IUA jumps to the defence of the company market
The International Underwriting Association (IUA) has hit back at remarks made by Lloyd’s chief executive Richard Ward over the efforts being made on business process reform.
The IUA has jumped to the defence of the company market after Ward claimed there had been “almost zero” take-up in the use of electronic claims files – a document repository that enables claims and premiums to be handled quickly and efficiently without the need for paper files.
Stephen Riley, the IUA’s chairman, insisted that “criticisms” made by the Lloyd’s chief executive on the company market’s progress in legacy and electronic claims initiatives were “misleading”.
“The company market’s record on market reform is at least as good as that of Lloyd’s,” he claimed.
“On legacy issues, many brokers and IUA members have confirmed that companies are effectively managing their legacy downwards both in terms of quantity and quality.
“It is just that the differing company market infrastructure and large amounts of business not processed through Xchanging by our members make this a more complex picture to analyse.”
Riley added: “The company market has also been involved in electronic claims activity for almost 20 years and pioneered the use of CLASS now also being used in Lloyd’s."
Last week Ward said: “If we are going to meet our targets then brokers and businesses need to be using the system more. There are no more excuses.
“Businesses seem to agree with the principle of processing claims electronically but are having difficulty converting this into action,” he added. “This is particularly the case in the company market where take-up is almost zero.”
Lloyd’s were unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
