Are communication issues delaying flood-related claims processes?

An expert has questioned whether a lack of communication is delaying flood-related claims processes.

The UK has been affected by bad weather in recent times, with many residential and commercial properties damaged as a result.

In turn, home insurance claims for weather-related damage reached a record £573m last year, according to the ABI.

As claims rise, however, so are complaints. According to an analysis by Insurance DataLab, the Financial Ombudsman Service received around 1,600 complaints over buildings insurance in Q3 2023, equal to 16% of all complaints.

Paul Sowden, strategic account manager at ICEYE, explained that from the loss adjusters’ side, there was a lack of direction from insurers when it came to claims.

“We regularly speak to the loss adjusting community and they [always tells us] that [they] would love to have a better understanding of [the extent and severity of floods],” he said at a roundtable hosted by Insurance Times and sponsored by satellite-powered disaster management technology provider ICEYE.

“[However], they then turn around and say, ‘ultimately, we’re directed where to go by our insurance companies.’”

Sowden continued to explained that, in turn, this created frustration due to a lack of coordination, leading to inefficiencies in responding to claims.

Competition

It was also highlighted during the roundtable that loss adjusters want to deploy teams quickly when a flood strikes, but insurers want their own adjusters on-site first.

Sowden explained that loss adjusters want to have teams on every street if possible.

“[But], there’s no kind of communication and everybody is in competition with one another,” he said.

“Plus, what is the advantage? Do you want to lose the advantage of being seen as the best people responding to a claim?

”Everyone is secretly hoping that they do better than their competition because that’s good for them in terms of growing their market share.”