Liz Latter: Qlaims’ mission to bring concierge claims management to the mainstream

Back when the Consumer Duty came into effect in July 2023, the FCA sent a letter to firms explaining that the experience of making a claim “will generally be when the product’s value and service are put to the test”. 

But one year on from the launch of this new landmark piece of regulation, statistics show that complaints are on the rise. Figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), published on 1 May 2024, show that 22,845 complaints were made in H2 2023, up from 19,346 in H2 2022.

Lots of these complaints are related to things like pricing, for example, but many are also related to customers’ perception of the claims experience – if they feel like they are not being communicated with, or don’t understand the process, then a complaint is more likely. 

This feeling of confusion around the claims process, specifically where more complex claims are concerned, is what insurtech MGA Qlaims is seeking to address. 

Liz Latter, the firm’s chief executive, tells Insurance Times: ”A lot of complaints come from delays or a lack of communication and we are genuinely trying to tackle that. Offering the support we do to customers during their claim is absolutely supportive of what Consumer Duty is asking for.”

Concierge service

The thinking behind Qlaims is that, by providing professional support to businesses and private individuals going through a property damage loss claim, much of the stress can be removed or at least reduced. 

The company currently works with over 250 insurance brokers to integrate its specialist insurance into their policies – providing an expert professional, Cila qualified loss adjustor to clients who can prepare, negotiate and project manage the claim. 

Latter adds: “It’s aimed at slightly larger, slightly more complex claims, with a typical threshold of £5,000 to have our loss adjusters getting involved to prepare a claim.

“People in those claim situations very often don’t know what to do or where to start, even with very simple things like turning off the water. But as soon as we’re told about the loss, we’ll either send an adjustor out within 24 hours or we’ll do it via video streaming, in which case it’s almost instantaneous that we can have a proper conversation with the client and provide some immediate loss mitigation help.

“We also know from our brokers that one of the biggest frustrations [in these claim scenarios] is the delay between first notification of loss and the insurer actually going out, so we’re out there quickly to start helping.

“To be able to give clients support at that moment in time when they most need us is just the right thing to do.”

Growth ambitions

Latter originally joined Qlaims back in September 2020 as the firm’s chief commercial officer, but was soon promoted to chief executive nine months later in June 2021.

She says the plan for her was to also succeed previous chief executive and founder Malcolm Harvey, with her ambition being to take “this type of cover mainstream”. 

In May last year Qlaims signed a multi-year deal with MGA Presitge Underwriting that saw its complex loss claim support service embedded into Prestige’s Coverall household policy.

Latter explains: “That [deal] is a great way of allowing many more customers to have access to that type of support at claim time. That’s my desire for the product generally, to take this mainstream, because it’s all about customer outcomes. 

“That’s how we measure ourselves, by putting the client at the centre of their claim. It can be a challenge for insurers to do that because there’s a lot of process and KPIs that are not necessarily focused on the customer, but if we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the customer, then we can bring that human touch back into the claims process.” 

Qlaims’ product is currently covering a mix of commercial and private properties across the country, but Latter says the biggest challenge to bringing it to the mainstream is “to a large extent, getting people to know it exists”. 

She says that while many potential clients understand the benefits, they believe that the product would be prohibitively expensive. 

But, Latter explains: ”There are other models out there where that assessor expertise is paid for by the client out of the settlement they get from the insurer, but with us, as it’s an insured product, you pay a small premium upfront when you buy your property insurance and that’s it, no more fees.” 

Going forward, Qlaims is exploring how the use of technology could allow it to provide expert assistance to lower value property claims, which could allow it to lower its coverage threshold. But for now, the focus is on selling the benefits and “continuing to look at distribution partners” across the industry.

Latter finishes: “What we hear, over and over again from our brokers and their clients on complaints is about complaints and lack of communication – which both seem relatively simple to fix.”