rob Cooper

Modern Insurance spoke to Rob Cooper, Co-Founder and Executive Director, about ME Group and how they have established themselves in this ever-growing industry as well as their investment in technology and their clients.

EdiTorial Board 19 Taking the time to get it right

David Williams, AXA Insurance (UK)

19 Digital ecosystems

Pablo Liñares, GT Motive

21 What disruptors will the industry be facing in the next few years?

Stephen Marshall ACII, Insure Apps

27 We need to get smarter

27 Artificial Intelligence Assisting Insurance

Shaun Smith, iovation

23 Finding an effective solution

Paul Taylor, Plantec Assist

25 Smart collaboration

Nik Ellis, Laird Assessors

25 Are traditional insurances responsive to new digital risks?

Keith Tracey, Aon Global Professions

Issue 33

Trevor Lloyd-Jones, LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Jason Tripp, Coplus

31 Will delayed reforms be “fit for purpose”?

Professor Hugh Koch, Hugh Koch Associates

Paul Tasker, REG (UK) Ltd

33 The right decision

Donna Scully, Carpenters Group

33 How is social procurement business as usual for the insurance firm?

Janette Evans-Turner, Zurich Insurance UK

Steve Thompson, Industry Insights

34 How can the traditional ways of claims and policy management be redefined in this digital age?

Michael Lewis, Claim Technology Ltd

35 Focus on the policyholder

Marc Lafferty, EDAM Group

Paul Doyle, Bush & Company Rehabilitation

FEATURES 37 Sector Soapbox

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

41 Coplus Roadshow A 2020 vision: Next steps for the industry 42 London 44 Cardiff 46 York 48 - Birmingham

We highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion within the workplace and how we can encourage more women to enter into the industry’s arena by hearing the thoughts of some of the most prominent women in the business.

59 The single customer view data challenge - the insurance industry isn’t there yet

35 Assistive technology

On a baking hot June day, most visitors to Brighton were heading for the beach or the famous pier. But in the Hilton Brighton Metropole, the country’s leading clinical negligence lawyers were gathering for AvMA’s 30th Annual Clinical Negligence Conference.

57 Women in Insurance

34 Changing the approach

Chris Weeks, National Body Repair Association (NBRA), informs us about their investigation into the relationship of the body repair industry and the insurers.

54 AvMA’s 30th Annual Clinical Negligence Conference

31 The rise of RegTech

Modern Insurance spoke to Mike Brockman, Founder and CEO, about how ThingCo will be taking telematics to the next level.

52 Investigation into insurer treatment of the body repair industry

29 Meeting expectations

Katherine Best, Unite Professionals Ltd

23 Stemming the rising tide of omni-channel fraud

50 Industry Innovators Interview: ThingCo

Adam Rates, Allianz Insurance

29 The digital transformation journey

21 Improving communication lines

Dan Chesney, S&G Response

Rodrigo DeCossio, UK Insurance Lead, takes a look at how we can use data to gain a better understanding of our customers.

Case Study 61 New “second look” claims service generates over 100 instructions in its first month

Barrister-Direct launches suite of new products targeting serious injury and credit hire markets.

10 MINUTES WITH 62 10 minutes with…

Mark Clarke, PPG Refinish

Modern Insurance 05

NEWS

The Whiplash Reforms

Samantha Ramen TALKS NEWS After the delay of the implementation of the whiplash reforms was pushed back to April 2020, Samantha Ramen, Director of Market and Public Affairs, sets out her theories for why she believes they have been postponed. s many will agree, the whiplash reforms have attracted a fair amount of controversy since they were announced by the then Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement in 2015. We are almost three years on from that announcement, and yet delivery of these reforms is still a couple of years away. Why has it taken so long to get here, and why do we need to wait two more years for this to be up and running?

A

Firstly, the wider political context can explain the long wait and can be summed up in one word: Brexit. The referendum result in June 2016 started off a whole series of political happenings that I won’t repeat here. It is fair for me to say that the Government has been somewhat distracted.

However, the show must go on. Domestic policy reform must still take place; there needs to be some business as usual activity. And so, after the introduction and subsequent scrapping (following the snap general election last year) of the Prisons and Courts Bill, we saw the Civil Liability Bill’s First Reading in the House of Lords on 20th March.

Following a fairly swift, if not entirely smooth, passage through the House of Lords, the Bill entered the Commons on 28th June 2018 and is awaiting its Second Reading scheduled for 4th September.

Notwithstanding external political events and with a health warning that nothing in politics is ever certain (!), we can expect that this legislation will receive Royal Assent early next year.

Issue 33

the Report was extremely critical of the Government’s plans. The Committee’s view was that there is not enough evidence to support these changes and that these reforms would, simply put, be too much too soon Modern Insurance 07

NEWS

The MoJ, this time around, recognise that any new system will have its problems, and that history has taught us that it would be prudent to minimise these by not rushing things through When will the whiplash reforms actually take effect? Quite a topical question, as it was announced just last month that the Government’s target date for implementation has been put back to April 2020.

This came as no big surprise to many in the industry. But why, in the context of the Government’s attempts to reduce motor insurance premiums, has this been pushed back? Surely they would want to expedite this piece of reform in order to reap the benefits (i.e. reduced motor premiums for all important voters) before another general election…?

There may be a whole raft of reasons for this decision – after all, analysing Government decisions is never an easy thing to do.

However, I have a few theories on how and why this happened, and have set these out below.

The pressure from the JSC proved too tricky to ignore The Justice Select Committee published their report on the Government’s proposals to increase the small claims track on 17th May. The Committee explored the various issues associated with such a change, such as the inception of a litigant in person claims portal and the likely subsequent impact on the courts as well as access to justice.

On any reading, the Report was extremely critical of the Government’s plans. The Committee’s view was that there is not enough evidence to support these changes and that these reforms would, simply put, be too much too soon.

Technically, this needn’t have made a lot of difference. The Government need not heed the recommendations of a Select Committee – they are merely recommendations, after all.

However, politically, this sort of criticism is very difficult to ignore.

Select Committees are cross party groups and are not bound by political agendas.

The Government eventually bowed to this pressure, and confirmed in their response to the Committee published in July that the implementation date would be pushed back to April 2020.

It has learned lessons from the past Many of us will remember April 2010, when the original RTA portal was launched. Such a sea change in claims handling was bound to be tricky to adapt to, but it has been widely acknowledged that nevertheless there were a number of teething issues that could have been avoided.

The MoJ, this time around, recognise that any new system will have its problems, and that history has taught us that it would be prudent to minimise these by not rushing things through.

And what about the Civil Liability Bill itself? Will it have any trouble getting over the line?

The House of Lords certainly put the Bill to the test. The Government, through Lord Keen, managed to fend off the major attacks, particularly Lord Woolf’s attempts to remove the tariff from the reforms (an amendment which would have rendered the reforms largely pointless).

How will this fare in the Commons? Second Reading will be telling as it is then that we can judge the mood music from the various points raised by MPs during this debate. But when push comes to shove, what does the parliamentary arithmetic look like for a piece of legislation being taken forward by a Government lacking an overall majority?

Well, luckily for those in favour of these reforms, it is worth remembering that this Bill is subject to EVEL (English Votes to English Laws). Here, unlike for legislation that is UK wide, the Government has a comfortable working majority: there are 305 Conservative English and Welsh MPs out of a total of 573.

So although we can expect some heated debate on this Bill, particularly from Labour MPs and Justice Select Committee members, the Government should be able to get the rubber stamp they need from the Commons with Royal Assent likely to follow in early 2019.

Samantha Ramen is Director of Market and Public Affairs at Keoghs.

The amount of work needed to progress the work behind the scenes on this raft of reforms is enormous Even after The Civil Liability Bill acquires Royal Assent, there is still much that needs to be done before these reforms can be launched.

Of particular note is the litigant in person (LiP) portal. A lot more work will need to be put into this in order to make the existing portal “consumer friendly” – not an insurmountable task but certainly one that will take some time to deliver. This work is progressing but there is a recognition that there is still some way to go.

08 Modern Insurance

Issue 33

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INTERVIEW

Leading by example Interview with

Danielle Head

The insurance industry is becoming more proactive when addressing issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.

Danielle Head, Chief Executive Officer, discusses how businesses can create an inclusive environment and culture.

Q

What is the current state of gender diversity in the insurance industry, and what have been some the biggest changes in relation to this?

A

I don’t believe that the insurance industry is particularly unique. The CII reported that the UK gender pay gap is about 24%, which reflects on the issues around gender diversity, particularly at senior level. There has been significant progress made but the most important change is that the industry has started acknowledging and talking about the issue, which hasn’t always been the case.

Organisations are proactively looking at ways to address this issue.

Diversity is featuring as a key talking point in a lot of board room discussions and industry events. That is probably one of the best ways to encourage and attract more women and hopefully we can see this as a starting point to closing the gap in the near future.

Q A

How does diversity and inclusion bring new insights and outlooks to a business?

First and foremost you need a happy and motivated work force to help foster a culture where people are able to bring forward new ideas and be innovative. And inclusion is a key part of this, not just in relation to gender but all kinds of diversity.

Essential to building this culture is to make sure you have an inclusive business which motivates, attracts and retains the right talent. For many businesses and business decisions, you should consider as many different perspectives as possible, especially where your offerings have to cater to the needs of a very diverse customer base, like in the case for us.

A business lacking in diversity will suffer from the absence of varied insights and will end up having a unidimensional view, which is not sustainable in the long term. It is imperative to think about diversity in its true sense, and despite gender being in the spotlight at the moment, it is only a small element of the larger

10 Modern Insurance

picture. To ensure an agile and dynamic workforce that can drive and not simply react to change you need a diverse team in place.

Q A

How are WNS Assistance looking to improve diversity and inclusion within their business?

WNS have started a key initiative, ‘Project Centurion’, focused on nurturing women talent across all global business segments.

WNS provides a fast track of learning to the selected women employees through a two-year program, in association with a reputed management institute. The first batch of selected women employees have already started their two-year program late last year.

Q A

What are some of the biggest barriers for entry and progression for women in the insurance industry?

Perception is one of the biggest barriers in the insurance industry today because any business that is perceived to be less diverse or particularly male-dominated is simply less likely to attract female talent. This is particularly challenging because irrespective of the opportunities created and the right policies and procedures built; there will never be the right amount of

It is imperative to think about diversity in its true sense, and despite gender being in the spotlight at the moment, it is only a small element of the larger picture Issue 33

INTERVIEW

Telematics is going to play a major role as it helps inform and enable people to manage claims better when empowered by data analytics. We are certainly looking to leverage it in designing and re-engineering our processes since it is essential to the digital automation that we see in the industry talent available to take advantage of these initiatives. So if that perception can be overcome, one will see a natural shift towards gender balance. I am pretty sure that we are going to see a change but like any cultural shift it is going to take some time to filter down, particularly at the senior or executive level.

Q

What are some of the common cultural hurdles to modernisation in the insurance industry, and how can we look to overcome these?

A

From my time in the industry we have witnessed a considerably high retention rate. Once people fit into the industry they don’t tend to leave. It takes time for new talent and new generations to come through and influence product and service delivery.

It is difficult for larger businesses and insurers to mobilise technologies. Due to the complication of the regulatory framework, you tend to find a large number of legacy systems.

It is hard for businesses to modernise quickly. However, we see the market overcoming this gradually; quite often you see the large insurers looking to third party partnerships to tackle this issue. Also, regarding the insurance products, a growing number of MGAs who are less affected by the cultural hurdles are able to mobilise innovations more quickly.

Q A

How is WNS Assistance looking to innovate in order to find sustainable solutions?

Launched in 2011, WNS has created the first-of-its-kind CEO Entrepreneurship Challenge called WiNCUBATE, to fund start-up ideas of the employees. Once an idea is approved, WNS gives a team seed funding towards the development of the idea as a product or a solution. Besides this, the team gets management support for any resources or data it needs during its entrepreneurial journey. Four of our highly successful solutions – WNS Analytics Decision Engine (WADESM), SocioSEER, ProGenie and SmartPRO – are products of the WiNCUBATE initiative.

Issue 33

WNS Assistance have got a number of digital initiatives and product concepts ongoing, particularly around some of the new technologies such as AI; ultimately, the goal of this is to ensure that the end customer has the option to register and monitor a claim in a completely different way; to have a streamlined digital journey, which ultimately delivers improvements for all of our stakeholders.

Q A

How are WNS Assistance driving insurance claims innovation, now and in the future?

We focus on three overriding principles or deliverables, which are to improve the customer journey, improve net indemnity costs and reduce operating expense. These three relate well because if you are delivering good customer service, then you will get cost benefits because you eliminate failure demand and you also get an improvement in the claims exposure, either through more efficient processes or supply chain efficiency.

For us, being a Business Process Management company, we are always innovating and exploring new ideas and I can’t honestly see a time when that will end because it is so fundamental to our existence as a strategic partner to our clients.

Q

What steps are WNS Assistance making in order to deliver a sustainable approach to motor claims, especially with the reforms not too far in the distant future?

A

We don’t enter into relationships which we know aren’t going to be sustainable. We believe in a transparent commercial model and a collaborative partnership – the very foundation to cocreating high impact outcomes with and for our clients.

If you get this right from day one, one will be able to drive the right behaviours among all stakeholders in the value chain - clients, end customers and the suppliers. We see it as an opportunity to engage with a new market and look forward to innovations. Most importantly we are looking to address business problems in a very sustainable way.

Modern Insurance 11

INTERVIEW

Perception is one of the biggest barriers in the insurance industry today because any business that is perceived to be less diverse or particularly maledominated is simply less likely to attract female talent

Q A

What new innovations and technology can we expect to see enter the insurance arena in the next five years?

Everything is evolving due to technology at the moment and it already has and is still changing and influencing products we see in the market. With these innovations in place, motor insurance is going to become more personalised.

Telematics is going to play a major role as it helps inform and enable people to manage claims better when empowered by data analytics. We are certainly looking to leverage it in designing and re-engineering our processes since it is essential to the digital automation that we see in the industry.

Q A

What are WNS Assistance’s aims for 2018 and beyond?

In 2018 we have got some new, exciting and innovative logos that we are adding to our client base. We always make sure that we invest in all of our key clients, not just new but existing clients that we have in place – we have got some very long term relationships that have worked very well.

We need to make sure that we continue to innovate and add value to new solutions using the data and intelligence that we have. We are focused on embracing new technologies – we have got some new product concepts ongoing, which we are looking to conclude and put into live production. Ultimately, our aim doesn’t change, we want to be a provider of choice and we want to continue to add value to our clients and suppliers.

Danielle Head BSc ACA Chief Executive Officer – WNS Assistance

Danielle is the CEO of WNS Assistance, part of the WNS Holdings group having assumed the position following a seven year tenure in October 2017.

Danielle is a graduate in Psychology and a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Prior to joining WNS in 2010, Danielle worked in practice for PricewaterHouse Coopers LLP. As CEO of WNS Assistance, Danielle is responsible for driving the business strategy, growth and expansion of the UK WNS Assistance claims management business.

Danielle Head is Chief Executive Officer at WNS Assistance.

