Niche loss adjusting firms are reaping the benefits of the continuing turbulence affecting some larger companies, says liability and loss adjusters The Quest Gates Partnership.
Disenchantment among clients and staff of the major adjusters is helping niche firms to pick up valuable business while at the same time strengthening their teams with quality personnel, says Martin Mathieson, a partner at the firm.
The Quest Gates Partnership has seen its annual turnover pass the £1m mark within six years of being established.
From a two-man office in Harrogate, the firm has grown to some 40 personnel with offices in Birmingham, Nottingham and Glasgow and has plans to open another office in the North-West later this year.
The firm has added six new adjusters this year, with recruits often coming from large adjusting firms.
Mathieson says: “Insurers are attracted to Quest Gates because of our philosophy of providing high levels of personal service through experienced and skilled adjusters,
“There is no doubt adjusters at some of the larger firms handling bulk work often feel they have been turned into claims processors and, as a result, a loss of motivation and complacency has crept in.
“That is not the case with some smaller firms, where adjusters take a pro-active stance in resolving claims and are skilled in negotiating settlements without escalating costs,” Mathieson says.
“This adds up to adjusters achieving job satisfaction and insurers benefiting from cost-effective claims handling.”
Mathieson says the disillusionment among insurers and brokers with service standards from the larger adjusting firms was one of the main reasons for setting up Quest Gates.
“It seemed pretty obvious to myself and my founding partners, Peter Mann and David Miles, that insurers were becoming increasingly disillusioned with some of the major adjusting companies, who were so wrapped up in their own internal affairs that they lost the plot.
“The message we were getting from insurers and brokers was that they wanted a reliable, professional service that provided value for money.”
Quest Gates have been particularly successful in the liability and motor sectors, with clients taking advantage of the firm's specialist skills.
Mathieson says: “The liability sector has continued to grow and insurers and inter-mediaries are now turning to us because they know they will get a reliable and effective service.
“We are also able to offer a hands-on service from partners, providing a flexible service genuinely tailored to meet the needs of clients and this is something which our larger competitors often struggle to provide.”
