September News 2 - Fighting harder for cliams settlement

Brokers having to fight harder for claims settlements

In a recent study by the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA), 67% of respondent insurance brokers had to get tough with insurers to get claims paid during the economic downturn, due to the stricter policy interpretations and anti-fraud systems by insurers.

A year on year comparison suggests that it has deteriorated since last year; with an increase of nearly 10%, as last year this figure was 58%.

Eric Galbraith, BIBA Chief Executive, said: "Insurers are tightening their belts with stricter interpretations of policy wordings. This demonstrates the importance of having a broker to fight your corner during a claim."

Galbraith added: "Many consumers do not have the experience or knowledge to negotiate claims payments themselves. Brokers know how to evidence and support negotiations through their understanding of policy wordings, relevant case law and their relationship with the insurer."

The research demonstrated that brokers, who are best placed to offer the most appropriate cover, can also achieve fairer claims payments for consumers.

Which is backed up as three quarters (76%) of broker respondents said that they had secured an increased payment for a claim following an initial lower offer from the insurer, in the last year.

Examples provided by brokers to highlight the support provided to customers during claims:

• - Following a brokers appointment on a risk where the insured had been offered £120,000 for material damage and £50,000 for business interruption on a fire loss, they have now submitted a claim for settlement of £400,000.
• - Client was offered £900 cash to replace damaged flooring in a dental surgery. The job needed to be done outside business hours to prevent a business interruption claim. We intervened and the client was paid £3,100 and was extremely pleased.