ILC ARTICLE

ClaimsTech 2022 signs off with another success

6th December 2022

Many of the most influential thinkers in the claims sector met at Village Underground, Shoreditch last week, for ILC’s latest innovative event.

ClaimsTech Live, themed, ‘Show me happy customers (and the money!)’, concluded a full schedule of activity during 2022 which included both live and digital events as well as an ongoing series of interviews with ClaimsTech 2022 partners.

Supported by Headline Sponsor Sightcall; Gold Sponsors CoreLogic, Digilog, DWF360, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Solera Audatex, Sprout.ai and Verisk; and Silver Sponsors Clearspeed and Synergy, ClaimsTech Live featured demonstrations of the latest technology shaping the industry, keynote presentations and one-to-one chats with key influencers.

Sessions

Setting the stage first, Max Hird and Richard Gray, SightCall Directors, discussed how visual assistance can empower a resilient, efficient and sustainable future for insurance.

Michael Porter, SVP, CoreLogic, then considered the trends affecting claims technology in property, before DFW360 CEO Ashley Moss and Paul Smith of MB&G Warranty Insurance Services spoke about how technology can evolve the claims and policyholder journey.

Verisk Head of Motor Matt Thorby and Danny Thomas then revealed how its no-code automation platform, BAIL, is accelerating the claims process, before Kajal Vakas, Senior Vertical Market Manager – Claims – at LexisNexis Risk Solution, delivered a session on data enrichment and Neil Garrett, UK, South Africa & Nordics Sales Director, Audatex, considered the market’s growing trust in AI, and how solutions such as Solera’s Qapter claims platform can improve efficiencies.

Of course, the customer must remain central to everything and responding to rising customer expectations was the theme of a presentation delivered by Roi Amir, CEO, Sprout.ai, before Digilog CEO Lior Koskas closed the agenda with a session considering the future of claims technology.

Interviews

In addition to the showcase sessions and alongside the wide networking opportunities available at the event, the evening was also punctuated with a number of concise interviews with insurers, who shared their insights about how technology can be adopted to streamline the claims journey and improve the customer experience.

Mark Cliff, Chairman, Hastings Direct, said, “I always worry about claims tech being seen as the solution. I think we need to step back and ask what the customer wants, and then how can we use technology to meet those needs.

“Technology is not the silver bullet, but it can be an enabler to give our customers a better experience. We have to be honest with ourselves and ask if the service levels we’re providing now are what we really want. I’d say no; outcomes at the moment are not great.”

Meanwhile, Russel Pollard, Chief Operations Officer, Collingwood Insurance, said that using technology to deliver a better service would also provide a win for the insurer.

He explained, “There is a popular misconception that financial performance and happy customers are mutually exclusive, and I don’t think they are. The important thing is that technology delivers speed of process and choice for your customers, and if you do those things you can lower your indemnity expense at the same time. That’s the holy grail. That’s what technology needs to deliver.”

In terms of specific technologies, he predicted that robotics, automation, and machine learning will play a much greater role in the next three to five years, but in the longer term the focus will shift to risk prevention rather than cure.

“That will change the role of the claims handler,” he added.

Automation

Clare Laxy, Digital & IT Optimisation Lead, Aviva, agreed that the potential of automation has yet to be fully realised, suggesting that more automation around straightforward claims can free up handlers to better serve the customers who need the most support.

She added, “There is also definitely more opportunity to leverage the computer analytics and data we have to drive current decisions. We know that claims is a very emotive process, so it’s important to get that right.”