“The views expressed are personal and not necessarily those of WNS”.

12 Modern Insurance

Issue 33

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INTERVIEW

Invest in tech Interview with

Rob Cooper

Modern Insurance spoke to Rob Cooper, Co-Founder and Executive Director, about ME Group and how they have established themselves in this ever-growing industry as well as their investment in technology and their clients.

Q A

Tell us about ME Group?

ME Group’s co-founders have got a broad range of experience across legal and financial services. What we know from being in those sectors in that the traditional model of claims management is inefficient. Claims management companies (CMCs) have historically referred large volumes of clients to law firms with limited validation of their potential claim, the law firm would make an assessment as to whether that client is one that they want to engage with based on potential prospects for success.

We spotted an opportunity to make that whole process more efficient. We looked at how we could re-engineer that model for all stakeholders in the industry. For the claimant that means that they know at the start of the process, in an entirely automated client journey, whether they are likely to claim or not. Therefore we are using none of our own resources, we are not using the lawyer’s resources and equally, we are not wasting the client’s time in pursuing a matter that could fall down.

If the client is likely to have a claim, then the next stage would be to validate that information by way of reference to a third party. We make an assessment of that information and then an assessment on causation and prospects for success. From a litigation funder and insurer’s perspective, you begin to get quality MI to measure against but you also know the quality of the underlining assets that the capital has been deployed against. We are effectively assessing the quality of the claim.

Assuming that that all stacks up, we then end up with a client that is confident that they have a matter that will proceed, we have a lawyer that has an engaged client that understands the causation of quantum as well as benefitting from a reduced work load at the front end of their process, and we have an insurer and litigation funder who have got an underlying claim asset against which capital can be deployed with known measurements of causation and quantum.

This is a far more efficient and effective process for everyone involved.

Q A

How did you identify the gap in the market for ME Group to fill?

ME Group products have been created through research and development. We have built the entire firm using methodology applied by financial services firms knowing that the claims industry is going through FCA regulation next year.

Before you put a product into the market, we have to understand all of the metrics that go around that and make sure that it is

14 Modern Insurance

Before you put a product into the market, we have to understand all of the metrics that go around that and make sure that it is suitable and appropriate for the target client base suitable and appropriate for the target client base. Be confident that the process works for clients and be confident that the right outcome is delivered for clients.

Q A

What have you found to be the main challenges when establishing your business in a market like this?

The biggest challenge has been the R and D capital requirements, but also the amount of time and resource that is needed to deploy that research into development so that the legal tech delivers long term efficiencies over the course of a product life cycle.

As the industry progresses towards FCA authorisation the regulatory framework will provide an increasing barrier to entry.

We welcome FCA regulation of the industry but we expect it to be far more challenging and robust than under the current scheme of regulation enforced by the Ministry of Justice.

Q

How might consumer experience of other products and service influence their expectations when buying insurance products?

A

If you look across the distribution of financial products you will see a massive shift in recent years. Historically, if you were going to go and buy insurance or an investment or savings product, the way that you would have done that would have to be either engage face-to-face at a branch or over the phone. Whereas if you look at those industries now, and all of the development that there has been in fintech, what the customer is looking for is to be able to purchase the product at the time and in the channel that they want.

It is all about timing and channel – people want things instantly.

Issue 33

INTERVIEW

It is about having an omni-channel approach but making sure that that channel is consistent throughout the service In the legal service industry, the model is still largely the same one that has been around for many years; there isn’t the availability to converse via webchat, to answer queries instantly or complete an engagement process online, so what we are trying to do is make that purchasing process for legal services a whole lot more efficient, seamless and quicker.

Q A

How would you suggest firms improve their customer acquisition and engagement?

You have got to be in tune with how customers want to procure services. Most people don’t want to be hanging around for a phone call in the hope they are available when that phone call is returned. The distribution strategy for legal services has got to be in line with your customer base, so for some people, that might be a phone led strategy because that is the means by which they want to communicate. For some people it might be completely online; for others it might be via social media. There needs to be customer service available on all mediums and that requires a whole re-engineering of customer delivery at the front

Issue 33

end of the process. In a financial services world, the FCA would see that business engineering as being a key part of business planning under the heading of behavioural economics.

Q A

How has technology influenced your service offering?

For ME Group, a large majority of what we do is social media led because inevitably that’s where people are obtaining news or interacting in social groups.

Where a lot of people get this wrong is when placing an advert on social media and engaging with the customer you need to make sure that your service delivery is live through that channel as well.

What I don’t want to do is see an advert on Facebook and then have to phone in to engage with the service. It is about having an omni-channel approach but making sure that that channel is consistent throughout the service.

Modern Insurance 15

INTERVIEW

There is a massive opportunity for existing market participants with a strong customer base to invest in legal tech firms and new start-ups so that they have the benefit of that technology under their banner. Those that choose not to will start to find it increasingly difficult over the next few years.

Q A

What new technologies and disruptors to you think will be entering the market in the next few years?

If you look at the investment in fintech, then you can see sizeable change across all aspects of financial services and I think the same will happen in legal technology. We are seeing an increasing number of instances, whether it is customer engagement, case assessment, delivery of legal services, ADR, technology and AI, that are continuing to be introduced at a far more rapid pace than it has ever been done before.

Q A

How important is brand design for a business?

It depends upon your proposition. For some services, brand loyalty will be entirely essential to the business. Customers are looking for indicators in your brand proposition that are aligned with that particular service offering.

In the retail insurance industry, you may have a different car insurer than you do for your household insurer. From a brand perspective you will want to go with a brand that you recognise and trust and that you can have believe in but not necessarily any on specific brand. Once you have identified a trusted brand, price point versus an extent of cover will most likely be the next considerations.

As more disruptors come into the industry, brand affiliation is probably less likely to be as important but as long as you are a trusted brand, you will then find competition likely to open up on channel of delivery, price point and speed of service.

Q A

ME Group The ME Group’s innovation provides turnkey solutions for legal firms, encompassing client and case generation, financial quantification reporting, case funding, and legal claim insurance.

Our headquarters are located in Cheshire’s prestigious Alderley Park, where employees benefit from a fantastic range of perks, ranging from on-site gym and leisure facilities to a glorious scenic location and excellent transport links, as well as all the other opportunities that a career with the ME Group offers.

their own. There is a massive opportunity for existing market participants with a strong customer base to invest in legal tech firms and new start-ups so that they have the benefit of that technology under their banner. Those that choose not to will start to find it increasingly difficult over the next few years.

Rob Cooper is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of ME Group.

What does the future hold for ME Group?

We are rapidly expanding. We have gone from six people at the beginning of September 2017 to now in excess of 130, including having recruited a highly experienced management team.

Until now we have been heavily focused on a niche area of financial services claimant work, but there are numerous types of other claimant work that are coming over the horizon as we begin to pass the R and D phase and put them into full launch.

We have heavily invested in underlying technology, and in people, so all of those ‘new start-up phases’ are beginning to pass and therefore further expansion will come by way of additional product launches and through a greater number of clients engaging with us.

This business is an exciting place to be and is a credit to everyone that works in or with the business. We’re fortunate to have a great team of people and to work with great industry partners.

Inevitably, over the course of the next couple of years, we will see an increasing amount of M and A activity. There are lots of incumbent providers of legal services that are choosing to align themselves with fintech start-ups because it is easier for them to acquire the new technology and culture than it is to build

16 Modern Insurance

Issue 33

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Taking the time to get it right

Digital ecosystems

How will the push back on the implementation of the whiplash reforms until April 2020 make sure the proposed plans are fit for purpose?

How can digital collaboration tools be used more effectively in the insurance industry?

t is important to cut through the almost Pantomime rhetoric between opposing sides and remember what the Government is trying to achieve here. They feel that the cost of whiplash claims is too much, and whether that is because of fraud or just because it’s so easy to get a substantial payment, these costs are pushing up insurance premiums. The aim therefore is to remove what they see as unnecessary legal costs; getting compensation quickly to someone with a genuine injury at a clear and agreed level.

I

To do this we need a ‘Portal’, a technology solution that leads Joe Public through the claims process, gathers all information required, and produces the right outcome, without needing external guidance. This point is incredibly important because if the new portal doesn’t feel like any other consumer solution, then the scaremongering of some could prove to be true, with low level claims farmers preying on naive individuals, driving up claims numbers rather than reducing them, and taking a substantial proportion of damages as fees from an already reduced tariff.

If that happens, we have all failed, so we need to make sure it doesn’t, and fortunately we have the time needed to do this.

To describe the original timetable as ambitious would be being kind, anyone I’ve spoken to with experience of testing consumer facing systems says you need to allow at least six months just for that. With an April 2020 ‘live date’ we should have plenty of time - I say should have as sadly until the bill is passed, we don’t know the precise detail, and that is needed to properly specify the structure of the portal.

Fraud is another issue, solicitors claiming that they have been massively filtering out claims with no merit, but on whiplash I have to be honest and say I’ve seen little evidence of that. That aside, we have great experience within the MIB and the IFB, and I am confident we can build a system that’s even more effective than the current regime.

So the key element therefore is giving us the time to build it properly, and to do that we need the bill to pass smoothly and quickly. Here’s hoping this happens early in the autumn and we can then proceed, involving consumer groups and ‘real people’ in both designing and testing the system well ahead of going live.

David Williams, Technical Director, AXA Insurance (UK).

igital collaboration tools offer the opportunity to improve many processes in the insurance industry. Digital is changing the way insurance companies interact with customers, suppliers and partners to make the insurance service more relatable, personal and efficient.

D

Claims have been traditionally considered as the moment of truth in insurance, and it’s still true if insurers want to deliver a competitive advantage over price, retain customers after the first claim and build up profitable customer relationships. The claim is the moment where the customer is being served and can perceive a differentiation in value. Digital can bring many improvements along the claims journey for the customer, where self-service claim services play an essential role. Based on our experience, more than half of current motor claims are subject to a self-serve process and more than half of average customers are already capable/ willing to use a complete self-service process that works. There is still a large part of complex claims and customer profiles that will require helping the customer, but there is undoubtedly a large part of simple claims with a potential to be served in a more convenient and efficient way thanks to digital collaboration tools. Starting from comprehensive and enhanced FNOL services, intelligent and prompt triaging to the best repairer, managing additional services, repair status follow-ups and finally closing the claim all of them can be performed today in a digital manner.

Another relevant aspect is skills for that specific vehicle and type of repair, being able to keep track of manufacturer certifications and identify upfront repair needs at FNOL/Triage stage will be more relevant as automotive technology develops with more sensors fitted that require calibration and special materials, which require special training and repair tools. Subsequently, proper knowledge to estimate the repair costs is also a must to provide the right estimate first time. All the factors below impact in the repair cycle which in the end is insurance cost and customer happiness/likeliness to renew.

Collaboration between repairers, insurers and accident management services is brought to new levels of efficiency when systems are connected into a digital ecosystem. Lack of information and telephone chasing for updates generates customer frustration and inefficiencies for insurers and repairers.

Built upon proper business partner relationships, digital collaboration tools enable efficient communication. We have seen how digital ecosystems greatly improve relationships between repairers and insurers using digital collaboration solutions and look forward for exciting “digital times” ahead.

Pablo Liñares, Director of Consulting and Innovation Services, GT Motive.

Issue 33

Modern Insurance 19

EDITORIAL BOARD

What disruptors will the industry be facing in the next few years? or an age it seemed like the insurance industry was unaffected by change. Go to Lloyds today and you find an industry steeped in history and you could tell yourself that it will never change. Indeed, some things around insurance should never change, upmost good faith as a core principle for example. However, much like how video rental companies and black cabs in London have seen over the last decade, disrupters have had a massive impact in a very short time. The way Netflix and Uber, to name just two examples, have penetrated their respective markets and importantly the consciousness of potential customers, is staggering.

F

What does this mean for the insurance industry then? Well it’s clear that consumers value convenience above almost all else. You can’t really compare renting a movie to taking out an insurance policy, one is a simple transaction the other far more complex buying decision. However, the trend for end user convenienceorientated usage only looks set to increase. It will be offerings to customers that makes their interaction with buying or using insurance easier than it is now that will cause disruption, the same way ordering a cab on an app was. How many people use Amazon or Google every day, multiple times? Millions of people have relationships and accounts with these large companies, which suggests that, should they make the move into the insurance industry, they will already have a captive audience. In the same way people “Uber over the city”, will people just buy insurance on the search engine or shopping platform they use?

Furthermore, these tech giants, alongside others, will be able to better understand human behaviour and potentially offer a more satisfying, and importantly for the average person, a less timeconsuming experience.

What can be done about this? We can see that people use their phones, laptops, tablets for more of their daily needs and this will surely only continue. The way to combat the potential disruption is to embrace mobile technology and combine this with existing insurance knowledge. Consider becoming a disrupter today!

Stephen Marshall ACII, Managing Director, Insure Apps.

Improving communication lines How can communication be improved between insurers and case managers in order to deliver effective client care? here is a huge difference in the response times of different insurance companies and their propensity to pick up the phone. While some are guaranteed to return an email or pick up the phone almost immediately, others will ignore hundreds of calls and emails without responding. This can become frustrating if the case manager or case management company is unable to contact the claims handler. Whilst there may be a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why a handler does not wish to communicate with us, it is always helpful if they let us know. Responses to requests for authorisation can vary between a few minutes to several months, with client’s treatment stalling and appointments being missed waiting for authorisation. This delay really does make a difference – it affects not only the client’s recovery time but also their psychological wellbeing and engagement with the rehabilitation process. The client becomes frustrated with the whole process and rather than seeing it as an opportunity to receive rehabilitation and treatment, they often see it as a barrier to getting what they need and an added stressor in their life. They may begin to focus on the compensation and give up on any meaningful recovery.

T

Cases with active and effective communication with the insurer progress quickly, run smoothly, are discharged in a timely manner and are rewarding for all involved.

Case conferences with case manager, claimant solicitor and insurer on joint instruction are also hugely beneficial for the progression of the case. Occasionally it can be difficult to fully explain the reasoning behind a recommendation in a written report and it is important that the case manager has the opportunity to represent the client by answering questions directly from both parties regarding the reasons for their recommendations. This can work both ways – there are times when a case manager may feel under pressure from an assertive client to recommend something that they may feel is not fully justified. The ability to have a frank discussion with both parties in order that there is a consensus and agreement on whether it should be funded under the rehab code or not, speeds up the authorisation or empowers the case manager to say no.

Katherine Best, Clinical Operations Manager, Unite Professionals Ltd.

Issue 33

Modern Insurance 21

Whiplash or Fraud?

Our forensic expert witness reports will help uncover the truth

info@laird-assessors.com www.laird.expert 0151 342 9961www.laird.expert

EDITORIAL BOARD

Stemming the rising tide of omni-channel fraud

Finding an effective solution

raud is so commonly enabled through the call centre that it should be renamed the cross-channel-fraud-enablement channel.” Though that statement came from Aite’s announcement* of a 2016 report focused on the financial services industry, I suspect that fraudsters continue to target insurers’ call centres for several reasons.

here is little doubt that the impending reforms will have a significant impact on the personal injury claims arena; although I personally question whether they will deliver the intended outcomes, particularly for insurers.

