ILC Breakfast News – Wednesday 5 April 2023

Carpenters’ director to discuss value of mentoring

Donna Scully, Director of Carpenters Group is set to discuss the value of mentoring and what it can mean for individuals and businesses at ILC’s New Generation in Claims event.

The event, which takes place on Wednesday 26 April at etc.venues, Manchester is headline sponsored by Wiser Academy along with new addition to the sponsor line-up Carpenters, as well as Enterprise and Zurich.

Claims costs under the spotlight

A specialist seminar hosted by ILC, in association with investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, examined the influences and current health of the motor insurance claims sector in the UK.

During a number of open panel discussions, the internationally broadcast session addressed issues including repair costs, whiplash reforms, parts supply, electric vehicles, the OIC portal, and the cost-of-living crisis.

RSA to exit UK motor insurance market

RSA has announced it will exit the UK personal lines motor market.

The decision is one of a range of initiatives intended to make its UK and international business more sustainable.

RSA, a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation, currently represents about £120m of annual motor premium. It has further announced it will introduce MORE THAN direct motor customers to Swinton Insurance upon renewal.

Motor dominates GI complaints to Ombusdman

The Financial Ombudsman has received more than 55,250 complaints about motor insurance in the last five years.

This equates to nearly a third (30%) of all general insurance complaints referred, which is nearly double the percentage of the next product line.

Record rises in motor premiums

The average cost of the best motor insurance deals has soared 21.1% in the past year to £929.

According to the latest motor insurance price index published by Consumer Intelligence shows, this record rise means average overall premiums have increased 41% since October 2013 when Consumer Intelligence first started collecting data.

ACSO fears further compensation cuts

ACSO has urged the Justice Select Committee not to suggest further reductions in damages when it concludes its inquiry into the whiplash reforms. It fears lowering compensation payments could be suggested as a way to reduce overall premiums.

ACSO said, “The original and still overriding purpose of motor insurance is to provide support and redress in the event of personal injury. For it to become more expensive but less effective was never, surely, the government’s hope.”

Home

Subsidence surge turns up demand for digital skills

The skills shortage that has affected almost all sectors since the pandemic has had a critical impact on subsidence insurance claims.

The sector was already depleted after a proportion of field engineers left the industry following the decision to cap indemnity in 2006, and a number of quiet years in terms of claims numbers then saw insurers downsize even further.

Taking the pain out of managing surge event claims

In this contributed feature, Pulse explains the causes and effects of subsidence surges and considers the impact on insurers and customer alike.

Confusion mounts between councils and insurers

Innovation Group has warned of growing confusion between insurers and local authorities in its March Technical Bulletin.

It suggests that felling trees is too often attributed to insurers trying to manage subsidence claims, but in many cases that is not the driving factor and better communication between local authorities, insurers and the general public could help to accelerate claims management.

Insurtechs selected for Lloyd’s Lab

Lloyd’s has announced the 13 firms that will join the 10th cohort of the Lloyd’s Lab, an innovation hub established to help insurtechs develop their products during a 10-week programme.

The insurTechs have been selected based on solutions geared towards three themes: European Digital and Climate Solutions; Data and Models; and New Products.

Shift extends Direct Assurance partnership

Shift Technology has renewed it collaboration with AXA Group subsidiary – Direct Assurance, a leading French direct insurer which offers motor, motorcycle, home and health insurance.

Initiated in 2018 to fight motor insurance claims fraud using Shift Claims Fraud Detection, the relationship now extends its scope to cover home insurance claims.

Insurity partners with Attestiv

Insurity, provider of cloud-based software for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, has partnered with Attestiv to accelerate automation initiatives, increase fraud protection, and reduce expenses for P&C carriers.

Through this partnership with Attestiv, Insurity offers automated document and image validation to its 500-plus customers, eliminating manual inspections, reducing fraud, and minimising reputational risk.

