ILC ARTICLE

ILC Breakfast News – Wednesday 18 January 2023

17th January 2023

Key ILC event dates 2023  

Click here to see all of ILC’s key event dates for 2023. 

Motor 

All star line-up set for Friday’s Motor Lunch 

Special guest Jill Scott MBE will be joined at the ILC Motor Claims Networking Lunch by ex-professional badminton star Gail Emms MBE as host and TV presenter Charlie Ross as auctioneer. 

The all-star event, headline sponsored by Enterprise along with Gold sponsors: Davies, Gallagher Bassett, Nationwide Vehicle Recovery Assistance and Suretrak; as well as Silver Sponsors: Avant Consult Ltd, Edam Group, Kindertons Accident Management and Repairify UK, takes place at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London on Friday 20 January 2023. 

Fundraising activities on the day go to support children’s charity, Rainbow Trust. 

Castlemead delivers digital solution to promote safer driving 

Castlemead has responded to the growing number of motor claims to launch a new app aimed at reducing accidents. 

Delivered with Solera, Mentor is a smartphone-based solution that collects and analyses driver behaviours and helps to encourage safer habits with interactive micro-training modules delivered directly to the driver.  

Picture perfect solution for Gemini ARC 

Gemini ARC has announced a new partnership with JDK Technology to provide imaging solutions throughout its sites during the lifetime of a claim. 

From initial accident damage images to create reliable estimates and advanced parts ordering through to final handover, the solution will enable bodyshops to keep a digital record of every stage of the process to safeguard all parties.  

The technology has already been rolled out to 31 Gemini sites, with relevant training provided. 

OIC portal data remains discouraging 

ACSO Director Matthew Maxwell Scott has expressed concern that any process improvements to the Official Injury Claim portal are still not yielding results. 

Latest OIC data has revealed that average settlement times have risen in each of the last three quarters, from 175 to 207 to 227 days, and warns that these figures are ‘likely to continue to rise’. 

Lancaster Gate goes live 

Lancaster Gate Assistance, a motorcycle hire and repair solution, has gone live with its new website. 

The company works with insurers, brokers, vehicle hire providers and accident management organisations, delivering and collecting motorcycles from anywhere in the UK. 

Copart colleagues rewarded for excellent service 

Copart has recognised 20 colleagues with Superstar Awards. The awards celebrate anyone who has delivered high levels of care, service, and support to customers, communities and colleagues.   

The winners were selected from more than 300 nominations.  

Home 

Specialist conference gets Subsidence Forum support 

ILC’s Home & Property conference – The Subsidence Surge – has received the full support of specialist members group, The Subsidence Forum. 

The conference, which takes place on Thursday 23 March at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry, is headline sponsored by Optera Structural Solutions, along with Gold Sponsors: 360 Globalnet, Geobear, Innovation Group and Sedgwick, as well as Silver Sponsors: Davies. 

Construction output remains level 

A 0.4% decrease in new work was offset by a 0.6% rise in repair and maintenance as monthly construction output remained steady in November 2022. 

Meanwhile, the Construction Leadership Council also reported that in the three months to November, construction output rose 0.3%. In contrast to November’s figures, this was driven by a 1.3% rise in new work compared to a 1.2% fall in repair and maintenance. 

SAGIC product bridges insurance premium poverty gap 

SAGIC (Salvation Army General Insurance Company) has teamed up with specialist broker ECH Facilities to introduce a new low-cost home insurance policy for households struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. 

Neil Bresler, the broker who designed the policy, said, “We estimate that of 22.6m households in the UK, 26%, or six million, have no home contents insurance.” 

ClaimsTech  

Rapid solution to tackle insurance fraud 

LexisNexis has launched a new solution into Ireland to tackle the rising number of insurance application fraud and ghost broking. 

Emailage Rapid hosts a well-established network database containing billions of transactions from global payment processors and financial services to help handlers immediately validate an individual’s digital identity. 

MGA 

GRP makes double acquisition 

Global Risk Partners (GRP) has acquired Nucleus Underwriting Ltd. It is the first MGA acquired under the group’s new owners Brown & Brown Inc. 

