ILC ARTICLE

ILC Breakfast News – Wednesday 18 May

17th May 2022

Motor

Top industry figures support ‘next generation’ initiative 

Sue Whyte, Founder of Clayms Ltd and Chris Payne, Head of Networks and Engineering – Home and Motor at LV= General Insurance are supporting ILC’s new ‘next generation’ meet and greet at the Motor Claims Showcase Event. 

Taking place on Wednesday 29 June at the CBS Arena, Coventry the ILC/ARC360 Motor Claims Showcase Event – headline sponsored by Enterprise – includes a ‘next generation’ meet and greet session designed to support demographic diversity across the sector.

Allianz names new Motor Claims head 

Allianz Commercial has announced that Nick Kelsall has been named Head of Motor Claims. He joined the company in 2015 as Technical Claims Manager and progressed to Fraud Manager and Head of Insurance Claims. 

He takes over from Ian Kershaw, who is leaving Allianz. 

Head of Technical Claims Lee Watts said, “Nick’s previous knowledge of Allianz Commercial combined with his group experience ideally places him to lead technical motor claims and support the wider business as we transform our claims proposition.” 

GT Motive enhances life of Riley 

GT Motive has appointed Jane Riley as Implementation Project Manager. 

Coming out of semi-retirement to rejoin the industry full time, Riley previously worked as Motor Supply Chain Controller at Allianz for more than 15 years and was then Customer Relations Manager at Vizion Network for nearly a decade. 

Solus MD renews gender equality support 

Solus Managing Director Simon Smith has renewed membership of the Automotive 30% Club while also becoming its latest Silver Member. The club champions gender equality in the sector. 

Smith said, “I’m very proud to be a Silver Member of the Automotive 30% Club. The fit between the core values of Solus and the Automotive 30% Club are well aligned, and we have embraced the challenge of addressing the gender-balance within Solus as well as attracting new talented individuals into the accident repair sector.” 

Qashqai tops latest safety ratings  

The Nissan Qashqai scored highest in the latest round of Euro NCAP testing, which assessed four new models with ‘Level 2’ assisted driving systems.  

It scored 74% for assistance competence and 93% for safety back-up to achieve a ‘very good’ result overall.  

Verisk unveils total loss solution 

Verisk has launched a new solution that makes settling total losses more efficient for insurers. 

Lien Check automatically provides claims handlers with key data throughout the process, easing communication and negating the need for multiple phone calls, emails and faxes.  

Carlos Martins, Senior Vice President of Claim Solutions at Verisk, said, “By connecting lenders and insurers digitally, this exciting new feature will facilitate the reduction of manual processes to help simplify, streamline and automate the total-loss process.” 

ClaimsTech

CoverGo secures $15m funding 

No-code SAAS insurance platform CoverGo has secured $15m in Series A funding which will help support global expansion. Funding was led by California-based SemperVirens VC, with participation from venture capital firms SixThirty, Tribeca Early Stage Partners and Fresco Capital.  

Tomas Holub, CEO and Founder of CoverGo, said, “The new funding and unique mix of strategic insurance investors will help accelerate adoption of CoverGo by insurance companies globally.” 

Faye takes off with further funding 

US travel insurer Faye, which has transformed the claim filing process into a 100% digital experience, has announced that is has raised $8m in seed funding. 

Co-Founder and CEO, Elad Schaffer said, “The claims process is slow and bureaucratic, requiring excessive paperwork and long wait times. Faye is hitting the market as a solution to these pain points.” 

Crawford & Co partner with AIS 

Crawford has announced a new partnership between Crawford TPA in the UK and Automated Insurance Solutions (AIS), a UK-based insurtech, to introduce its BAIL liability assessment and FNOL decisioning tool for motor liability claims. 

The solution will form part of Crawford TPA’s rapidly expanding digital claims management ecosystem and will enable the highly efficient processing of motor liability claims. Integrated into the company’s existing digital processes, with customisable parameters that enable bespoke deployment, the BAIL platform is designed to reduce the motor claims lifecycle. 