The majority of insurance professionals are fully behind the desire to eradicate fraudulent claims, but we have to make sure that there is a properly governed and well managed claims process for those people who have genuine claims and need professional advice.

The decision to delay the implementation of the new reforms has been agreed, if not welcomed by all. In my opinion, this has to be a sensible course of action to make sure that consumers can be properly educated about the changes; in particular on how to pursue their claims in person directly with the insurance companies.

The reference to “whiplash” reforms by many is also a source of much confusion. In fact, the impact of the legislation will reach far wider than those claimants alone. The devil in the detail needs to be clearly laid out and understood by all parties well in advance. Not to mention a fully tested and robust IT platform, which appears to be a critical element of the new process for making a claim.

For my part, working with motorcyclists with often more serious and harrowing injuries, we see the importance of expert, professional advice. At the same time we also witness the many frivolous claims that are pursued against our instructing insurer partners.

The idea of the reform is sound but be careful what we wish for… if we don’t take the time now to design a system which promotes effective and consistent claims handling, then we may just create the very thing we are trying to avoid, with the emergence of less professional claims firms willing to “help” the many confused out there.

If we can actually find a way for respected insurers to work with those who protect the interests of genuine claimants, then I am sure we can find an effective solution for consumers, which after all is why we are all employed to work in this industry - to protect those who require the benefit of insurance protection.

“F

Firstly, the transition to EMV technology has pushed fraudsters toward other types of fraud, namely: card not present (CNP), account takeover and application fraud.

Secondly, years’ worth of data breaches have flooded the dark web with consumers’ personally identifying information. Fraudsters can now more easily acquire personal information to help them evade authentication solutions like knowledge-based authentication (KBA) questions. Regulated institutions may sunset KBA in their contact centres, but plenty of other organisations still rely on this authentication method, making them an enduring target.

Finally, electronic fulfilment of valuable documents, such as insurance policies, give fraudsters ample incentive to ‘let their fingers do the walking.’

I’d like to share how one of our insurance clients contained phone fraud successfully in spite of these trends.

This client had cut 70% of fraud from its websites by blocking fraudsters’ internet-enabled devices. That repelled the opportunists. It simply drove the better organised and funded fraudsters to switch channels.

Fraudsters realised that they could initiate a policy online with a ‘clean’ device, then call in to socially engineer a contact centre agent with stolen PII. If they could trick the agent into incepting, they would receive an email containing policy documents. They would go on to sell those documents to an unsuspecting ‘customer,’ and then cancel the policy for a refund on the premium.

After discovering this call centre loophole, the insurer created an online portal for customers’ documents. This was a convenient and secure place for honest customers to access and store their digital documents. But for fraudsters, it was the end. They couldn’t register an account or log in with a hot device.

It’s somewhat counterintuitive, but our client reduced call centre fraud with a web-based approach. As a result, the insurer gets more value from its acquisition and onboarding efforts, and gets fewer false positives in its manual review queue.

T

Paul Taylor, Managing Director, Plantec Assist.

The ‘cross-channel-fraud-enablement channel’ became an ‘omnichannel-fraud-fighting channel.’

Shaun Smith, Sales Executive EMEA, iovation. * Contact Centers: The Fraud Enablement Channel, Aite Group, 2016.

Issue 33

Modern Insurance 23

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dŚĞ ǁĂLJ ǁĞ ŚĂŶĚůĞ LJŽƵƌ ĐůĂŝŵƐ ŝƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ ĐůĂŝŵƐ ƉƐLJĐŚŽůŽŐLJ͘ ŶĚ ŶŽ ŽŶĞ ĞǀĞŶ ŬŶŽǁƐ͘ tŽƌŬ ǁŝƚŚ ƵƐ ĂŶĚ LJŽƵƌ ƉŽůŝĐLJŚŽůĚĞƌƐ ǁŝůů ĞŶũŽLJ ĂŶ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌ ũŽƵƌŶĞLJ͕ ǁŚĞƌĞĂƐ LJŽƵ ǁŝůů ĂůƐŽ ĞŶũŽLJ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƐĂǀŝŶŐƐ͘ tĞ ŬŶŽǁ ŚŽǁ ƚŽ ĂĐŚŝĞǀĞ ďŽƚŚ ƐŝŵƵůƚĂŶĞŽƵƐůLJ͘ tĞ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞ ǁŝŶͲǁŝŶ ƐĐĞŶĂƌŝŽƐ͘

ůĂŝŵƐ sĂůŝĚĂƚŝŽŶ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ǁǁǁ͘ŝͲĐŽŐƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͘ĐŽŵ

EDITORIAL BOARD

Smart collaboration How can digital collaboration tools be used more effectively in the insurance industry? he market for collaboration tools has boomed over the last decade as software developers strive to provide solutions to a diverse selection of challenges facing modern multicentred businesses, with remote workers, offices in different time zones and multi-skilled project co-operations.

T

Teams that aren’t in the same room (or even country) have traditionally faced challenges of being able to work productively together.

One of the first useful developments were video conferencing tools like Skype and FaceTime, particularly once they were upgraded to allow multiple users.

We’re currently trailing a video conferencing tool, which also allows recording and the ability to save a high quality video but with dramatically reduced file sizes; ideal for us to remotely assess a damaged vehicle and liaise with the bodyshop, the client, insurer or say fleet manager at the same time. Importantly, what is said and agreed is permanently recorded.

Not everyone wants to meet over video (we work with a company in LA and typically they’re still in their PJs when we talk), so there are plenty of virtual meeting apps, some with artificial intelligence (AI) driven predictive responses. Many have the ability to take control of your colleague’s computer to demonstrate something. It makes it feel like we’re in the room with them.

We’re all familiar with file sharing applications like Dropbox or Google Drive but we have seen some incredible developments in the way these function now, some becoming almost virtual intranets, giving the ability to be managed from a centralised dashboard.

In my view, one of the best uses is for project management, especially when a project involves varied skills, dependencies and time-lines with the ability to visualise progress with dashboards.

I’m a fan of simple things like a virtual white board; like being in an office together without an argument over which radio station to listen to.

I’m thrilled to see more clients, suppliers and staff understand the ever increasing importance of smart collaboration and with the right software tools we can all make our lives so much easier, trackable and productive. I’m also excited for the future as AI becomes more accessible and allows us to visualise previously unexplored solutions.

Are traditional insurances responsive to new digital risks? nsurance packages cover the traditionally insurable risks that professional service firms face. The risk landscape is dynamic and the industry has responded recently with innovation in fields such as employment practices and cyber insurances. Changes in risk exposure are ongoing and accelerating, largely driven by technology. This may pose some challenges in the areas of cover adequacy.

I

For professional indemnity cover, the scope of activities and digital related risks may prompt the need for clarity. This may involve the core coverage such as the description of activities that are insured, although most UK policies are broad in this respect. As the need for collaboration increases, a related area for scrutiny is the coverage status for any losses arising from alliances as partners are employed to design or deliver services. Cover for intellectual property infringement exposures are worth examining in this regard.

Existing professional indemnity wordings are very broad and may cover security and privacy liability risks without specific mention. Other cyber related losses have been packaged into widely available broad policy forms. The interaction between those coverages should be examined and defined in the respective policies. Firms should question if their cover is adequate where outsourcing or cloud services are used. Cover for social engineering losses should be affirmative: some losses have fallen between the crime and cyber covers.

Perhaps the biggest gap between experience and expectation has been the difficulty in resolving business interruption claims.

Policy forms may not adequately describe or cover the risk in an agile and remote working world. Some rigorous work during the placement process is advisable to think through scenarios and to make sure that the cover will be responsive. We have seen losses take a long time to settle and often the results have been unsatisfactory because of the difficulty in establishing the amount of the loss and supplying documents to verify that figure.

This also has ramifications for cyber cover. Additionally, reputation losses can be the largest cyber related exposure. They are essentially business interruption losses but with longer indemnity or recovery periods.

This represents a brief summary of some useful due diligence.

There is of course much more to consider as the use and sophistication of technology increases in professional activities.

Nik Ellis, Managing Director, Laird Assessors.

Keith Tracey, Managing Director, Aon Global Professions.

Issue 33

Modern Insurance 25

EDITORIAL BOARD

We need to get smarter How can the traditional ways of claims and policy management be redefined in this digital age? hink of the journey of a consumer after enacting a new insurance policy; they generally will be invited to create a log-in to access their online account, probably be asked if they want to download an app, and then carry on with their day to day life.

T

At a later date something unfortunate happens to them and they require their policy details; this is the point where they will start to try and remember who they are insured by and then which login details they used.

So what can we do?

Why not share all policy information and contact details on a single multi provider platform; home, car, gadget, LEI, boiler cover all in a single place. All the required information needed to start a claim or make contact in a single location, it beats having ten logins and five different portals.

Why not build the insured products the ability to store the insurance information; I bet Alexa would be able to remember who your mobile phone was covered by, and I’m sure with all the tech in vehicles nowadays they could certainly be capable of storing insurance details.

We could get smarter at policy inception; photographs, video and phone-based locus reports could be recorded to speed up home insurance claims, or what about access to local gyms and swimming facilities for when the water goes off at home.

We know that a large percentage of consumers will do a comparison online after they receive notification and the previous years premium – why not do this for them and if it’s truly not just a commoditised price sensitive purchase (i.e. you have gone above and beyond during the policy term), then maybe even if you are not the cheapest, the policy will be renewed.

Sharing data between insurers and utilising smart technology (which as we know is never far from a policy holder’s hand) is critical to delivering a much wider consumer experience. If we were to get rid of contracts altogether and the consumer was free to move between providers, cynically, I would expect that a lot more thought would go into the customers’ experience and relationship.

Dan Chesney, Commercial Director, S&G Response.

Issue 33

Artificial Intelligence – Assisting Insurance A

rtificial Intelligence (AI), once the stuff of science fiction, powers a whole host of things which are now part of everyday life. Just think of Siri, Cortana or Alexa to start with.

AI is a term that covers a wide range of technologies and capabilities, which can be of huge benefit to businesses. This is equally true for the insurance industry, with many insurers exploring both AI and an associated technology, robotics, for functions, from claims handling to fraud detection.

The terms AI and robotics are not interchangeable. Robotics uses information technology for automation and for executing rules-based processes without any need to understand the steps being followed. AI is inherently more sophisticated and commonly involves training a computer on an activity’s outcome. The difference is that the computer programme “learns” and improves at the outcome the more it does, hence the term ‘intelligence’.

The use of chatbots is a key example of AI in the insurance industry. These computer programmes mimic human interaction and are able to answer common questions like “am I covered for…?” or “what is the excess on…?” The advantage is that they are easily available 24/7 and can deal with multiple customers simultaneously. As the chatbots become more sophisticated, we will, in time, see them dealing with more complex tasks, like settling simple claims. Insurers are already reporting successful pilots of this technology, with very positive customer feedback and impressive efficiency gains.

Fraud detection is another area of interest. Complex algorithms can analyse patterns, such as an individual’s spending data and identify anomalies suggestive of fraudulent activity. AI can also work when analysing images used in the claims process, such as photographs of damaged vehicles. After being fed thousands of images, over time AI can develop the capability of recognising where an image has been doctored. Having confirmed authenticity, AI subsequently assesses the damage and could estimate the repair based on the damage seen.

AI promises a good deal. It will take time to develop and should be viewed as enhancing rather than replacing the human. AI can take away the mundane to leave a person to do the complex work.

For example, brokers can use AI to assist in analysing market options but ultimately their role relies on an understanding of, and relationship, with the customer. Machines are a long way from this!

Adam Rates, Head of IT Strategy and Architecture, Allianz Insurance.

Hear more about AI in the Allianz “Tomorrow Podcasts”.

Modern Insurance 27

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EDITORIAL BOARD

The digital transformation journey How are consumer buying habits changing and therefore changing the methods and structures of product delivery in the insurance industry? nsurers today are progressing their core digital transformation journey to leverage changes in technology and consumer expectations. A recent report by Celent found that global insurers are investing in innovation fairly equally, across a lot of different areas such as digital and the omnichannel experience (34% of investments), legacy and eco-system transformation (25%), operational excellence (18%) and data mastery and analytics (11%) for example. But the study concluded that even the best examples of insurance innovation have so far not yet sought to really change the traditional distribution model.

Even as insurers continue to build a robust digital foundation for their systems, customer expectations are growing every day.

According to our LexisNexis® consumer survey of home insurance policy holders, the evolution towards personalisation is likely to be fairly gradual, with big differences between age groups and other consumer profiles around their acceptance to automation, trust in insurers and how they view the use of their personal data. We recently launched the Home Prefill service and our own learnings from the research point to a future where there is no ‘one-size-fitsall’ approach to automation.

I

To deliver micro-services and an on-boarding experience that is granular, independently-packaged to suit each individual is going to be an evolution requiring a lot of collaboration and interconnectivity across different services and APIs, not just on a single insurer website.

More than 80% of consumers told us they would like to see prefilled answers to questions in the home insurance application journey. More than 75% of consumers said they would be ‘very comfortable’ or ‘somewhat comfortable’ sharing the types of personal, property and past claims information necessary to enable prefill of the application.

Insurers of course want to embrace this kind of change in the customer experience. But it’s likely they will continue to differ in the precise way they choose to innovate and present the automation experience to consumers, dependent on their own strategy, their risk appetite and their customer base.

Consumers are indicating that insurers must plot their strategies carefully. They want insurance providers to know their preferences, but they must not introduce anything that leaves customers feeling out of control.

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

Issue 33

Meeting expectations How will the push back on the implementation of the whiplash reforms until April 2020 make sure the proposed plans are fit for purpose? here was no real surprise when the Government announced that the whiplash reforms would be delayed until April 2020. In the published response to the Justice Select Committees findings, the MoJ stated that “it is important to get the introduction of these important reforms right rather than strive for an early deadline”. Their response goes on to say that the Government is proposing to commence large scale testing for an online litigant in person portal in October 2019. This is a good thing; such a wholesale change to the customers’ legal rights needs extremely careful consideration.

T

Today, the not at fault injured party in a road traffic accident can expect expert legal representation, capped fees and no payment in advance (or possibly no payment at all if they have motor legal expenses insurance). This regime which was brought in by the Access to Justice Act almost twenty years ago has become the norm in England and Wales and whilst some state it’s expensive and open to abuse, there is no doubt that it provides excellent service to customers in a well regulated environment.

Motorists’ attention has been caught by headlines promising an end to the ‘compensation culture’ and a reduction in motor premiums. In contrast, the impact of the proposed changes has not been well publicised and institutions supporting the reforms are becoming increasingly concerned about the risk of damaging unintended consequences.

Our research tells us that post reforms customers will expect their insurance provider to arrange recovery of compensation for injury, just as they do now. But compare and contrast the customer journey post reforms. The genuinely injured claimant will be presented with greatly reduced compensation, possibly at a cost and probably without legal representation. Worst case, they will be representing themselves or seeking assistance from a CMC after feeling let down by their insurance provider.

