Markel’s success relies on ‘having the right people’ to pick up broker calls

Insurer Markel was one of two firms that achieved a coveted five star status in Insurance Times’ Five Star Rating Report: Commercial Lines 2024.

This result can primarily be attributed to the insurer gaining an additional star against the report’s overall relationship management and claims and underwriting experience metrics, moving from four star scores to five stars.

Markel’s overall 3.90 score from 2022/23’s report rose to 4.11 for 2023/24.

The Five Star Rating Report: Commercial Lines 2024, published in February 2024, was based on Insurance Times’ Broker Service Survey, conducted between October and December 2023.

Polling 550 commercial lines brokers in the UK general insurance market, the survey aimed to gather brokers’ feedback on their insurer partners across service metrics such as claims and underwriting experience, quality of cover, policy documentation and relationship management.

For Mark Plews, director of underwriting at Markel UK, the insurer’s success in this year’s report stems from its focus on meeting brokers’ needs.

Plews notes that Markel has “taken action” to ensure brokers “get quick responses” by investing in technology – particularly its phone infrastructure.

Plews explains that although the insurer has always answered calls from brokers, it was not answering enough of them in the past.

According to feedback from Insurance Times’ Five Star Rating Report: Commercial Lines 2024, brokers expressed a clear preference for insurers that offer quicker response times.

One broker noted: “In general, the phone lines have deteriorated over the past three years and colleagues are spending up to 30 minutes on hold waiting to speak to someone.”

Another broker added: “Simply answer your phones, call us back and respond to emails. It’s that simple.”

These comments come in the wake of industry criticism in October 2023, when commentators described the time it took brokers to reach insurers as “appalling”.

Markel’s investment in a technology enhanced phone infrastructure helps Markel to answer broker calls by optimising call handling and reducing wait times.

Plews explains that Markel began its phone system update in January 2023 by analysing call data, to identify trends in call answering, response times and routing accuracy.

This research uncovered issues with call handling and misdirection, highlighting the need for consistent call answering and proper call routing processes.

Plews confirms that Markel has now thoroughly reviewed and refined its call processes – its new phone infrastructure formally launched by April 2023, with further functionality updates being implemented on a rolling basis.

One change that has been implemented, for example, is the creation of rotas for underwriters. This ensures that these professionals can dedicate allotted time to completing underwriting tasks as well as promptly responding to broker calls.

He explains: “It’s far from just a box ticking exercise. It [is] important for [Markel] to provide a good service to brokers.”

However, Plews notes that a business can have the “best trained staff, but if employees are not willing to pick up the phone, no amount of technology will make a difference”.

Plews believes that Markel’s quality focused culture plays a significant role in mitigating this personnel threat.

He says: “We have a very strong culture [at] Markel, which actively guides how we want to be as a business.”

Claims ‘can do attitude’

Markel’s emphasis on quality extends further than the insurer’s underwriting division, however – this culture is also embedded in the firm’s claims team, according to Richard Napoli, claims and legal services director at Markel UK.

Clearly this mindset is reaping dividends as Markel has achieved five stars for the Five Star Rating Report: Commercial Lines’ overall claims experience metric for six consecutive years. The insurer also won the Commercial Lines Claims Excellence Award at Insurance Times’ Claims Excellence Awards on 23 May 2024.

Napoli attributes these successes to Markel’s “ethos” and the “positive can do attitude” of its employees.

He explains: “Our claims team works incredibly hard to deliver great service, but it’s all about having the right people.

“We want to continue investing in these individuals, helping them grow and align with the Markel philosophy. We want them to be more than just box tickers – they should genuinely care about solving problems for our clients.”

Plews echoes Napoli’s sentiments, explaining that Markel’s culture actively guides how the insurer aims to operate as a business.

He adds: “We employ people who bring something different to the team, but also who we can get on with. It’s not about big egos – it’s about creating a team that’s working towards the same goal.”

Training

For Plews, Markel’s new phone infrastructure has the added benefit of supporting continued investment in employee development. For example, the system tracks underwriters’ call handling and provides feedback around “getting the basics right”.

He elaborates: “We implemented a new phone system that enabled us to accurately measure who was answering calls and how quickly. We could then provide feedback to the team, giving them ownership of the process.

“This change ensured that calls were directed to the right place the first time, reducing the gap between previous handling and current performance.

“We’ve seen great success with our renewals team, who focus on identifying who’s picking up calls, who’s missing them and ensuring that the entire team is working effectively.

“If one person cannot pick up a call, it is automatically redirected to another qualified team member, ensuring no call goes unanswered.”