Tractable confirms Beesafe contract 

Tractable has announced that Beesafe, part of the VIG Group, is adopting its AI claims solution to create immediate car damage assessments and repair estimates. The Tractable solution uses AI and deep learning from hundreds of thousands of images to analyse accident damage and produce accurate assessments immediately. 

Aleksander Surowiak, Sales Director, Central and Eastern Europe at Tractable, said, “By using our AI to offer immediate payments, Beesafe will be able to resolve most of its customers’ auto claims within minutes of them being reported.” 

Home

Environmental event set to tackle key issues  

Experts in supply chain, operations, procurement, strategy and sustainability will come together in London on Thursday 9 June 2022 for ILC’s The Environmental Challenges of Property Claims conference.  

Premium prices provide some respite 

The average price for home insurance has come down seven per cent in the last year, while contents insurance has fallen by 11%. 

This is according to the ABI’s latest Household Insurance Premium Tracker, which looks at the price consumers pay rather than the price they are quoted.  

It found the average price paid for buildings insurance was now at £225, the lowest level since the ABI started collecting this data back in 2012. Meanwhile, contents insurance was down to £114, which also represents a record low price.  

Bill shifts planning power to local communities 

The government has introduced the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which gives greater planning power around new developments to local authorities and communities. The Bill also ensures that greater consideration is given to climate change and flood risk at the planning application stage. 

James Dalton, Director of General Insurance Policy, ABI, said, “The measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, introduced to Parliament, to put greater emphasis on environmental outcomes in the planning process and recognition of the need to protect areas at high flood risk areas are very welcome.” 

New net zero standard launched 

A new standard is being established that will verify UK buildings as net zero. The UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard is being established by a cross-industry steering group and will enable the industry to prove the sustainability credentials of their built assets. 

Covering both new and existing buildings, the standard will set out performance targets that align with the UK’s wider 2035 and 2050 emissions targets. It will also cover the procurement of renewable energy and the treatment of residual emissions.  

Construction building strongly 

Construction output increased by 1.7% in volume in March, according to the Construction Leadership Council, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth. 

The increase was driven by rises in both repair and maintenance, and new work. 

Meanwhile, the annual rate of construction output price growth was 7.3% in the 12 months up to March, the strongest annual rate since records began in 2014. 

Industry News

Insurers warned of unintended consequences 

The legal team and Davies has warned the insurance industry against challenges that may arise from the sanctions imposed on Russia. 

It says the sanctions that have been imposed may cause loss of business and trigger loss claims, with some sanctions blocking Russian entities from accessing global insurance markets and others around banks limiting the ability to receive premiums and pay claims. 

Further, it warns the ban on access to international payment network Swift could in itself create claims. 

Depth of skill crisis revealed 

New research by PwC has identified an alarming skills crisis in the UK, with 33% of employers reporting a current shortage in key business skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication. A further 41% expect to be faced with such shortages in the next 12 months. 

Meanwhile, the research also identified a chasm between environmental objectives and the skills necessary to achieve them, with 76% of employers saying that a lack of skills in the workforce is impacting their ability to transition to net zero, or will do so in the next 12 months.  

Wellbeing woes in the workplace 

Just 37% of employees in the UK say they have good emotional wellbeing, with one in eight having poor levels of wellbeing. 

This is according to a 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey carried out by Willis Towers Watson, which also revealed the impact of poor wellbeing on the workplace. It reported that employees with poor wellbeing are three times more likely to feel disengaged and burnt out, and far more likely to miss workdays due to presenteeism. 

Podcast considers the purpose of digitalisation 

The latest podcast produced by McKinsey addresses digital transformation, outlining its value to companies and the common mistakes many make. 

Taking part were Kate Smaje and Rodney Zemmel of McKinsey Digital, who said digital transformation is an ongoing process and the key to maintaining momentum is being able to measure results. They advised companies to focus on a particular area of the business and ensure the transformation process was at a scale to produce measurable results. 

Zemmel said, “The point of digital transformation isn’t to become digital; it’s actually to generate value for the business.” 

Sustainable Momentum 

In the latest issue of Modern Insurance Magazine, ILC explores how many experts have identified the insurance sector as critical to the government’s wider net-zero ambitions and highlight what the industry is doing to fulfill this expectation.