IT Spotlights Claims: Q&A with Angus Tucker

Q. How did you get into loss adjusting?

A. I studied estate management at college and when I finished there were no jobs in that area, but a loss adjuster had a job that needed experience of building construction. I thought

I would do it until I got back into surveying, but it was such an interesting job that I’ve never looked back. Over the past 30 years, the job has made me happy, excited, frustrated, annoyed – but never bored.

Q. What are the rewards?

A. In this industry, we [loss adjusters] are making the one real product. If you buy insurance, whether it is global corporate or household, the tangible product you are buying is a claims service. I am dealing with the real business of insurance in action.

Q. What frustrates you about insurers’ claims service?

A. There’s too much onus put on cost savings through procurement. It does not produce cost savings ultimately, because it leads to reduced levels of service, which leads to higher business interruption claims. The claims process across the board has become reliant on procurement and efficiency to the detriment of the service to the policyholder.

Q. Are policyholders becoming more demanding in terms of claims service?

A. Policyholders need to feel that they are getting good value for money, but they are increasingly looking for more than a policy when they buy insurance. They are looking for risk assessment and advice, but a lot of brokers are not geared up to having specialist claims expertise.