The new platform could save insurers and brokers time and money when getting legal advice as well as recovering written-off costs and helping underwrite future risk
Global law firm Kennedys has developed a technology platform to help insurance clients self-serve their own legal claims.
The platform will be part of a new company Kennedys has set up called Kennedys IQ.
Kennedys said there are 10 insurers using the ‘Defence Lawyer’ tool – one of its six components on the platform, and around the same number using ‘Recovery Manager’.
Richard West, partner and head of the innovation group at Kennedys told Insurance Times: “Insurers were telling us that they were sitting on fairly large amounts of smalls sums of money – ‘Recovery Manager’ was born out of that.”
Kennedys hopes that the data on the platform could help with underwriting risk and outcomes, value claims and valuable information for claims handlers, as well as more data on fraud to prevent it.
This could be particularly helpful in managing unpredictable losses such as the wildfires, climate change and the spread of Coronavirus through analysing the data it collects to underwrite future risk.
IQ platform toolkit
The IQ Platform features six smart tools that clients use to automate or manage the day-to-day claims process. These include:
- Incident Manager: Initiates the claims process faster using real-time incident support
- Fraud Detector (formerly called Ki): Use live data to pinpoint and prevent fraudulent claims
- Portal Manager: Most recently launched tool that allows in-depth insight into claims
- Defence Lawyer (powered KLAiM system): manage early stage litigation
- Settlement Negotiator (formerly called Cybersettle): Resolve disputes quickly online
- Recovery Manager: Helps recover losses faster and boosts bottom lines by reducing written-off money
The platform also performs AI functions, such as predicting medical damages and making automatic settlement recommendations.
How it all began?
West told Insurance Times that the law firm developed this toolkit to help clients use lawyers less.
This resulted in the law firm launching a separate corporate company earlier this week called Kennedys IQ – a software and services company.
When asked what differentiates this platform from others, West pointed to Kennedys’ global footprint.
“The reason we [have] created the business is that we are able to liberate those who are best equipped to deal with software services into a completely fresh corporate structure,” West added.
Mike Gilpin, commercial director at Kennedys IQ has a background in software solutions, “my new role will involve building a commercial proposition around Kennedy’s IQ, as well as focusing on products as innovation” he told Insurance Times.
Gilpin was formerly director of IT but has moved over to become Kennedys IQ’s commercial director.
West made clear that Kennedys IQ was not created to raise external funding.
Gilpin added: “There’s a natural evolution of process, ten years ago this was an idea brought to reality by a developer.
”Our focus has been let’s bring all those closely related technologies together and build one platform, that we can adapt to different scenarios and that gives us the ability to tap into the human capital that we have around the globe.
”This is not just about serving clients in the UK insurance sector but how we can serve clients across the globe,” Gilpin said.
The tools now sit on one platform and talk to each other simultaneously using artificial intelligence, blockchain and natural language processing techniques.
However, people will continue to play a vital role in generating new tools and market propositions, and the platform will not cut off human interaction completely.
West added: “This [Kennedy’s IQ] allows [for] a better joint venture with the insurance industry and co-develop products with them which we have done now on three occasions.”
The board
West will become the board director of Kennedys IQ alongside senior partner Nick Thomas.
The new company will have a governance group, which comprises managing partner Suzanne Liversidge, West, Gilpin and Karim Derrick, Rosie LeGros and Jo Woods, Kennedys’ directors of business development and Finance, respectively.
Karim Derrick will move from head of research and development to product and innovation director.
Derrick said that the platform aims to help our global claims clients run better and more effective businesses, turning to Kennedys’ lawyers only when expert legal advice is needed.
“We know claims and we know the law. And we believe that data and technology has the potential to achieve those results, by automating day-to-day processes and unlocking powerful claims insights,” he said.
However, West recognises that to stay ahead of the game, these technologies will need to evolve as time goes on.
It was set up to focus on product development targeted at the needs of its clients, but also aims to save clients money and time.
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