Aylesbury-based Nucleus is a specialist MGA that provides insurance to the Lifesciences, R&D and Specialist Manufacturing sectors. 

GRP has also acquired BPW Insurance Services Ltd a retail insurance broker based in Newport, South Wales, which specialises in commercial and property insurance. 

Percayso delivers solution to Riviera 

Percayso Inform has been appointed to deliver a bespoke data enrichment solution to support Torquay-based insurance broker, Riviera Insurance. 

Established in 2015, Riviera is a taxi and personal insurance specialist serving the whole of the UK led by Kevin Davies. 

Percayso will be providing its next generation data enrichment solution for Riviera including access to CUE claims data, MyLicence and UK sanctions data to enable Riviera to gather a more accurate picture of its customer base and deliver more competitive pricing. 

Industry News 

MoJ opens PIDR consultation 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has launched its open consultation on the dual/multiple Personal Injury Discount Rate (PIDR). 

The call for evidence examines how a dual/multiple personal injury discount rate system might work and what its effects on claimants and defendants might be. 

The call for evidence closes on 11 April 2023. A response document will be prepared and published by July 2023. 

FCA to update support protocols  

The FCA is planning to update its guidance about how insurers should support policyholders in financial difficulty. 

It is suggesting that insurers consider and propose more appropriate products to struggling customers, while also waiving cancellation fees. 

Net gains from net zero 

The UK must do more to reap the rewards of its ambitious net zero targets, according to former energy minister Chris Skidmore. 

His Net Zero Review makes 129 recommendations that he believes can help businesses and the wider economy flourish as it moves towards sustainability. 

He said, “We lead in areas including clean technologies, science, manufacturing and green finance – areas that, if managed right, can lead to new jobs and strong economic growth.” 

Deal-makers set for productive year 

WTW’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor is predicting a growth in mergers and acquisitions during 2023. It found that deal volumes increased in the final two quarters of 2022 and expects that momentum to continue. 

Jana Mercereau, Head of Corporate M&A Consulting, Great Britain at WTW, said, “Macroeconomic uncertainty will persist in 2023, yet deals will still get done. Despite the bar being raised on difficulty, the positive M&A performance sustained over the last two quarters clearly indicates the ability of strategic buyers to succeed in challenging environments.” 

Global economy facing challenges both old and new 

Zurich’s Global Risks Report 2023 has revealed that traditional challenges have re-emerged and are likely to continue to impact the global economy through the next year. 

It said ‘new’ issues such as climate change and unsustainable debt have now been joined by ‘old’ issues like inflation, the cost-of-living, social unrest, and geopolitical confrontation. 

UK businesses facing ‘evolution’ deadline 

A new report has found that nearly a quarter of CEOs in the UK believe their businesses need to make significant changes to remain viable into the next decade. 

PwC’s 26th annual CEO Survey of 4,410 CEOs in 105 countries also found that 10% of UK CEOs believe they have less than three years to make these vital changes.   

Allianz X completes Innovation Group acquisition 

Innovation Group has confirmed that its acquisition by Allianz X, the digital investments arm of the Allianz Group, has now been completed. The deal was first announced last October. 

Innovation Group provides operational support and services to the world’s leading insurers, fleet managers and automotive manufacturers. 

People 

Chris Edwards has been named Motor Development Director at QuestGates. 

CoreLogic Insurance Solutions has appointed Chris Hinks to its Claims Client Delivery Team. 

Carpenters Group Director Donna Scully has been shortlisted in the ‘Person with Purpose’ category at the Northern Power Women Awards. 

The awards celebrate gender equality in Europe and recognise those individuals and organisations who create greater gender balance within their communities. 

Service Certainty has promoted Richard Eadie to Managing Director. He succeeds Graham Clarke, who will now focus exclusively on helping sister company Glasscare achieve its strategic ambitions this year. 

Chris Leith has been appointed as Deputy Head of Claims Real Estate Practice & Technical Claims Consultant at WTW.  

SX3 has appointed Matt Paterson as Head of Consultancy Services. Matt spent 25 years with Admiral before establishing himself as a successful independent consultant.