For this reason planning and preparing for the reforms is definitely not in the long grass. Motor insurers are developing services to replace the current regime and Brokers need to keep planning too.

What will happen to customers with and without a motor legal insurance policy? April 2019 for new policy implementation is not very far away. Having heavily invested in winning and retaining their customers, brokers need to ensure the post reforms service meets their policyholders expectations as it will be the brokers reputation that is on the line.

Jason Tripp, Managing Director, Coplus.

Modern Insurance 29

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Will delayed reforms be “fit for purpose”? he delay in the MoJ’s intention to increase the small claims limit to £5000 for RTA claims until April 2020, deterring claimants from recovery costs for claims worth less than £5000, has largely been welcomed in the claims industry. However, there is still scepticism about several aspects of this initiative:

T

• Is the evidence for the need for this initiative valid and reliable?

Is the proposed rise in the small claims limit proportional? What and where is the supporting evidence for this?

• Will the Litigant In Person (LIP) portal be ‘fit for purpose’ in time? Will claimants be able to get to grips with the online process or will it effectively deny access to justice for individual claimants by being too complex?

• Will the LIP be competent to run their claim without access to legal representation and manage the handling of the claim appropriately?

• Will the savings proposed by insurers actually be realised?

It is widely thought that the delay in these reforms is sensible but that it is still a huge task to deliver fit for purpose IT systems for litigants in person by then. Stakeholder involvement-related requirements need to be assessed – the systems need to be built, tested and deployed and this pilot then evaluated. It would be surprising if all this could be successfully achieved by April 2020.

It would be counter productive if an apparent simplification that supposedly saves revenue starts by being too complex to navigate.

It is important that the MoJ clearly set out more detail about this scheme and follow up implementation with data on how the scheme fares both in terms of claimant access to the Portal and medium-term savings resulting from this scheme.

All those working in the claims industry have an interest in and desire to reduce fraud and opportunistic injury claims and reduce associated costs for the majority of motorists – honest motorists. It remains to be seen if the insurers promise to pass on 100% of the savings from the eventual implementation of the Civil Liability Bill to customers will be realised.

The rise of RegTech usinesses operating within regulated industries face continually evolving challenges from their regulatory and legal responsibilities to progressively competitive commercial tests. In the drive to remain competitive, businesses are increasingly turning to technology solutions for a range of operational areas and not just product distribution.

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Generally, the terms that most people will be familiar with for these technology solutions are InsurTech (Insurance Technology) and FinTech (Financial Technology), but there is an increasing focus on relative newcomer RegTech (Regulatory Technology). Simply put, all these acronyms refer to the concept of using software and technology to deliver seismic efficiency gains in a business process or area of operation.

Last year Deloitte, calculated there are around 200 regulatory revisions made globally every day, with regulators handing out fines in excess of $300bn between 2008 and 2017. RegTech is increasingly becoming the ‘must have’ solution to ensuring continued compliance within a manageable cost base.

RegTech has steadily established itself as an effective solution for driving operational efficiencies and facilitating business transactions between counterparties. In the insurance market RegTech has become an integral tool for firms to undertake due diligence and oversight of their trading counterparties and forms the bedrock of a robust governance and control framework.

RegTech solutions have also transformed the offer, acceptance and exchange of contract documentation. Following hot on the heels of the Insurance Consumers Act, Insurance Act and Enterprise Act came the implementation of GDPR, the Insurance Distribution Directive and Senior Managers Certification Regime forcing many participants to ‘re-paper’ their contracts with trading partners.

Replacing ‘not for purpose’ spreadsheets and emails, RegTech has provided cloud based utilities that deliver document exchange tools utilising block chain concepts, enabling adopters to stay ahead of the game.

Ultimately regulation is here to stay. RegTech solutions are a logical generator of efficiencies and cost savings for regulated firms.

In the meantime, experts, lawyers and the courts will continue to assess professionally the reliability and veracity of individual claims/claimants differentially between innocent victims with legitimate claims, and fraudulent claimants whose ‘injuries’ are spurious – a clinical/qualitative approach rather than a costconstraining approach.

Good businesses have always been based on solid processes.

RegTech doesn’t change this, but simply increases the opportunity to deliver excellence, faster, affordably and frequently.

Professor Hugh Koch, Clinical Psychologist and Director, Hugh Koch Associates and Professor in Law & Psychology, Birmingham City University.

Paul Tasker, Managing Director, REG (UK) Ltd.

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So, don’t fear the technical innovations that are making this happen. Think of RegTech as simply delivering ‘A Better Way’.

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Adults and children are seen within four to six weeks of instruction at any of our 167 clinics across the UK and the report provided within two weeks.

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EDITORIAL BOARD

The right decision How will the push back on the implementation of the whiplash reforms until April 2020 make sure the proposed plans are fit for purpose? elaying implementation of the whiplash reforms until April 2020 was absolutely the right thing to do. You don’t have to be close to the Motor Insurance Bureau-led process to understand that the development of the new Litigants in Person Portal is a complex and difficult IT programme. It may not be on the same scale as the recently criticised online courts project for HM Courts and Tribunals Service, but with it effectively reinventing the RTA claims process, it will radically transform the way claims are handled.

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The Government aims to start testing the new LIP Portal in October 2019, six months prior to implementation. With some of the key procedural and cost issues still to be decided upon, and the detailed IT specifications still to be agreed, the recalibrated timetable may yet prove challenging. There is a massive amount of integration required to ensure that the process is streamlined.

The current claims portal, the Motor Insurance/DVLA databases, MedCo, askCUE and the Insurance Fraud Register all need to be fully integrated.

The focus is very much on injury claims, but the MoJ should remember that the majority of injured litigants also suffer some form of personal financial loss. The new system needs to provide for recovery of these losses. If it does not do so, the new process risks leaving hundreds of thousands of individuals out of pocket.

There also needs to be clarity about how the estimated 20% of cases involving non-injury claims will be dealt with in the future, given the costs for these were effectively subsidised by injury claims.

The disaster that was MedCo in the early days should have made it crystal clear to everyone that rushing to implementation before a system is fully ready is to be avoided at all costs. Insurers and the Government will be keen to get on with it, but they should temper their desire to proceed if the system is not ready by April 2020. If it is necessary, the minor political embarrassment of a further delay would be a hit worth taking if it avoids a system that is half-baked and severely lets down thousands of angry and frustrated claimants.

Donna Scully, Director, Carpenters Group.

How is social procurement business as usual for the insurance firm? t Zurich we are committed to sustainability, ensuring that that our business activities have a positive impact on society, the environment and the economy. By integrating social and environmental concerns into our business operations, we can make a real difference and help effect social change with our business beliefs, practices and profits.

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Corporate responsibility in business transactions

One of the ways in which we deliver on our commitment is by ensuring we have a procurement framework in place that takes into account the economic, social and environmental impacts of our purchasing activity.

Our procurement framework enables us to benchmark potential suppliers against a range of factors to ensure their suitability.

• We have robust criteria in place to help us to assess the products we buy, which includes CR factors, best value and compliance with relevant legislation. We also consider the environmental and social impacts of potential goods and services in our purchasing decisions.

• We believe that engaging a wide range of suppliers gives us the potential to work with the most agile and innovative companies.

We also work actively with our suppliers to enhance CR performance throughout the supply chain.

• As part of our supplier selection process, suppliers fill in questionnaires, which include a section on corporate responsibility. Each supplier’s response and evidence is assessed as part of the supplier selection process.

Successful social partnerships

In the UK, we’re proud of the partnerships we have in place, working with companies that are equally committed to social enterprise. We work directly with socially-responsible companies such as digital experts ‘Ninety Consulting’ and stationery specialists, ‘Wildhearts’, to embed social values into our supply chain. We’ve established indirect relationships with social enterprises such as Belu Water and Clarity Soap through our partnership with caterer, Sodexo.

Long-term vision

We’re committed to social procurement and all the benefits it brings and will continue to explore more ways to embed more social enterprises into our social chain. We urge other organisations to consider taking a social approach to procurement as part of their wider corporate responsibility strategy, being a force for good in an ever-changing world.

Janette Evans-Turner, Head of Procurement, Zurich UK.

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Changing the approach How do insurance products need to change to increase engagement among policyholders to become more than a grudge purchase? or many years I have worked with supply chain businesses where the majority of their trade derives from insurance contracts. My view is therefore perhaps biased towards a suppliers’ point of view, however it has always been my opinion that insurers (and in fairness their approaches do vary) focus on cost first and foremost and then target their supply chain on delivering great customer service. Apart from the fact that this is often a commercial struggle for suppliers, it does suggest that because it is a grudge purchase, that the focus from the insurer is also the same. The procurement of services pursuant to an insurance claim are equally a grudge purchase from the insurer, and whilst I accept a controversial point, this then sets the tone for the only real engagement that an insurer has with their customer (I rather say customer, than policyholder as a description of what they are buying. Do Apple call their customers Iphone holders?

Equally I have never liked the term that vehicle repairers use for their customers (Insurers, Fleets and Accident Management companies), which is ‘work providers’, to me this suggest that there is almost some sort of obligation for a customer to send them work. I know these are only semantics, but they do not convey the correct message in my view. I believe this is seminal to the entire engagement that an insurer has with its customers.

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If we can change the way we think then we can start to really increase our engagement positively with customers. As an industry we need to change our approach with ‘customers’. Instead of viewing the products we supply as insurers and supply chain, not as a grudge purchase, but as something that enables customers’ mobility (in the case of motor), peace of mind and support during times of disruption and loss.

Insurance is a fantastic service, which does far more than reimburse a customer of their losses. As an industry we need to engage with customers when they have experienced great service.

Proactive contacts needs to be when the customer is feeling positive and not just when dealing with complaint issues. Insurers need to find ways to keep engaged with customers and not just when they make a claim, this would add real value and potentially make insurance more of a lifestyle purchase. A good example of this is the work we are doing with some insurers on infinity programmes via Industry Insights <Connected Solutions> Partners.

We are providing free of charge car washes for insurer clients and their customers on a regular basis. This continues beyond the claim and demonstrates value and ongoing engagement/ goodwill with the customer. One insurer even offers free of charge full vehicle valets just prior to their renewal date. How many other low value products could insurers’ offer that make their service more attractive and engaging? If you start to think about it, there are many ways you could do this and bring about a change from a grudge purchase to a lifestyle enhancing product!

Steve Thompson, Director, Industry Insights.

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How can the traditional ways of claims and policy management be redefined in this digital age? echnology adoption is vital to today’s business success.

Companies who embrace automation and streamline their business process are providing a valuable and tempting alternative against traditional service models, grabbing a necessary edge against the competition.

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According to McKinsey*, 90% of Insurance companies are struggling with digitisation of their claims and policy management process. “The size and complexity of their IT systems, many of which are based on dated legacy platforms, are a barrier to the rapid development that characterizes digital.”

It’s clear that a solution is urgently needed. Traditional insurance companies are phone-centric, while customers are increasingly looking for omni-channel services. Telephone-only is an expensive service model if you’re hoping to meet today’s expectations of 24/7 customer service. Businesses need to find a way to adopt web and live chat support - automating their business processes and customer experience solutions, despite the complex legacy systems that hold them back.

The rise in XaaS (Anything as a Service) has helped spur on change. Cloud-based solutions can solve a specific need, allowing companies to embrace live chat or power a self-service application for example, without affecting the businesses existing infrastructure.

Taking this a step further, I see a future in the Claims-as-a-Service (CaaS) model led by Insurtech start-up, Claim Technology. Unlike traditional legacy solutions, which can take years to implement, and often fail to introduce automation quickly enough or realise the promised potential, with CaaS you can automate a specific claims process today by using one of Claim Technology’s Claims APIs in your website or applications, or empowering staff to use Claim Technology’s digital claims assistant, Robin.

Rapid deployment means you are first to market where it matters with the latest technological innovations. Integrating such services with live chat and AI capabilities will allow you to provide an intuitive customer UI, delighting clients with a streamlined customer journey that saves you both valuable time.

CaaS is an entirely new paradigm for implementing discrete automation. It allows you to begin a continuous program of improvement, starting with the specific changes you need to disrupt traditional Insurance models, increasing your ROI, not in months or years but today.

Michael Lewis, CEO, Claim Technology Ltd.

*https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/dotcom/client_service/Financial%20 Services/Latest%20thinking/%20Insurance/Making_of_a_digital_insurer_2015.ashx

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Focus on the policyholder

Assistive technology

How do insurance products need to change to increase engagement among policyholders to become more than an unavoidable necessity?

here are a lot of issues around assistive technology at the moment. One of things that concerns me as an expert witness for Bush & Company and lecturer in assistive technology, is the notion that when someone provides assistive technology through a legal settlement that it is often considered as a replacement for human support. We always look at assistive technology as a means of gaining independence through enabling an individual to perform tasks they that were once unable to accomplish by providing enhancing technology. It is part of a complimentary set of solutions that one employs to gain the maximum amount of independence that a person can have. When an individual is being recommended to use assistive technology they need to have that opportunity to learn how to use it to its full potential and the impact of it as they become more skilful. In the legal framework, once the assistive technology is implemented then it can become a static environment when really what I have found through practice centres is a very fluid environment, so this needs to change.

ar insurance is an unavoidable necessity for every motorist, and policyholders can spend a significant amount of money on a service they may ultimately never use, unless involved in an unfortunate road accident. It is up to third parties to offer true added value when a policyholder needs to engage with their insurer, while promoting the insurer’s brand values and level of service. As a result, the customer is more likely to renew their policy.

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At EDAM Group, we are determined to make the customer experience as positive as possible, addressing the policyholder’s needs throughout the claims process. We recognise that many customer enquiries come at a time of high stress. Policyholders may worry about prolonged time off the road for vehicles, hefty repair costs and complicated claims processes. With this in mind, we have shaped the approach to ease the customer into the process, delivering assurance that claims will be acted upon diligently and effectively.

Customer service is not a static, but rather a dynamic part of EDAM Group’s business. By taking a step back and adapting its processes from the viewpoint of the customer, the company has delivered numerous incremental gains across its operations. We actively seek feedback at multiple stages of the customer journey and ensure that customers’ experiences are always constantly used to make improvements.

EDAM Group’s excellent levels of customer satisfaction are evidenced by the ‘Net Promoter Score’ (NPS) metric. This tool is used across many industry sectors to measure the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s products or services to another. We regularly achieve a score in excess of 70, which, by industry standards, is very high.

In taking feedback seriously, we can ensure that customers are engaged at every step of the process. It is not just policyholders that we aim to satisfy with excellent customer service, but also the insurance companies we are partnered with. By developing strong partnerships, we can ensure ongoing business, meeting its ambitions for further company growth and stronger performance.

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When we have looked at providing assistive technology it is often without first establishing meaningful goals. For example, a robotic arm, the danger of the provision of that technology results in someone buying a £35,000 cup holder unless we can find a means of what they want to do and achieve with that robotic arm. The provision of the technology is often the starting point but there appears to be no current finishing point.

