Property Claims - Post Event
Post Magazine - 14 June 2012
Detailed data sharing a must if 'them and us' attitude to be overcome
Insurers and supply chain managers have been urged to combat the ‘them and us’ divide by sharing more detailed data and making use of technology.
Chris Wylde, managing director of consultancy firm CWMC, said there is a lack of communication between insurers and their supply chains, meaning suppliers frequently fail to inform insurers of fraudulent claims and insurers are unaware which suppliers they work with in a chain.
In a recent audit, CWMC said one insurer had 66 different suppliers.
"There is still a 'them and us' perception between insurers and supply chain management," said Wylde. "Most insurers do not know who is in the second tier of the suppliers. Insurers rely on their prime suppliers to control it." Other supply chain management challenges include complex policy covers, perceived/actual lack of trust, poor systems, costs and lack of data.
Wylde added: "Of the cases we looked at, 31% had been under-recovered because the insurer did not have the right or enough information. There are still problems with limits and excesses, which is not helped by a system where information is not passed on to the supplier. Similarly suppliers are not feeding back to insurers."
Wylde added excessively wordy contracts do not always make clear what is required of the supplier. To combat these problems, he suggested insurers develop a review programme with suppliers to target areas that may improve performance, launch claims transformation programmes with suppliers and identify unknown second-tier providers.
Peter Newman, business development director at Quindell, said web-based solutions improve communication between insurers, supply chain management and customers: "There are systems that show the best suppliers for a claim and ensure you get suppliers that have the capacity to deal with the claim."
He added consumers can be kept up-to-date on their claims via automated messages. Payment options and invoices can also be web-based.
"You should communicate with customers in the way they want. Regular updates are necessary and will reduce inbound call volumes."
