“ Time the industry started thrilling


be on site within 24 hours. We will work with the client, broker, and insurer to not only get an appropriate settlement, but to project manage the repairs to ensure the client is back on his feet at the earliest possible juncture.


AN: Do you find there’s a lot of competition? PL: There are competitors who will talk a good game about holding the client’s hand, but no-one does it better or with more positive results than Harris Balcombe.


AN: Does the Aldermanbury Declaration figure in your plans? PL: Yes it does.


We set the highest service standards and applaud the sentiments of the


Aldermanbury Declaration. We do feel however that certain voices from the claims world are saying the right things, but there is still little evidence to suggest insurers are changing their tune. Service is still poor in the main.


AN: So do you believe there’s an answer? You’ve already mentioned the difficult business conditions that insurers are working under. Is there


anything they can do?


PL: We


believe insurers


should sign up to a


definitive set of service standards, and be


prepared to be independently rated on them by their brokers and


clients. There is little or nothing for these clients to go on to truly measure how good an Axa or an Aviva really is when it comes to claim time. We are in the process of launching our own customer charter where we are being totally upfront about the standards we offer. We will live or die by our ability to deliver. How many insurers can say that? It really is about time this industry set about thrilling clients with their claims service, and not making them feel like criminals.


AN: What’s your opinion when insurers outsource responsibility to supplier chains? PL: This is where we see a particularly unjust set of rules being played by some insurers. Put simply, most insurer supply chains are ripping off the customer. Similar to all the hoo-ha around personal injury claims, the winners are the insurer’s loss adjusters and their contractors. The big loser is the customer.


clients with its claims service – instead of making them feel like criminals!


”


Let me explain. There are loss adjusting companies who will happily deal with an insurer’s claim for nothing. They will pay to have it - simply because they will make an 8%-10% fee on the cost of rebuilding or


reinstatement. They can also plug in their surveying arm for good measure. As the adjuster working for the insurer they make a nice return on the work, but they still offer the client a pretty awful service most of the time.


More often than not, when we meet a loss adjuster representative on site they are rarely qualified. On the very big losses you may well see a qualified adjuster, but not on everyday claims. It’s those types of claims that can be the death of an SME if not handled quickly and efficiently. Without someone batting for the client, they are in very real danger of losing out in a big way.


In short Aldermanbury Declaration or not, we’re about as far away from TCF as I can remember.


Harris Balcombe LLP


The two established firms of Harris Claims Group and Balcombe Group merged in 2008 to form their new partnership by combining resources and expertise. Both enjoyed pedigrees dating back almost one-and-a-half centuries.


During that time both firms dealt with the consequences of some of the world’s major disasters including 9/11 and hurricanes Andrew and Gilbert. In the UK , the Bishopsgate, Docklands, and Manchester bombings; the Buncefield explosion; and more recent widespread floods involved a wide range of commercial and private clients. And all this taking place in an increasingly complex and litigious insurance claims market.


Regional representation is provided via offices in London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, and Glasgow, while global coverage is maintained by representatives around the world.


MARCH 2011 insurancepeople 11


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