There needs to be a real understanding of the broad spectrum of assistive technology and as a consequence what we have realised while proceeding through that career path is that a solution works best when everyone is on the same page. It is not just the technical people that need to have the knowledge and understanding of assistive technology, but the care staff and everyone involved in the process. They need to know what it is, what it does and how we can effectively support it. That doesn’t necessarily mean that people need to be highly technically competent but they just need to have that basic understanding. We have to enable the opportunity to learn from both sides.

Paul Doyle, AT Expert, Bush & Company Rehabilitation.

To summarise, insurance products must centre around the policyholder and provide real added value in order to be effective and treated as more than a compulsory purchase. A quick, hasslefree solution reassures policyholders following a stressful situation and ultimately encourages them to maintain a lasting relationship with the insurer.

Marc Lafferty, Chief Revenue Officer, EDAM Group.

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FEATURES

Sector Soapbox

Modern Insurance’s panel of resident associations outlines the burning issues

Fuelling innovation nnovation is often nurtured by demanding constraints: back in the 1920s, the tiny cabin space of ocean liners forced designers to be creative with space in a way that inspired architects, transforming the way we live and work today.

In the 1980s, designing a branchless banking service for lowincome customers created challenges that, when overcome, made First Direct the blueprint for telephone and internet banking into the 21st century.

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Similar constraints can inspire insurance professionals today. The demands of vulnerable customers can challenge us to develop new services that are more accessible and easier to use for everybody.

The issues raised by pre-existing health conditions for travel and health insurance can help us develop new ways of helping clients to manage risk, just as the issues around providing motor cover to young people paved the way for telematics.

We tend to think of emerging markets as countries with rapidly expanding economies, but markets can also emerge in the form of groups of people on our own doorstep that have never had genuine access to cover before.

fuel innovation. For example, as we understand more about how people make decisions and respond to communication, we can create services that are distributed in ways that have never been tried before.

Similarly, as we understand more about the nature of complex claims and how they affect clients, from business disruption to mental illness, and from natural disasters to securing trade credit, we can build products that help clients manage risks more effectively, rather than simply paying out a relatively arbitrary lump sum.

As technology removes costly, repetitive tasks around servicing policies, the opportunities to improve and serve previously excluded groups will grow.

And as history has shown, the more demanding the challenge, the more innovative and universally applicable the solution is likely to be.

Dr Matthew Connell, Director, Policy and Public Affairs, Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

Opening up these markets closer to home can involve exploiting new technology, but there are other sources of insight that can

NHSR annual report and the impact of the discount rate on the NHS uring debate about the Civil Liability Bill, much has been made of the impact of the current -0.75 per cent discount rate on the NHS in terms of increased compensation payments. In his overview to the recently-published NHS Resolution annual report, the Chair said the corrected rate created “a real increased cost to the NHS”. While this sounds like a cause for concern, it is not strictly true. The NHS has been undercompensating for its negligence for many years. It is now simply paying what it always should have. It is critical to recognise that the cost it must bear is not because of how the discount rate was set (which the Bill sets out to change) but because the discount rate had been out of date and incorrect for many years.

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The report says that the decreased rate has cost the NHS an additional £404m in damages paid to injured patients annually.

For perspective, the £404m represents just 0.4 per cent of NHS England’s annual budget. By contrast, missed appointments cost the NHS £1bn every year, while medication errors waste £1.6bn.

Nevertheless, it is an expense which could and should be avoided.

Failures in maternity care produce the most expensive, life-altering

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injuries. Jeremy Hunt’s commitment to improve care is yet to be reflected in the number of settled claims. Consistently, the futures of more than 200 families are devastated each year by disastrous failures. These babies with life-long birth-related injuries are exactly the people who are helped by the corrected discount rate. It will allow them to be cautious investors. Our members tell us that families are vigilant with every penny because the compensation is all they will ever have. Most severely disabled children will never work.

It is crucial that Parliament gets it right with the Civil Liability Bill. If the discount rate is too high the impact on the NHS will be incalculable because not only will it have to pay its own dues, but it will also take on the burden of everyone else’s negligence as well. When compensation for people injured by their employers or in road crashes runs out because the discount rate deduction is too high, they are forced to turn to the State, i.e. the NHS, for their care.

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

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FEATURES

Under-insurance in business interruption claims he 2017 survey about declaration-linked business interruption insurance by the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA) highlighted ongoing concerns around under-insurance in respect of business interruption (BI) claims. The survey identified that of claims handled by CILA members, 44% of BI policies were underinsured and that the under-insurance shortfall on average was also 44%. The survey also revealed that less than half (47%) of policies were arranged on a declaration-linked basis, despite the fact that these policies are not subject to Average.

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To help brokers and clients with this, BIBA has produced a ‘Business Interruption (Declaration Linked Basis) – Insurance Gross Profit Declaration Form’, together with some guidance for BIBA brokers to use.

The form will help to address the three of the top ten underlying causes of under-insurance identified in the survey: 1. Misunderstanding the insurance definition of Gross Profit This was found to be the most significant cause of underinsurance in the CILA survey in part because accountancy definitions of ‘Gross Profit’ is different. The Declaration Form sets out a step-bystep guide on how to make the insurance calculation.

2. Misunderstanding the basis period to be declared The CILA research identified that the basis periods are as follows – 1. Last 12 months prior to the policy period beginning – 44% of BI wordings 2. Gross Profit anticipated in the policy period – 25% of BI wordings 3. Statutory Accounts from financial year most nearly concurrent with the expired insurance year – 14% of BI wordings 4. Last set of Statutory Accounts ending most recently prior to the commencement of the insurance policy period – 14% of BI wordings 5. Other – 3% of insurer BI wordings

The declaration form has been drafted in such a way that it may be completed in accordance with the basis period stipulated in the BI wording.

3. Declarations not requested Declaration-linked BI wording usually includes a requirement for the insured to submit a declaration supported by accountant’s figures, often within a set time limit.

In practice, many insurers do not pursue Gross Profit declarations and clients may not be aware of their obligations under the policy.

By providing the form and guidance, BIBA is encouraging brokers to inform their clients of their duty under their policy to provide a declaration and for brokers to supply the insurer declaration form – or the BIBA declaration form – and encourage it to be completed and returned to insurers.

It is when a claim occurs that insurers and broker are ‘in the shop window’ and it is vital that when the worst happens the insurance policy can respond and help businesses through any financial shocks.

Martin Bridges, Technical Services Manager, British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA).

Learning from past mistakes recent Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report was scathing about the ongoing IT programme to transform the HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The Committee Chair said: “Government has cut corners in its rush to push through these reforms. The timetable was unrealistic, consultation has been inadequate and, even now, HMCTS has not clearly explained what the changes will mean in practice.” Of course, this is not the first time that a Government IT project has been tormented by major problems. In justice, the Libra System for Magistrates springs to mind.

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The newly proposed Litigant-in-Persons (LIP) Portal for RTA claims is neither public sector, being developed by the Motor Insurance Bureau with an outside private sector IT contractor, nor anything like on the same scale as big government projects, with a budget of several million pounds versus the billions that some of these schemes have cost.

Nevertheless, there are some recurring common themes from past IT failures that MoJ and the MIB would do well to take on board. Far from saving money, many of the schemes ended up costing more money than they were supposed to save. Insufficient

38 Modern Insurance

testing resulted in severe problems that were then more difficult to resolve. They were frequently too rushed in their implementation.

Ill-advised policy ambitions and poor and inadequate planning led to unforeseen and unintended consequences.

The recent announcement that the target date for implementation of the Portal has been put back to April 2020, with testing beginning in October 2019, is very welcome. There is also at least an appearance of consultation with some deeply sceptical stakeholders on the architecture of the project. Nevertheless, these are all lessons that can be directly translated to the development of the LIP Portal.

Of course, with no public expenditure, there is no prospect of the PAC scrutinising the efficacy and value of the LIP Portal in the future. The new Portal’s success or failure will have to be judged by others. It is likely to be the thousands of accident victims that may feel a strong sense of injustice when the system lets them down, that will be the most ferocious critics.

Simon Stanfield, Chair, Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS).

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FEATURES

Fixed costs prevail Hislop v Perde and Kaur v Ramgarhia Board Leicester he long-running argument by some claimants that where a defendant accepts a claimant’s Part 36 offer late, a claimant should be entitled to indemnity basis costs on an hourly rate basis, has now been put to bed. In a thorough and coherent judgment handed down on 23rd July 2018, the Court of Appeal preserved the sanctity of the fixed costs rules in CPR45 and refused the claimants’ efforts to make inroads into that regime.

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The Court of Appeal found that a claimant may only recover fixed costs both in a late-settlement case and where the claimant recovers more by way of settlement than they had offered to accept in a Part 36 offer of their own.

Some commentators accuse some parties of gaming the system, and that this judgment does nothing to prevent that. Undoubtedly, there are those who do so on both sides. But those engaging in gaming are likely to be in the minority. It must be remembered that a fixed costs regime works on the basis that it over-rewards in some cases and under-rewards in others, but when taken as a whole the regime is fair. ‘Gaming’ is part and parcel of litigation and was no doubt considered when the regime was structured.

This is a really positive decision for defendants, who had feared another re-write of the rules was in prospect following Broadhurst v Tan (in which it was found that a claimant who beats his own offer at trial may get indemnity costs). Lord Justice Coulson considered that his interpretation ‘…is in accordance with the comprehensive nature of the fixed costs regime in Part 45 and the policy that, subject to limited exceptions, the fixed costs regime is intended to apply to the relevant PAP cases, without further ado or argument’, and that his judgment preserved the autonomy of Part 45. It was also found, in effect, that a late acceptance of a Part 36 offer was unlikely to be ‘exceptional circumstances’ for the purpose of CPR45.29J. Happily for the defendants in the many cases that have been stayed, pending the outcome of this appeal, those cases can now be resolved in their favour, no doubt with significant costs savings than would have been so had the decision gone the other way.

Stephen Hines, President of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), Consultant at Taylor Rose TTKW.

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ROADSHOW

A Next 2020 VISION: steps for the industry The insurance industry is facing a wave of changes as it comes up against a new set of challenges. The organisations who can adapt to coming technological changes and new customer expectations will be the ones to thrive. In order to understand how these developments are effecting the industry, and how it is responding, Modern Insurance Magazine partnered with Coplus to organise a series of roundtable events held across the UK with the aim to bring together individuals from across the industry to debate and consider the future players, disruptors and the main challenges and opportunities facing the insurer and broker markets.

Our travels took us to London, Cardiff, York and Birmingham, where we were met with a flood of new ideas, approaches and opinions on recent topics hitting the headlines in the insurance world.

At the core of each discussion was the whiplash reforms, with a clear focus on their implementation and the intention of the Government. Technology was another topic that came up time and time again with it being suggested that the insurance industry is playing catch-up with the technology that is already out there. You will find a range of discussion points from customer engagement to innovation, client care, company culture and workplace wellbeing throughout each discussion, which I hope you find both interesting and insightful. I look forward to hearing your feedback!

was delighted to chair these events with Modern Insurance Magazine.

This series “A 2020 Vision: Next steps for the industry” covered a broad range of subjects, which are impacting across the whole insurance landscape. From Government intervention through the personal injury reforms, through to the changing expectations of consumers, the possibilities and perils of harnessing data and identifying and preventing insurance fraud.

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The four venues attracted great participants each brining their own unique perspective to the current and future challenges in our industry. From claimant and defendant lawyers to insurance brokers, InsurTechs, MGAs and underwriters, industry associations and trade bodies and other guests from consulting and advisory roles. I really commend Modern Insurance for bringing us all together.

The roundtables provided a rare opportunity for open and frank discussion on the subjects that all of our businesses are evaluating and planning for in our day to day roles. However, they were also occasions that prompted thinking on new ideas and insight from all of the different viewpoints. Of course this included some healthy disagreement but this was always brought from the challenge of giving the customer real benefit.

As Chair I found each meeting enlightening and thought provoking. I have certainly learnt a great deal from these discussions and the opportunity to collaborate with others on some of the key issues in our business.

The impending disruption to our market through the Government led Personal Injury reforms was the subject of some debate. Universally each group concluded that the ‘devils in the detail’ and it was clear that everyone could see that customers are going to need education and assistance to understand the new regime post reforms. Whilst opinions on this subject tend to polarise there was collective agreement that we must not lose sight of the customer.

Another recurring theme was technology, in particular how this is providing ever more access to information about customers, their lifestyles, their wants and needs. We discussed how we use this data to develop insurance products, pricing and customer service but also the question of whether sharing data for insurance purposes is in the best interests of the customer. There can be substantial benefits for customers through personalisation of the proposition or service but an equal degree of risk, perhaps real or perceived, around privacy and a negative risk profile.

Poppy Green Co-Editor Modern Insurance Magazine poppy@charltongrant.co.uk Telephone: 01765600909

Jason Tripp Managing Director, Coplus

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ROADSHOW

London

This is certainly a time for change in terms of governmental and legislative pressures facing the industry, and it is certainly a time when firms need to be choosing how to respond to such measures. Jason Tripp rightly kicked off our first discussion with the question “how does the insurance industry need to prepare for a post-reforms world?” Steve Caffery suggested that “the real challenge is how insurers will facilitate access to justice”; insurers will need to be clear about how they will deal effectively with litigants in person without creating unnecessary barriers to claim.

Both Caffery and Geoffrey Leeks brought up the fact of claim management companies (CMCs) and that it is almost certain that they will be looking for ways to get around restrictions for what can be claimed for. However, Leeks believed that the larger threat will come from the establishment of the customer journey.

He suggested that an alternative solution should be provided, one that “provides a high level of customer service and handholds the claimant through their journey”. Caffery affirmed that all insurers want to be as close to their customers as possible in order to understand their needs and wants, but until we understand the size of the demand it could be quite difficult to determine an exact solution.

Unfortunately people are not going to stop having accidents and therefore a lot of people are not going to want to stop making claims. However, as Tripp pointed out, what people will remember the day after the reforms are implemented is that their family member or friend had earlier that year received £2,000 in compensation at no cost, and the situation they are going to be in post-reforms will seem an awfully lot different. Leeks suggested that arrangements need to be put in place in advance and a proper solution, otherwise there will be complaints and CMCs will naturally look for ways that they can seize that gap in the market.

Matt Cullen stated that “we can’t overestimate the political capital that has been expended so far of getting the civil liability bill in the place that it is. It would be a disaster for future policy makers if the reforms don’t have the positive effect that we have been saying it will have […], we have got to get to a place after these reforms

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where we and our customers genuinely feel like we are in a better place than we were before.”

The conversation soon turned to technology, with Tripp asking the group what steps insurers should take to stay or become more connected with their customer. Rodrigo DeCossio commented that ‘insurers are extremely slow to react” in comparison to other industries who are miles ahead in terms of technology. Graham Elliott advised that the problem can be narrowed down to the fact

we can’t overestimate the political capital that has been expended so far of getting the civil liability bill in the place that it is. It would be a disaster for future policy makers if the reforms don’t have the positive effect that we have been saying it will have […], we have got to get to a place after these reforms where we and our customers genuinely feel like we are in a better place than we were before

Matt Cullen, ABI

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the big insurers needed to think like a fintech and utilise the technology out there as insurers are behind on the concept of digital and therefore unintentionally moving away from the end-user Steve Caffery, LV= Insurance

London Attendees:

that the insurance product needs to be a “marriage of technology and underwriting” and insurers have not yet matched the pace of technology to enable that. For example, as we enter into a real-time world, the public will be demanding real-time user experiences.

