It’s been a busy 6 months in the claims world, with an array of developments demanding attention. The audit season has been particularly busy here and there were the preparations for the arrival of Official Injury Claim (OIC) Portal, which went live on 31st May. We have also been busy on many other fronts – here are some of the headlines and insights from recent months.
SX3 Audits – Claims Processing Improvement
Whilst in yet another lockdown during Q1 2021, it would appear that the impact of lockdown measures on claims operations is easing. For the audits we performed on handling accuracy – which is a set of objective pass/fail tests that result in a set of accuracy scores – performance overall for 2021 to date is 2.5% higher than 2020.
Looking at our results database by business class, we see Motor performing better than the P&C classes – no surprise really considering the reduction in Motor claim volumes in the last 12 months. The 2020 results will have been impacted by organisations being affected by, and then reacting to, the pandemic. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see organisations getting back on top of their claims handling over the past 6 months.
Leakage rates have also improved over the same time periods – at an average reduction of 20.5% in 2021 compared with 2020.
All SX3 audit clients are now able to have their result compared with our audit performance benchmarks.
Civil Liability Act – Collaboration is Key
Shortly after the Practice Directions were issued, SX3 conducted a survey of the market to gauge reaction on the detail. https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/news/majority-of-claimants-still-set-to-be-represented-by-law-firms-or-cmcs-in-new-whiplash-portal/1437537.article
Chief amongst the concerns raised was the process for disputes arising from valuing hybrid injury claims, i.e., those with both a whiplash element (valued by way of the tariff) and non-whiplash element (still valued by way of General Damages guidelines).
Longer term, this may get solved by the initiative being undertaken to seek guidance from the courts by way of some fast tracked test cases to the Court of Appeal. https://www.officialinjuryclaim.org.uk/news/mixed-injuries-update/. However, that still leaves a degree of uncertainty in the meantime. Collaboration between the stakeholders is key here to reduce friction from the process and achieve acceptable outcomes for all parties involved.
Reserving – Predictive Analytics Comes in to Play
Our work on reserving practices will typically look at:
- reserve adequacy
- timeliness of updates
- proactivity of information gathering
- compliance to stated guidelines
We have undertaken a timely review of some of the tools out on the market to assist with reserve assessment and calculation.
Reserve calculation tools are not new, but the use of predictive analytics to compare a reserve calculation against other, similar, now settled claims, can really add a new dimension to the process. We appreciate an experienced large loss handler can competently work up a reserve on a new claim. However, when it comes to agreeing that reserve figure and rationale with the various stakeholders quite usual on large losses, the added weight of the market data that can be provided by these predictive analytics tools, provides an extra level of confidence in the reserve figure to be agreed.
Claims Technology – Easing the Cost of Integration
SX3 is constantly monitoring the marketplace for new applications that improve the efficiency of claim handling. However, it is not uncommon for a client’s business cases to fail due to the time and cost required to integrate the new technology into existing systems. Naturally, we were very interested when Claim Technology offered to demonstrate a tool aimed at solving that problem.
1-Click Insurtech is a platform allowing insurers to consume dozens of solutions from best-in-class insurtechs, all through a single API. There are even offering some funding for users to develop their first use case!
Claims Technology – Free Webinar June 24 at 3PM
Regarding claims automation and integration, you would be most welcome to join me (I’m the moderator), for a free webinar hosted by Intelligent Insurer on this very topic.
There is an excellent panel of senior claims figures from both General Insurance and London Market. It would be great if you could join live but you also have the option receive an email link to the event to view at a time of your choice.
No commitment registration here: https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/16535/483185
SX3 News – Spreading our Wings
SX3 is now an Associate Member of ACSO (the Association of Consumer Support Organisations). This complemented our role as a Trade and Industry Partner of FOIL in preparing for the whiplash reforms to ensure we could consider the impact of the changes from all angles. So far, we have been impressed with the organisation and effectiveness of the ACSO team and look forward to working more with them.
SX3 has achieved registered supplier status with FSQS, the cross-sector collaboration solution that reduces the time, cost, resources and duplication needed to provide due diligence information for suppliers and purchasers of supplier services.
SX3 Approved by Lloyd’s
In another development, we are now on the list of approved auditors for Lloyd’s Delegated Authority Manager. If you write business through Lloyd’s and have claims auditing requirements, now would be a good time to try our services.
SX3 Round Table – Talking Taxi Credit Hire
As a specialist Claims consultancy, we are keen to create a forum where industry specialists can engage on matters of uncertainty. In what I hope will be the first of many SX3 round table discussions, we recently hosted a round table on the thorny topic of taxi credit hire, with a representative of the credit hire industry debating key issues with one of our own experts. https://sx3.co.uk/claims-insight-taxi-insurance-claims/.
If there is a claims issue, even if you think the audience is quite limited, you would like to see aired then do drop me a note.
Is Consulting the Next Step For You?
The extent and diversity of our consultancy continues to grow. We are looking to grow our network of experts so if you are an independent consultant or if you have industry experience and may be considering a change of direction do get in contact.
https://sx3.co.uk/could-you-be-an-sx3-consultant/
If you would like any more information about any of the topics we’ve covered here or have any other claims related queries, just get in touch.
