Claims Partner of the Year
This category is designed to recognise claims, loss adjusting, legal and service partners that have delivered outstanding profitable, flexible and efficient support to UKGI brokers and/or insurers.
Judges were looking for partnerships that have helped brokers and/or insurers structure, provide, communicate, improve or grow their products and services over the past year. Judges wanted positive stories from crisis management, or programmes of internal change that are boosting value to insurer and/or broker partners.
All the finalists are listed below. Use the links to find out more from the entrants who have answered our series of Q&As.
Gallagher Bassett
Goodlord & DAS UK Group
Kindertons Accident Management
QuestGates
SBS
Goodlord & DAS UK Group
What key achievement did your entry highlight?
DAS UK, a specialist legal expenses insurer, partnered with Goodlord, a leading proptech firm, to revolutionise the landlord rent arrears claims process.
Together, we devised a Rent Protection and Legal Expenses Insurance policy that guarantees the landlord’s missing rent following a breach of tenancy agreement, while funding the cost of legal work. We also created an automated digital claims process, to reduce the time to make a claim or resolve a legal dispute, while ensuring swift payment of rent, encouraging fair settlements, and minimising the need for legal proceedings - a process that was strongly tested during the Covid-19 crisis.
The Goodlord Team
Can you share data or testimonials to back up your bid to win?
Our claims process enabled claimants to file a claim in under 10 minutes without requiring any hard copy documentation. Our early intervention processes helped tenants, guarantors and landlords reach agreements - resolving a third of claims without any need for litigation.
“Without the support and speed of service provided by Goodlord and DAS, our landlords would have been badly affected financially. As the claims process includes mediation we felt comfortable that all parties were trying everything they could to meet their own commitments while keeping tenants in their homes.” Ellie Donaghy, Lettings Director, Andrews Property Group
What sets your firm apart from the other shortlisted contenders?
Every decision we made during the pandemic put the customer first. Our customers were struggling to keep up with changing legislation so we hosted interactive webinars, created website FAQs, and shared data capture and payment plan templates.
We paid landlord claims during the 90-day period covered by the Coronavirus Act, while doing everything we could to give landlords options that would avoid the need to issue eviction notices to tenants, despite it being legally possible.
Our flexible and digital approach helped keep thousands of tenants in their homes during the pandemic and helped landlords keep their investments.
How will you celebrate if you are the victor?
Our customers were instrumental in the success of this new and innovative process, especially through the mediation process with the different parties involved, so we’d aim to celebrate with them too - as safely as possible, of course!
QuestGates
What key achievement did your entry highlight?
Challenging market conditions have increased pressure on insurers to control their largest amount of spend – claims – without negatively impacting customer service; so when a client told us that property claims couldn’t be streamlined like motor claims, we thought why not?
We launched Project Connex, focused on slashing claims lifecycles and reducing the indemnity spend of our clients without compromising the high levels of customer service that QuestGates has become known for.
We’ve connected customers, brokers, insurers and suppliers resulting in better service all round while halving the lifecycle of certain claims and achieving indemnity spend savings way over target.
QuestGates Project Connex Team
Can you share data or testimonials to back up your bid to win?
The results have surpassed expectations – not just in reducing claims lifecycles and delivering indemnity spend savings, but our +78% NPS score demonstrates the positive impact on the customer experience.
William Quibell, Head of Supply Chain at Fairmead Insurance, sums things up nicely:
“QuestGates get what major loss customers need. They always deploy the correct personnel at the correct times and they control indemnity spend whilst pushing up NPS customer service and dramatically reducing lifecycle on every single claim that they touch. Their contribution to our customer outcomes across loss adjusting, surveying, contents, buildings, alternative accommodation, has been beyond reproach."
What sets your firm apart from the other shortlisted contenders?
While all those shortlisted should be congratulated on pushing the boundaries, we think the work we’ve done to address an age-old problem gives us the edge – in short, we’ve radically improved the way complex property claims are managed.
We built the technology and invested heavily in our people to create the correct roles and improved processes. Open, accountable relationships have been developed which improved the way we work with brokers, insurers and suppliers, yielding great results.
How will you celebrate if you are the victor?
Well the restrictions that we all understandably need to adhere to right now mean that we won’t be able to celebrate in the usual company fashion, but I’m sure we’ll find a way for everyone involved to share the odd sherbet or two in a Covid-safe way!