James Tucker explained that because other products are able to match this real-time experience, insurers will need to relish in this challenge and create experiences that the public are accustomed to outside the world of insurance. Caffery sees it as an opportunity for insurers but it is “just whether insurers currently in the market have the appetite for it.” Tripp asked whether insurers will invest in technology in order to take ownership of the customer at the point of claim in order to control the fee, thereby looking after their own customers and avoiding leakage into other parts of the market. Tucker suggested that this has already started to happen in telematics insurance.

We then covered the idea of personalisation and whether this will drive insurance. It was thought that with the ability of being able to add new sources of data that recommendations will be refined, therefore pushing for personalisation within insurance products.

Caffery commented that he wasn’t sure whether personalisation was for the benefit of the consumer even though it will deliver a better overall experience for them. Consumers want different things when it comes to data, some want their data used in order to make sure the premium they pay is reflective of the risk that they present, others want to be rated on the general population or individually.

Caffery suggested that the big insurers needed to think like a fintech and utilise the technology out there as insurers are behind on the concept of digital and therefore unintentionally moving away from the end-user. Is, therefore, collaboration between the general insurer and insurtechs the key?

Graham Elliott Co-Founder and CEO Azur Underwriting

Geoffrey Leeks Director axitech | InterResolve

Hilary Ball Marketing Manager Coplus

James Tucker Manager, Smart Technologies Allianz

Zahid Shakil Director Legit Claims

Jason Tripp (Chair) Managing Director Coplus

Keith Tracey Managing Director Aon Global Professions

Matt Cullen Head of Strategy ABI

Rodrigo DeCossio UK Insurance Lead MarkLogic

Steve Caffery Business Standards for Insurance Claims LV= Insurance

because other products are able to match this real-time experience, insurers will need to relish in this challenge and create experiences that the public are accustomed to outside the world of insurance James Tucker, Allianz Insurance

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Cardiff

Digital influence, GDPR, data privacy, tensions revolving around data, future players, the customer journey and customer engagement were all key themes at our London discussion, but whiplash was at the core. Our conversation in Cardiff started off in the way: the Government is quite clear about its intentions – they intend to discourage the making of personal injury claims.

Tripp pointed out that they are unashamed by this motivation to do something, as are insurers. “But should something be done?”

Lisa Brennan began the debate and agreed that something should and has to be done. She believes that the insurance industry have “made a rod for our own back”, particularly in terms of claims management companies (CMCs). Matthew Connell said that it “has gone beyond the boundaries’; is it a possibility that the industry is encouraging that kind of behaviour from CMCs? Paul Taylor is more worried about how the reforms will be implemented, particularly the concept of the litigant in person.

He believes that those that are injured will not want to nor know how to begin to represent themselves, therefore opening the door for unscrupulous CMCs. Brennan waded in and said that the Government is not close enough to insurers to fully understand what insurers deal with on a day-to-day basis, and secondly, CMCs are not ruled by the FCA in the same way that insurance companies are, therefore they are pulling in two different directions and that needs to change.

“The paintbrush the Government is using is very wide”, said Tripp, the claims market should be broken down into a number of categories. “My analysis is that the first division is for the primary and secondary market – claims that have arisen out of FNOL. One is about dealing with requirements and one is about offering services later. If we were in charge, what would we do? How would we separate these two markets and allow the claimant that is injured to get access to justice while discouraging the secondary market?” Connell’s response was “even at the primary stage, if you start with the claimant, often it is not a big cash payment that is

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the solution, often it is rehabilitation”. He believes that right at the start of the claim we should be thinking not so much in terms of cash compensation but about what we can deliver to the customer in order for them to get their lives back on track. Neil McDermott agreed with both Connell and Tripp but had a different take: “In the UK we have a right to claim compensation for injuries caused by somebody else and that has always taken the form of monetary damages, but we could go a bit further if we were brave enough and adopt the model that prevails on the continent – if you suffer sexual abuse injuries in Germany you don’t get monetary compensation from the organisation that is responsible, that organisation has to pay for the clinical treatment until the clinician determines that it has been resolved. So we could consider not paying a small amount for whiplash but cover the cost of manipulative therapy to remediate those symptoms for as long is necessary. And for genuine claimants that provides value and benefit.”

the Government is not close enough to insurers to fully understand what insurers deal with on a day-to-day basis

Lisa Brennan, Accelerate Underwriting

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Millennials communicate in a different way”, and therefore “it is inevitable that they will buy in a different way Paul Taylor, Plantec Assist

Cardiff Attendees:

The conversation soon turned again to technology, disruption and data. Connell suggested that there is a new area of professionalism and that is to understand data and its sensitivity, using it ethically and using it to build relationships with customers. “There is a challenge ahead in order to figure out how to handle data in a professional way.” Emma Waddingham also suggested that the insurance industry is playing catch-up with the technology that is already out there. Predominately, customers want a solution and insurers need to be able to provide that in the way that the customer wants. She also said that there should be more training and education about the sharing of personal information and that this should be targeted at younger individuals in order to allow that way of thinking to filter through to other generations.

Taylor agreed, “Millennials communicate in a different way”, and therefore “it is inevitable that they will buy in a different way” and the industry needs to work out how best to accommodate that. Brennan suggested that everything is moving away from the personal, human touch, which could be viewed as both a positive and negative.

The group then turned their focus to other issues currently effecting the insurance industry such as wellness in the workplace. McDermott made the point that your colleagues become your working family and that it should be the norm for colleagues to be able to discuss any issues relating to mental health and/or stress. “We shouldn’t be frightened to speak about it anymore but the lead of that has to come from the top.” Brennan felt that larger insurers see wellness as a tick box exercise. Taylor reiterated this and explained that it is all to do with the company’s culture. Although larger companies have good intentions, the smaller and medium sized business are better at implementing a scheme and developing their culture because they have less departments and/or hurdles to overcome.

“It is all about how we can harness our employee’s skills and talents in order to get the best out of everyone.”

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Emma Waddingham Director Emma Waddingham Consulting Ltd

Hilary Ball Marketing Manager Coplus

Jason Tripp (Chair) Managing Director Coplus

Lisa Brennan Regional Director Accelerate Underwriting

Matthew Connell Director of Policy and Public Relations CII

Neil McDermott Cert CII Product Manager UK General Insurance

Paul Taylor Managing Director Plantec Assist

we could consider not paying a small amount for whiplash but cover the cost of manipulative therapy to remediate those symptoms for as long is necessary. And for genuine claimants that provides value and benefit Neil McDermott, UK General Insurance

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York

Whiplash reforms – done deal or not?

It became apparent that the table agreed that the reforms will materialise but everyone had their own concerns about its implementation and, of course, the customer: Minster Law’s view, said Shirley Woolham, is that the reforms will happen but what we will continue to debate is to what extent does the small claims limit go up and what represents a fair level, and secondly, what basis are the tariffs set and who sets them. Anthony Baker suggested that the government needs to have a process in place akin to a portal in order to enable litigants in person to process the claims; David Nichols’s chief concern was that the process had to be easier for the consumer – “they need clarity, transparency and a clear journey to follow”, and Vicki Heslop agreed and said that the reforms are essential but any changes need to be fair and easy for the customer to understand.

Although change is coming, Emma Cahill suggested that it is unfortunate how the reforms have been driven forward – has fraud been overstated as the driver for these reforms? Kieran Magee thinks so and that the heart of the reforms should instead be access to justice suggesting that it may have lost its focus. MASS’s Simon Stanfield believes that the government has “taken a sledgehammer to crack a nut” and the reforms, in MASS’s view, is disproportionate.

“Even though the reforms have evolved from fraudulent claims to policy, they can still achieve their policy by doing fairer reforms.”

Woolham commented that it feels like a “power struggle” between the insurance industry and a defence mechanism created by the claimant sector. Even though both sides want the same outcome for the customer, it seems that time and effort is being wasted in trying to fight the legislative position when, instead, they could collaborate and create a collaborative process going forward.

to justice.” Woolham said that we need to protect the customer but we need to better regulate the claims sector; “industries do not act consistently enough with the view of what standards are.” It is becoming apparent that the customer is not at the centre and this needs to change. It was agreed that the outcome should and must be better, and it was clear that the table shared the same objectives of wanting to get the genuine customer the compensation they deserve and to do it quickly, but as in the other sessions, it is increasingly difficult to say how we can do that.

Stanfield wrapped up this part of our discussion: “we accept that change is inevitable” and “the reforms should be fairer.” “The position of MASS was that the small claims limit shouldn’t increase but if it was to do so it should be an inflationary increase. Equally there needs to be fairer and more reasonable tariffs in line with judicial college guide lines, but the key part for all of our industry, including insurers, is that implementation should be delayed until it is fit for purpose - fit for purpose, fair and proportionate.”

the key part for all of our industry, including insurers, is that implementation should be delayed until it is fit for purpose - fit for purpose, fair and proportionate

Simon Stanfield, MASS

Tripp suggested that the customer is beginning to become a football: “The ABI are on one side and want to recruit the customer by saving them money on their insurance premium and the claimant body wants to recruit the customer by protecting access

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the world around us is going at an incredible pace, change is going to come and we have got to get used to that Gary Gallen, rradar

York Attendees:

Continuing with the customer, it was stated that the way the industry talks about the customer is wrong as is that fact that the customer is not at the forefront. Woolham believes that as an industry we are “besotted with labels for solutions”. The main purpose of a solution is to resolve a customer’s problem. We need to be focusing on customer strategies and therefore we need to understand the mindset and behaviours of our customers. If we can enable characteristics such as digital technology and data, they can create the chapters of the solution but they are not the main focus. Nichols agreed and said that insurers need to recognise that there is a need for change. Most insurers have a much bigger customer agenda then they ever had before – it all comes back to customer expectations. We need to be nimble and think differently.

We need to examine the mindset and behaviours of our customers now, rather than basing it on traditional standards, which aren’t necessarily still in tune with the agenda of our current customers.

Andy Martin suggested that the new entrants and disruptors into the marketplace, such as Amazon, could be the ones to dictate this new customer journey and focus as they are way ahead of the insurance market in terms of customer service. The disruptive market is here and insurers will need to keep up, as Gary Gallen said, “the world around us is going at an incredible pace, change is going to come and we have got to get used to that.”

Andy Martin Broker and Distribution Officer Young people insurance firm, Marmalade Insurance

Anthony Baker Partner Plexus Law Member of the FOIL National Committee

David Nichols Chief Claims Officer Zurich Insurance UK

Emma Cahill Senior Associate Solicitor Langleys Solicitors

Gary Gallen CEO and Founder rradar

Hilary Ball Marketing Manager Coplus

Jason Tripp (Chair) Managing Director Coplus

Kieran Magee Partner TRUE Solicitors

Shirley Woolham Managing Director Minster Law

Simon Stanfield Chairman MASS

Vicki Heslop Head of Customer Claims Covea

The disruptive market is here and insurers will need to keep up Andy Martin, Marmalade Insurance Issue 33

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Birmingham

“In earlier sessions I have started with the question ‘what do we think about the proposed reforms?’ but it seems that there is a question that prefaces that. It feels to me that insurers think that something must be done in relation to whiplash claims, so, should something be done?” asked Jason Tripp at our fourth and final roundtable. Craig Budsworth stated that it has already been answered as the Government has decided that something will be done. He didn’t agree that something should be done as what was being done, if you look at LASPO and Medco, in just over the two years, claims have reduced by 150,000; “clearly that is driving it in the right direction”. “That is why the Government, in my mind, changed their mind from ‘we have a fraud issue’ that needs to be dealt with, to now whiplash is the issue. Whiplash is a claim and it is difficult to prove but the majority of people that bring forward this claim have suffered this injury and deserve the compensation.

To introduce this further raft of reforms is effectively bringing in a tariff that means you will get more for a delayed [four hour] flight than for a three month whiplash injury – it is just completely the wrong way.” Tristan Prince broke it down into two aspects: opportunistic claims and genuine claims; “that is how the legislation is being designed [in order] to remove some of the opportunistic aspects.” Because, as Samantha Ramen stated, it is the fact that we have a compensation culture in the UK and that is what the Government is trying to tackle, which links back to the initial problem of fraud within the UK. Whiplash is difficult to define but it seems that the reforms aren’t designed to look at the subjectivity of the injury but to look at the money behind it, and to try and remove the financial incentives, which, as Ramen says, is all well and good but there are still too many question marks. We revert back to Tripp’s model of the primary and secondary markets. The primary market is when personal injury claims are arising out of FNOL. The secondary market is when someone enquires whether I would like to make a claim because of the accident I suffered. “The problem I have with my own analysis of the primary and secondary market”, said Tripp, “is that in the primary market there will be some people that are

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not particularly injured but have cottoned on to the idea that now is a good opportunity. And there are some people in the secondary market, who just didn’t make a claim at the time because they were busy with other things – so you actually have a two by two matrix here. You don’t have just the primary and the secondary, you have got two sections within each. Is it fair to say that the Government intends to hit the secondary market but capture the primary market unintentionally at the same time?” Ramen answers, “with any Government policy it is very difficult to try and pin-point the exact issue, but, ultimately, they probably see that LASPO didn’t have the effect that they wanted it to have and this is their second attempt.”

To introduce this further raft of reforms is effectively bringing in a tariff that means you will get more for a delayed [four hour] flight than for a three month whiplash injury – it is just completely the wrong way Craig Budsworth, Accident Exchange

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Birmingham Attendees:

Eddie Longworth suggested that in order to put the claimant back to where they were before the accident and address the compensation culture, we need to resolve the injury and perhaps a “care not cash” approach should be undertaken. Tripp questioned whether it would be effective to offer people practical services rather than money as there will still be those who are genuinely injured who need those services and where the law says, should be compensated. Angus Turner suggested that the issue of commerciality will then come into play for the insurers, suggesting that it is not an idea that they will get behind. However, as Prince pointed out, there isn’t a one size fits all in the insurance industry – consumers all have different needs and insurers should be prepared to offer different avenues in order to deal with the multitude of people they have using their services.

Fraud became the new topic of conversation with Prince suggesting that “fraud is effectively like water. If you push it away from one area, it will go somewhere else.” If we aim to eradicate fraudulent claims of whiplash, this could mean that it will pop up in another area of insurance, for example holiday sickness. Prince suggested that the aspect of third parties needs to be addressed more actively within the reforms as it is usually third parties who are corralling vulnerable consumers into making claims. It was suggested that the implementation of a time window to make a claim could help to effectively stop fraudulent claims being made.

Adele Brownsell Client Solutions Manager Industry Insights

Angus Turner Insurance Partner Mills & Reeve

Craig Budsworth Legal Director – Credit Hire Accident Exchange

Eddie Longworth Claims and Supply Chain Development Consultant JEL Consulting

Hilary Ball Marketing Manager Coplus

Jason Tripp (Chair) Managing Director Coplus

Samantha Ramen Director of Marketing and Public Affairs Keoghs

Tristan Prince Group Chief Commercial Officer The Surveillance Group

fraud is effectively like water.