Pen acquires Tay

Pen Underwriting has acquired UK-based Tay River Holdings Ltd and its specialist managing general agent (MGA) related companies.

Based in London, Tay specialises in providing coverages for marine liability, ports and terminals liability, marine war risks, and kidnap and ransom through its independent broker clients. More recently, it has expanded into maritime professional indemnity, freight and logistics insurance, as well as brown water hull. The business will become part of Pen Underwriting, and Paul Hartley will continue to lead the team.

Spring launches new commercial PI capacity

Spring, the specialist financial and commercial lines MGA, has continued its drive for growth with the launch of a new Commercial Professional Indemnity (PI) binder for businesses in the UK and Europe.

The London and Dublin offices will support the new offering, which is backed by both existing and new capacity providers.

BHR Assist Insurance Services named new Corporate Partner

BHR Assist Insurance Services has joined ILC as a Corporate Partner.

Introduced to the UK in 2018 before establishing itself in Gibraltar in 2020, BHR Assist Insurance Services leverages the latest innovation and technology to deliver a holistic, transformational approach to credit hire services which is proven to reduce insurer spend.

Claims lead to greatest number of insurance complaints

The number of general insurance complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) rose by a third over the final three months of 2022, according to a contributed article from Insurance DataLab.

More than 8,700 complaints were referred to the ombudsman over that period, according to the latest analysis from Insurance DataLab, up from a little under 6,600 for the same period a year earlier.

Best of both worlds

Sedgwick’s Managing Director, Global Consumer Technology, Leah Cooper, has emphasised how automation in claims does not have to an all-or-nothing solution.

She suggests that combining automation with human intervention at critical points is an effective hybrid solution that offers both customer and insurer the best of both worlds.

Peak performance

Group Marketing and Communications Director at Markerstudy Lizzie Smith is taking on a triathlon to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

On 16 May she will join about 40 Markerstudy colleagues on 21km cycle and 19km hike around the Wainwright Peaks before a 5.5km paddle on Derwent Water.

Readers on the right ROAD

More than 3,500 students from 91 schools will receive a copy of Frankie’s World, a graphic novel by Aoife Dooley, as part of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation ROAD Forward initiative.

ROAD Forward is a €47m global initiative that aims to address the widening opportunity gaps. Last year it delivered 1,900 copies of Why the Moon Travels by Oein DeBhairduin to pupils in 64 schools across Ireland.

Grid expectation

The Copart-sponsored O’Dell Racing Team finished third in the Aldershot Hot Rod recently. The team will be back in action for another Hot Rod event in Ipswich on Easter Monday.

Four risk areas revealed in new report

A new report by insurance broker and risk advisor Marsh, The 2023 Political Risk Report, has identified four areas where increasing risk threatens global trading, security, and investment this year.

They are: persistent political instability, economic retrenchment competition for strategic resources, and supply chain diversification.

UK companies falling behind net zero pledge

EY analysis has found that 95% of FTSE 100 companies have not yet published credible plans to transition to next zero. This comes a full 18 months after the government’s COP26 pledge that UK listed businesses would be mandated to publish decarbonisation plans by 2023.

Of the five per cent that have, many are not yet meeting the UK’s Transition Plan Taskforce guidance.

Government sets out green investment agenda

The government has published the Mobilising Green Investment: 2023 Green Finance Strategy, which aims to strengthen the UK’s position in the global green finance market, while promoting private investment into the energy security, net zero and environmental sectors.

People

LexisNexis Risk Solutions has named James Burton as Managing Director, Insurance, UK and Ireland.  

Giovanni Adamo has been appointed as Senior Engineer at Zego.

Paul Nichols has joined CAPS as Senior Sales Manager.

Allianz has named Nadia Côté as Commercial Managing Director UK.

RSA Insurance has appointed Gary Mason as COO Delivery Director, to drive the technology transformation of its key operating and claims capabilities.

Pen Underwriting has appointed Erik Alsegard to the newly created role of Head of Intellectual Property.