ILC ARTICLE

ILC Breakfast News – Wednesday 16 November 

15th November 2022

Motor

Limited tickets remain for ARC360 event 

A limited number of tickets remain for ARC360’s Gaining Ground Together 2022 conference taking place next week (Thursday 24 November) at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry. 

Sponsored by GT Motive and OSCA, and backed by ARC360 Corporate Partners and Partners, the event includes a highly influential line-up of speakers set to discuss the latest from across the industry. 

Steer in the right direction

Steer Automotive Group has in a few short years gone from not existing at all to becoming one of the largest repair groups in the UK. 

Since acquiring four sites in 2018, owner Richard Steer has managed a breakneck growth strategy that has seen his group mushroom to 56 sites today. 

Road Safety Week underway

Brake is using Road Safety Week (November 14-20) to raise awareness of key areas of road safety such as safe roads, safe vehicles and speeds, and the new hierarchy of road users as described in the Highway Code. 

Road Safety Week is Brake’s biggest annual campaign, bringing together schools, organisations and communities to raise awareness of road safety issues. 

Companies move to green fleets 

A new survey has revealed that a fifth of companies plan to take advantage of home working to reduce both CO2 emissions and the number of employees travelling by car. 

According to WTW’s 2022 Company Car Benefits Survey report, a fifth of those surveyed also said they plan to introduce CO2 emission ceilings on their vehicles in light of stricter environmental standards. 

Used car market gears down

The UK’s used car market fell 12.2% in the third quarter of the year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, with just 1,785,447 vehicles changing hands. 

However, used battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales grew 44.1% in the quarter to 16,775 transactions. The used electric hybrid market increased by 2.5% over the same period while plug-in hybrid sales fell 5.8%.  

Home

Home conference turns spotlight on data

Understanding and leveraging data to improve the customer journey was the theme of the recent Home and Property Claims Conference, which took place at the CBS Arena, Coventry on 10 November. 

Construction output at highest recorded level

An increase in both new (0.6%) and repair and maintenance (0.2%) saw construction output rise for a third month in a row in September. 

According to the Office of National Statistics, output volumes rose 0.4% to reach the highest level of construction output (£15.125m) since records began in January 2010. 

Renovation plan signs with AXA 

Home renovation insurance provider Renovation Plan has announced AXA as its new designated insurer for all insurance products, increasing its insurance limit to £10m. 

Renovation Plan is part of the Aston Lark group and delivers insurance solutions for renovations, extensions, conversions, self-builds and new-builds. 

ClaimsTech

Sprout.ai joins ClaimsTech line-up

AI powered, end-to-end claims automation specialists Sprout.ai is the latest exciting addition to ILC’s ClaimsTech Live agenda. 

Themed ‘Show me happy customers (and the money!)’ – ClaimsTech Live takes place at Village Underground, Shoreditch on the evening of 30 November. 

ClaimsTech Interview: Ashley Moss, CEO, DWF360

Watch the latest ILC ClaimsTech interview, leading up to the live event in November! 

AI governance critical to wider trust

FCA Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer Jessica Rusu has called for stricter governance around artificial intelligence if the financial services industry is going to trust and adopt it to a greater level.  

Speaking at the City and Financial Global summit, she said, “Governance matters because it ensures that the responsibility is where it needs to be: with the firm. We cannot attribute agency to AI systems, which risks removing accountability for decision-making away from firms. But I am optimistic about the future uses of AI in financial services and beyond.” 

Evo secures further funding

Evo will accelerate its UK growth strategy after securing an additional £750,000 in seed funding, supported by GroVentive. 

Evo streamlines property management, repairs and maintenance by connecting tenants and landlords with skilled tradespeople via its digital platform. 

Verisk solution sifts through the medical jargon 

Verisk has unveiled a new solution that makes it easier for claims handlers to extract critical information from medical records. 

Discovery Navigator uses artificial intelligence and deep clinical expertise to increase the speed and accuracy of the medical record review process, with Verisk claiming a 13.1 return on investment per 1,000 claims. 

MGA

Ecclesiastical puts faith in its own talent

A skills crisis is afflicting all industries at the moment, but Jeremy Trott, Claims Director at Ecclesiastical, has revealed a next generation talent policy that is robust and resilient – and, more importantly, can be adopted by most organisations. 

Qlaims announces Ataraxia partnership 

Qlaims has partnered with MVP and Ataraxia Network to offer their brokers its claims and risk management solution. 

MGAA unveils new training partnership 

The Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA) has announced a new partnership with Searchlight Insurance Training to deliver face to face and online training solutions for its members.  

As part of deal, members will be able to work directly with Searchlight Insurance Training to develop bespoke training solutions. 

Industry News

ABI urges IPT freeze

The Association of British Insurers is calling for a freeze to the rate of Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) in the Autumn Statement, due to be delivered on 17 November. 

This comes after new research found that 71% of people agree that insurance is falls down the list of priorities during an economic downturn, while 18% know someone who has cancelled policies because of rising living costs. 

UK insurers join flood prevention initiative

Covea, Hiscox and RSA have joined the Build Back Better Scheme, a joint initiative between the government and UK insurance industry to reduce the impact of future flooding for households.  

SX3 reports modest gains

SX3’s autumn update has revealed that based on performance reviews carried out so far this year, the headline average claims handling audit performance score has risen from 90.99% in 2021 to 92.65% this year. 

However, leakage rates have increased, which it says is a legacy of poorer claims handling performance seen in 2021. 

Enterprise revved up for Children in Need drive

Enterprise is supporting Children in Need with a five-day fundraising tour of the UK in an electric vehicle. 

Visiting customers, business partners, schools, charities and community projects, the route travels through Staffordshire, Manchester, Shropshire, Winchester, Slough, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Leeds, and Cheshire. 

Unemployment at lowest level since 1974 

The UK unemployment rate is now at the lowest level recorded since 1974 after falling from 3.8% in the second quarter of 2022 to 3.6% in the third quarter. 

However, the EY ITEM Club said this was largely down to a lack of business activity, with the number of people out of work actually rising by 52,000.   

World Cup could kick off claims surge

On the eve of the football World Cup, Aviva has revealed that accidental damage claims surged by 82% during the 2018 tournament, with electronic equipment, windows and soft furnishings among the most regularly damaged items. 

Half of people unprepared for illness

Research from LV= has found that 45% of people aged 25-44 who don’t have a protection policy admit they would struggle financially if they fell ill, while 28% said they would find it hard to pay bills if they were unable to work for more than two months. 

People

GT Motive has appointed Andy Douglas as Senior Solutions Consultant.

Michael Kolodner has been named Global Renewable Energy Leader at leading insurance broker Marsh.