If you push it away from one area, it will go somewhere else

Tristan Prince, The Surveillance Group

How can opportunistic fraud be dealt with? Prince felt that consumers tend to feel like insurance companies are always trying to take something from them. So communication with consumers and creating a collaborative process would be an effective way of starting to educate them. Adele Brownsell felt that consumers needed more education and awareness about their data and data privacy, and that this could initially help to make them more aware of fraud.

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Industry Innovators Interview: ThingCo Modern Insurance spoke to Mike Brockman, Founder and CEO, about how ThingCo will be taking telematics to the next level.

Q A

How would you describe ThingCo in three words?

Next generation telematics.

ThingCo is all about combining telematics with camera and sensor information, voice control and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). Having been an insurer in my past life, I am now going to be the consumer champion. A lot of consumers don’t like or want telematics, or they only want it in order to get cheaper insurance, plus there is this concern about data privacy and how insurers might use a consumer’s data. With our connected dash cam we are going to use its data for you, as the consumer, and make it work for you. For example, we will make you the best and safest driver that we can by incentivising you to drive better and by giving you a personalised driving score.

If you have an accident that is not your fault, about 30% of people in that situation can’t prove it, therefore they get badly treated by insurers and they lose their no claims. What we are saying is that we will use all of the data from the connected dash cam, because it is your data, and if it is not your fault and we can prove it using that data, we will make sure that we will help you get your just reward.

Q A

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

You have to do the things that everyone either thinks are not possible or difficult because that is what disruption is all about from their insurer, and that has meant that the whole telematics market has gravitated towards younger drivers as premiums were quite big and insurers had a bit more margin to subsidise that cost.

However, when it came down to more experienced drivers whose premiums might be £300-400, insurers couldn’t afford to give that technology away for free. So we wanted to develop a device that is valuable in its own right which customers would see as directly benefitting them and would be willing to pay for if they had the choice.

Black box technology is quite basic; it has certain limitations because you can’t risk manage a driver while they are driving in real-time. So although it is a big step forward in terms of what you can do as an insurer as opposed to not having telematics, there are limitations in terms of providing a good customer experience.

To give you an example, when people over a certain age start to get nervous about driving on the road and lose their confidence, wouldn’t it be good to put something in their car that can protect and help them feel more confident when driving? We think customers will buy this and as soon as they have bought the device, from an insurers’ point of view, they can piggy back off of it and offer cheaper premiums because they are not subsidising that device anymore.

Consumers don’t value black box technology in its own right, they just want cheaper insurance and therefore accept having a black box in their car as a means to that end. They also want it for free

I came to the conclusion that this was a big gap in the market three years ago and ThingCo is on course to deliver a real gamechanger for motorists and the insurance market.

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I hope that we will have demonstrated that telematics has got a lot more life in it yet and can appeal to a wide cross-section of the community

Q A

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

The challenge is how you create a powerful proposition of a product. It is all about the marketing. At the moment I am spending a lot of time with marketing agencies in order to create a powerful image. This product is not out there at the moment so it is brand new and it needs to create an impact. The proof of the pudding will be when we try to sell it!

Q A

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

The first thing you need to establish is your target market and what marketing messages you are going to be pushing out. There is not a one fits all solution, so if you are looking at the younger generation, the marketing message and what they might be interested in in terms of our product will be different from the older generation. We are focused on digital means and social media, especially for younger people, but for the older generation, we might have affinity partnerships.

We have got to bear in mind different generations when we design our digital apps because they are expecting different things from it and have a different set of capabilities. You need to assess who your audience is and how they like to be introduced to new products.

Q A

ambitions and that is how you want to treat your customers as well. You need to create an atmosphere that everyone enjoys.

Q A

Where do you see ThingCo this time next year?

By this time next year we will have delivered what we have set out to achieve. I think we will be firmly on map and firmly on it worldwide. I hope that we will have demonstrated that telematics has got a lot more life in it yet and can appeal to a wide crosssection of the community.

Q

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

A

You have to do the things that everyone either thinks are not possible or difficult because that is what disruption is all about. Disruption should be the goal. If you’re not different then you won’t stand out from the crowd, and what’s more, customers won’t see you as anyone different. You have got to have a lot of self-belief and energy in whatever you do because when you are challenging conventional wisdom, you will get a lot of people that will try and drag you down but you have got to rise over and above that. You have got to be relentless and just keep going.

Mike Brockman is Founder and CEO at ThingCo.

What’s unique about the culture of ThingCo?

It is about having an open, dynamic and friendly approach.

Work should be a place that you love coming to because you spend a lot of time there. I have always loved what I do and I try to empower people with that attitude. I like being able to bring in the next generation and help them to achieve their goals and

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Investigation into insurer treatment of the body repair industry Chris Weeks, National Body Repair Association (NBRA), informs us about their investigation into the relationship of the body repair industry and the insurers.

Why is the NBRA running this investigation?

Over the last twenty years, the working relationship between insurers and body repairers has changed drastically. In the early 90s, consumers selected their own car body repairer who estimated a repair as they saw fit, charged whatever they wanted to and the insurer negotiated each claim with a motor engineer.

Over time, repairers contracted into approved insurance networks providing agreed rates, services and discounts in return for regular work provision.

This was a good relationship that everyone benefitted from, but over time as repairers became more reliant on the volume and insurer supply chain management became more advanced, the overall balance of power between the two entities has arguably shifted firmly towards the insurers.

The NBRA wants to understand which of the insurers have continued to act responsibly in true partnership with the industry and those who may have taken advantage of the situation.

How will the investigation be run?

The investigation will begin in August with a far-reaching survey of repairers across the industry who will select insurers that they work with on a regular basis and let us know how they really feel about them across a wide range of parameters. It is opinion based and totally confidential, so we are hoping to get an accurate view of their relative performance.

What areas will be covered by the survey?

The survey will be covering: • Regularity of rate reviews to reflect cost inflation experienced by repairers • Relative perceived profitability • Common sense contract SLA flexibility • Attitude to repair safety vs. cost control • Willingness to pay for mobility • Engineering speed and fairness • Professionalism of contact staff • Satisfaction with payment speed • Supply chain management style and supplier mandating • Complaint handling fairness

over time as repairers became more reliant on the volume and insurer supply chain management became more advanced, the overall balance of power between the two entities has arguably shifted firmly towards the insurers Who will be completing the survey?

The NBRA are asking for members and non-members to complete the survey and will be asking for a perspective from a range of roles within bodyshops – not just the owner/manager.

Confidentiality

The data collected as a result of this survey will conform to full GDPR controls, as such feedback will be considered completely secure. No individual Bodyshop or group will be identifiable and results will only be shared in aggregated form.

How long does the survey take to complete?

The survey takes no more than 15 minutes if three insurers are selected. This really will be worthwhile investment in time and effort for the repair industry.

When will you have the results?

We are aiming for the end of September but it depends on how quickly we get a significant response back. We may have to push for some responses on specific insurers if feedback is low in order to gain a representative sample.

• Who really cares most about their customers in repairers’ view?

• Who are the preferred insurers to work with?

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Our aim is to lobby and collaborate with them individually and work together in the interests of our members to increase their prosperity, standards and importantly the ongoing relationship between the two entities

What will the NBRA do with the results?

The results will be collated and on a one on one basis with individual insurers their results will be shared and the insurers given time to consider where they sit relatively and how they wish to respond.

What will the NBRA do next?

The data and analysis will result in a published industry report with NBRA recommendations.

What does the NBRA hope to achieve for its members and the wider body repair industry?

The NBRA has recently spent a lot of time fostering strong relationships and dialog with representatives from the top insurers.

Our aim is to lobby and collaborate with them individually and work together in the interests of our members to increase their prosperity, standards and importantly the ongoing relationship between the two entities. By working in a positive way and building on best practice already out there we have already seen insurer willingness to listen and engage when presented with the unvarnished truth.

Championing bodyshops through industry leadership, advice and value-adding services The National Body Repair Association was launched in March 2017 and brought together the National Association of Bodyshops and the repairer members of the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association. NBRA members displaying the TSI Approved Code Logo operate to a strict Code of Practice approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.

The NBRA is the only trade association for car body repairers in the UK.Â

Chris Weeks is the Executive Director at the National Body Repair Association (NBRA).

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AvMA’s 30th Annual Clinical Negligence Conference On a baking hot June day, most visitors to Brighton were heading for the beach or the famous pier. But in the Hilton Brighton Metropole, the country’s leading clinical negligence lawyers were gathering for AvMA’s 30th Annual Clinical Negligence Conference. ction against Medical Accidents (AvMA) is the UK charity for patient safety and justice. For 35 years, the charity has worked to support and empower people harmed by failures in patient safety, and to promote safer healthcare for all.

A

2018 marked the 30th anniversary of the AvMA Annual Clinical Negligence Conference, widely regarded as the annual event that brings the clinical negligence community together to learn and discuss the latest developments, policies and strategies in clinical negligence and medical law.

Nearly 450 attendees and 43 exhibitors attended the conference across two days of plenary addresses, breakout sessions and networking events. The programme explored the perils and pitfalls of diagnosis in a clinical negligence context with a focus on surgery, whilst also covering many other medico-legal topics at such an important time for clinical negligence practitioners.

being shared with injured patients or their families, or even findings of fact in the final report being used to seek justice following negligent treatment. It seems this is more about saving the Department of Health and Social Care money by denying access to justice than anything else.”

The proposed Rapid Response and Redress scheme for brain damaged children in maternity cases in England has good intentions, he noted, but there are many questions still to be answered. As it stands, the scheme would be funded from damages that would otherwise go to children who have been brain damaged through NHS negligence. Each child stands to lose

AvMA Chief Executive, Peter Walsh, opened the conference on the Friday morning by reviewing what has been an extremely busy time in clinical negligence and patient safety. Government plans to introduce fixed costs for clinical negligence claims below £25,000, the proposed Rapid Resolution and Redress scheme for birth injuries, and the worrying prospect of a “safe space” in patient safety investigations, are all areas of concern for AvMA, patient safety and access to justice.

Mr Walsh warned that the draft Health Service Safety Investigations Bill contains controversial proposals to impose a prohibition on sharing any information gleaned from NHS patient safety investigations and make anything in the final investigation report inadmissible in civil proceedings. “The so-called ‘safe space’ is nothing of the sort,” he cautioned. “We would fully support measures to protect staff from being bullied and hung out to dry by bad employers. That is what staff are really worried about. All the Bill would do is prohibit any information from investigations

The 2019 ACNC will take place on 28-29 June at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. It will offer the usual high standard of plenary presentations and focused breakout sessions, ensuring that delegates stay up to date with all the key issues. Anyone interested in attending or exhibiting should contact AvMA at conferences@avma.org.uk or visit the website at www.avma.org.uk.

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The programme explored the perils and pitfalls of diagnosis in a clinical negligence context with a focus on surgery, whilst also covering many other medico-legal topics at such an important time for clinical negligence practitioners an average of £600,000. Mr Walsh questioned the ethics of this approach, calling on the NHS to investigate these cases properly in the first place and offer a prompt settlement without depriving brain damaged children of 10% of their damages. “This should be happening already,” he said. “Most importantly, families must be at the heart of the scheme. Yet despite referring to legal advice for parents, the proposals give no clue as to how this will be provided or funded.”

The Government proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence was the third big area of concern. “The Government seems intent to plough ahead with crude plans to cut costs in the short term at the expense of access to justice and patient safety,” Mr Walsh warned. “Patients’ groups and lawyers are united in calling for a more thorough and balanced approach, examining the real causes of high costs and choosing from all potential solutions, which will reduce costs whilst preserving access to justice and supporting learning for patient safety.”

The first Plenary address, from Professor Gordon Wishart, Consultant Breast Surgeon & Professor of Cancer Surgery at Anglia Ruskin School of Medicine and Lizanne Gumbel QC, Barrister at 1 Crown Office Row, looked at Lessons Learned Post-Paterson: A Legal and Clinical Perspective. Ian Paterson, the disgraced breast surgeon, was jailed in May 2017 for 17 counts of wounding with intent and three of unlawful wounding after carrying out unnecessary cancer operations.

Whilst surgeons like Paterson are thankfully very rare, Professor Wishart highlighted key failings in the Paterson case from which lessons need to be learned, including Paterson’s lack of

Issue 33

appropriate training, a lack of suitable appraisal and a lack of clinical governance in both the NHS and private sectors.

The second Plenary address of the morning saw Professor Stephen Clark, Consultant Cardiothoracic & Cardiopulmonary Transplant Surgeon at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, speaking about Cardiothoracic Surgery. In a well-received presentation, Professor Clark talked about issues of consent, key principles and medico-legal issues in cardiothoracic surgery and gave a fascinating breakdown of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and the medico-legal issues involved.

The dangers of vaginal mesh have been highlighted in the news recently and was the subject of a highly topical presentation on Urogynaelcology – Vaginal Mesh Implants from Dr Wael Agur, Subspecialist and Lead Urogynaecologist at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Career Fellow at NHS Research Scotland and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow.

Other highlights of the two-day event were plenary addresses on Wrongful Birth Claims from Mr Myles Taylor, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist with Subspecialist in Fetal Medicine at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Eliot Woolf QC, Barrister at Outer Temple Chambers; and on Biliary Surgery from Professor Colin D Johnson, Professor of Surgical Sciences and Honorary Consultant Surgeon at the University of Southampton.

If you would like to make a donation to support AvMA’s work, please visit www.avma.org.uk/donate.

Modern Insurance 55

FEATURES

Women IN INSURANCE

We highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion within the workplace and how we can encourage more women to enter into the industry’s arena by hearing the thoughts of some of the most prominent women in the business.

Q A

How is Carpenters Group embracing diversity, and is there still room for improvement in attitudes towards inclusion?

Carpenters Group operates in a diverse and multicultural society with diversity being second nature in our employment practices. We have a fully integrated approach to diversity in every part of the employee life cycle. In addition, written polices and policy statements makes diversity part of everyday life. The wide range of employment opportunities we have allows us to recruit at a variety of different levels from a variety of different backgrounds. All new recruits are employed based on their suitability for the role they are applying for and these roles can range from entry level apprenticeships to professionally qualified positions. Our roles cover most functions in the insurance and legal industries including an innovative IT function, Finance and HR. Where necessary we engage with external agencies to ensure we fully support applicants and employees who require additional support and regularly work with agencies such as Action for Employment and Workable to ensure that our support is appropriate. Our employment policies and processes actively promote inclusion by ensuring all employees are treated uniformly without reference or consideration to their backgrounds or circumstances. This includes such things as not differentiating on age in relation to pay rates. We also work with organisations who actively upskill the long term unemployed to meet the needs of local business. These things together with flexi time and our ability to accept flexible working requests demonstrates that we actively embrace diversity. It is unlikely that there will never be room for improvement in attitudes towards inclusion, which is why it is important that we continue to promote diversity and embrace it on a daily basis.

Issue 33

Q A

What are some of the biggest barriers for entry and progression for women in the insurance industry?

From a Carpenters Group perspective I believe it would be fairly safe to say that we are ‘bucking the trend’ in this respect. The insurance industry is considered to be a male dominated environment and traditionally this would start at the top tier with senior roles being occupied by men. Attitudes and behaviours at a senior level filter down through an organisation giving the view that ‘women are not welcome’ and that if they are recruited there will be little progression and certainly a ‘glass ceiling’. For career orientated women, the perception this gives is that you have to be male to succeed and would in itself be a barrier for entry for many women. At Carpenters Group, our senior roles are occupied equally by men and women, with our most senior role being occupied by a woman. This demonstrates a clear ‘top down’ commitment to progression for women and men alike, shown through actions over words and policies. We recruit based on the skills we require in the business and not gender and opportunity to progress is based solely on ability.

Carpenters Group’s ability to offer flexible working opportunities and equality in pay together with career pathing opportunities makes us an attractive proposition for women at any given life stage. The diversity of employment together with the development opportunities we offer means there are no barriers to entry into our workforce.

Donna Scully, Director, Carpenters Group.

Modern Insurance 57

FEATURES

How should we be looking to encourage aspiring, emerging and existing female leaders in the insurance industry? he definition of encourage is to ‘give support, confidence, or hope to someone’. More so now than ever, we are seeing female leaders, even pioneers, in the insurance industry.

A

Old insurance market traditions still weave into our day. Women must not be offended by tradition alone. Appreciating it however will elevate you to a level where you have a formidable presence.

If you also have passion and perseverance to go with it, you most certainly will as a female leader.

Established women understand the concept of not trying to win friends, but instead to earn respect. They know what they are good at and what they are not good at. I would also guess their primary personal driving force is integrity. Women understand the power of leaving a situation in a far better state than how they found it, to release the potential in others and to inspire them along the way.

Heather Rabbatts (CBE), Director of the Football Association said ‘leadership is about respect. I’m not there to win a popularity contest, I am there to win respect for what I do, what I say and what I bring to the table’. I myself was once told ‘only 80% of your teams like you, but 150% of them respect you and that is why they follow you, they trust your judgment implicitly’. When the chips are down, respect wins every time as a leader.

In order to grow, Boards need to be asked different questions that evoke different discussions, rather than the same old bore. It is then that new discussions begin – and with new discussion brings change. All industries need change, and this is why we should encourage female leaders.

Use yearly appraisal systems and shop floor talent spotting to identify emerging leaders. Succession plan your business and assign mentors. I am a huge fan of Assessment Centres and Personality Questionnaires. What CEO would not want a fully harmonious management team that would electrically combine to create huge success for the business?

But she will need a guide, a person who leads her onto a track that allows her to shine and show promise. It helps navigate the way, build the story and cut through the nonsense. I truly believe parts of our market culturally promote support for women, but we still have a way to go.

If we don’t encourage or identify female talent, their integrity will tell them to take what they have elsewhere. And we need their determination and passion to help us achieve all of our dreams.

Tara Shelton is the Chief Executive Officer of I-COG Claims Management.

Embrace diversity and inclusion in your business et me start by saying any business who does not embrace diversity and inclusion will most certainly have a longer road to travel to its end destination - success. It’s true all roads lead to Rome but why take the obstacle route if there is a quicker way?

L

Always room for improvement. Put ego, insecurities and nepotism aside and look at the bigger picture of your company. Why are you in the business and decided to start what you did? To be a recognised service provider and to make something out of it too, in all honesty. We need to acknowledge that we all have diverse ideas we can bring to the table. I found in experience by including everyone and extract what fits in with my business model and culture, helped me understand the market better.

So, what is diversity exactly?

Simply put - it can be seen by everything making us different from the next person, be it ethnic roots, physical abilities or limitations, gender, religion, etc. All of these makes our knowledge base diversely different from the person sitting next to us. You get the point?

Building relationships through increased understanding and trust helps to foster inclusion.

Learn about the cultural backgrounds, diversify your leadership team, in balance with diversifying client teams helped to strengthen the quality of client services.

How can your business benefit from this?

Some statistics proves with employees from a good mix of ethnic backgrounds are 35pc more likely to outperform their competitors, claims research by McKinsey & Co. This core statement is also echoed by Forbes in their article on 25th Jan 2018 about diversity leads to better profits. It means these businesses will be more likely to outperform their competitors by having a healthy balance of inclusivity and diversity rather than exclusivity and uniformity.

Let’s up the stakes a bit, shall we?

Combine inherent diversity, such as gender, race or age, with acquired knowledge, such as cultural understanding or language skills, as a means of forging a sustainable future.

It’s a no-brainer: progressive, future-thinking businesses should embrace diversity and inclusion.

Yet, in the UK the adverse is the true state of affairs. In spite of all these benefits, the insurance industry lags behind the other industries with only around 11pc of their workforce being from the minority backgrounds. Understanding that there is a huge amount to be done to truly embrace this change in the insurance sector, there are increased positive activities in support of D&I. I ask you: challenge some of the stereotypes associated with the traditionally excluded groups. Broaden your thinking and realise that diversity drives productivity and innovation in the industry.

Remove prejudice from the hiring process. As we all know, one cannot judge a book by its cover.

Edna Hammami, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Legit Claims. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/ organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters

58 Modern Insurance

Issue 33

FEATURES

The single customer view data challenge – the insurance industry isn’t there yet

Rodrigo DeCossio, UK Insurance Lead, takes a look at how we can use data to gain a better understanding of our customers. he discussion about how to use all operational data in the insurance industry and how to gain a deeper and more complete understanding of the customer has been around for years. Whilst some companies claim to have made some progress, the truth is, if you look at the industry, no company has got this exactly right.

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The challenge is that most of the data is in silos in legacy systems and in large pools of unstructured stores, which is hard to process, understand and use. For a large insurance company with a proud history, the amount of data they have both in legacy systems, and in paper format, is insurmountable.

Why does this happen? Poor data management. Company X doesn’t have enough visibility and usability of its data to recognise she is a loyal customer, who already owns home insurance with them. Consequently, this creates a negative customer experience.

At a time when customer loyalty is at an all-time low, this sort of interaction is a common daily occurrence experienced by multiple consumers and businesses across the world. Situations like this create a negative customer experience and demonstrate that a supplier doesn’t understand its user base, which can quickly lead you to seek an alternative provider.

So, how can insurance providers overcome this?

The fact is that older companies have no choice but to innovate, as young InsurTech start-ups are coming fresh into the market with an agile and data-driven culture and are better positioned to out compete the existing behemoths of the industry. No one wants to be the Nokia to Apple, or the Woolworths to Amazon. In any industry with low margins like insurance, innovation is vital. New entrants have innovation in their DNA, so older companies already find themselves faced with difficult choices.

The importance of data for cross selling services Let’s look at two examples of customer interaction, one driven by data and one not. Company X has a large portfolio of services and a large amount of data in siloes pertaining to its customers.

By contrast, Company Y has a smaller portfolio, but a wealth of accessible and useable data on its customers.

Say a customer takes out driving insurance and home insurance with Company X. When she logs in to the company portal to renew her driving insurance, she is targeted with an advertisement indicating she could get a special rate on home insurance (a significantly better offer than what she currently pays but only available to new customers).

In any industry with low margins like insurance, innovation is vital

Let’s take the exact same scenario and apply it to Company Y. When the customer logs in, the marketing team at Company Y realises that she is seeking to renew her car insurance, but factors in that she is also a home insurance customer. Why? Because Company Y has a 360-degree view of every customer’s data. Armed with this information, and as any good marketing team would, the team at Company Y entices the customer with a discount if she renews both policies at the same time. The customer may not accept the offer, but she recognises that Company Y is aware of her circumstances and the resulting experience is positive. All of this is the result of the marketing team at Company Y implementing a much smoother operation using data properly.

The shift towards services

The insurance industry is moving towards selling services that complement existing revenue streams and create new ones. To provide personalised services to customers and upsell easily, insurers need to have access to all their operational data and use that to generate insights and tailor services to provide their customers the right offering.

This brings us full cycle, insurers want to sell services and innovate, but they have an issue with large amounts of data in legacy systems and in large pools of unstructured stores, which is hard to process. Yet innovation is no longer optional due to competition from younger and more agile competitors. This means that large insurers must start to take on the challenge of digital transformation, de-siloing data and begin to process and understand all the data they own or risk losing business.

Rodrigo DeCossio is the UK Insurance Lead at MarkLogic.

Issue 33

Modern Insurance 59

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CASE STUDIES

New “second look” claims service generates over 100 instructions in its first month Barrister-Direct launches suite of new products targeting serious injury and credit hire markets.

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new “second-look” claims service has generated over 100 instructions in its first month - leading the barristers responsible to launch a suite of complementary products.

Barrister-Direct’s RESOLVE service provides law firms, credit hire agencies, medical agencies and ATE agencies with a complimentary second look service on files they are planning to close or abandon.

The service evaluates the claim’s prospects and, where possible, takes the matter on and progresses it until resolution. If the claim is successful, firms recover their costs and any disbursements received and owing to them.

Having already generated over 100 instructions, mostly EL, PL and travel cases, Barrister-Direct has now launched two complementary products.

RESOLVE Serious Injury and Large Loss assists law firms, medical agencies and ATE agencies with files due to be closed or abandoned by providing a complimentary second look service, while RESOLVE Credit Hire provides the same service for law firms and credit hire agencies.

RESOLVE Serious Injury and Large Loss

This new service covers all serious injury and large loss claims, including: • Brain injuries.

• Spinal Injuries.

• Amputation.

• Nerve damage.

• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Chronic Pain.

• PTSD. • Coma victims and incidents.

• Motorcycle accidents.

For Claimants, Barrister-Direct provides: • Immediate needs assessment.

• Immediate access to rehabilitation and medical treatment.

• Immediate request for interim payment.

• Immediate appointment of a dedicated serious injury catastrophic and large loss specialist Barrister and Assistant.

• Full service of IMA, rehabilitation, case management, treatment, physiotherapy and psychological services.

• Early contact with the defendant.

• Dedicated home and/or hospital visits.

RESOLVE Credit Hire

Service standards include: • Dedicated credit hire relationship manager and free same day file collection or electronic transfer.

• Commitment to early resolution and/or litigation within 6 months.

• Guaranteed view on prospects within 48 hours of receipt.

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• Nationwide sign up agents and clients signed up within 72 hours.

• Monthly updates on transferred cases.

• Tailored ATE and Litigation funding for Court Fees and Credit Hire Rates Reports.

• Specialist experience in credit hire taxi recovery.

• Lien on costs preserved with reasonable splits agreed on fixed costs fast track cases and assistance in recovering disbursements.

Andrew McKie, Barrister and Director at Barrister-Direct, believes both new services will be well received by the marketplace.

He commented: “In the current legal landscape, no one can afford to write off bad debt and fail to recover costs and disbursements.

“RESOLVE aims to avoid this situation by providing a safety net and the chance of recovery, as well as a lifeline for claims facing abandonment.”

Continues Andrew: “There are many reasons to close a file or abandon a matter ranging from prospects to resources to procedural or factual complexity.

“Our team has decades of experience and a skill for litigation and successful trial work. Clients benefit from our knowledge and experience as practitioners and trial Counsel - spotting the early winners and maximising the Claimant’s prospects of success through factual, legal or expert evidence, fighting common defences and overcoming the hurdles facing many Claimants in the current legal landscape.”

RESOLVE has a simple 5 stage process to resolution: 1. You email info@barrister-directclaims.com advising a file is ready. A courier will collect your file that day and a member of the team will acknowledge your file the same day.

2. Within 48 hours, you will receive a view on prospects in the matter. This will confirm whether your file has been accepted in to RESOLVE and the terms of such.

3. If accepted, the claimant will be signed up to Barrister-Direct within 72 hours.

4. You will receive monthly updates on the progress of the file.

5. Upon conclusion, RESOLVE will forward any costs and disbursements received and owing to you and/or your firm within 21 days of receipt.

To discuss RESOLVE, please contact Andrew McKie or Monica Savic-Jabrow: Andrew: andrewmckie@barrister-directclaims.com 07739 964012 Monica: msavicjabrow@barrister-directclaims.com 0161 706 6706 or 07983 866132 Alternatively, please visit the website at www.barrister-directclaims.com/resolve

Modern Insurance 61

10 MINUTES WITH

Mark Clarke Q A

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

Bodyshops have become state of the art, driven by IT and process and coupled with the complexity of vehicles continuing to increase every year; repairers continue to support the significant investment in the training and special tools required to repair these vehicles while working within work provider SLA’s. Repairers continually focus on improving productivity and potentially increasing scale to cope with capacity, flexibility and the ability to handle new complex repairs including many new materials and technologies gradually being incorporated into the vehicles on the road today. As our market continues to consolidate, insurance companies prefer working with fewer points of contact within MSO’s and Networks. It cuts down on the amount of administrative tasks and allows the insurer to oversee more repairs in one view. The repairers’ future depends on the constant adaptability and acceptance to change; new starters into our business is a constant challenge, many bodyshops are now running bespoke apprenticeship programs to attract new starters into the business. In a nut shell, it’s moved dramatically in the last fifteen years and I’ve enjoyed my fortytwo years working in the industry.

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

Q A

I’m more of a ‘what will be’ person. The future is challenging as OEM’s compete to position themselves for the changing world of personal mobility, introducing more technology that is complex and expensive to repair, but may not immediately deliver on all its promises in terms of accident prevention. Now more than ever, it is essential for the automotive claims and collision repair industries to stay current on new technologies, tooling and training. All of which increase the operating costs in a bodyshop. Completing a vehicle repair in a manner that follows recommended repair procedures can help head off any potential unplanned returns of the vehicle, and keeping the customer well-informed throughout the process will help keep the evermore demanding customer satisfied with their repair experience.

it is essential for the automotive claims and collision repair industries to stay current on new technologies, tooling and training 62 Modern Insurance

The repairers’ future depends on the constant adaptability and acceptance to change Technology plays a key role in a company’s ability to quickly assess and respond to consumer feedback and other information on market conditions. It also holds great potential for improving communication and collaboration with customers and business partners. Knowing how to use technology to cater the claims and vehicle repair experience to each distinct customer will lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction, retention and growth as our industry moves forward.

Q A

Who inspires you and why?

Neil Armstrong. In July 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 Lunar Module pilot, Buzz Aldrin, performed the first manned Moon landing. When Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, he famously said: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” I was eight years old and in ore… and still am. We should all embrace and step into unchartered territory; exploring new ways of going forward.

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

Q A

Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself. There are some people you can talk to until you’re blue in the face, they’re never going to get it and they’re never going to change.

However every once in a while, you’ll run into someone who is eager to listen, eager to learn, and willing to try new things.

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

Q A

I really enjoy doing what I do in my current position, however cometh the day I would like to travel extensively, living and breathing the worlds different cultures wherever I lay my hat.

Mark Clarke is the UKIE National Sales Manager for PPG Refinish.

Issue 33

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es c i v r e s nd IT a e r a w t Sof

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The UK & Ireland Refinish business prides itself on delivering excellence in product innovation and support to ensure bodyshop success.

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