Partnership adjuster

Having written off the idea of owning his own insurance company early in his career, David Mairs set up his present company with one secretary above a fish-and-chip shop 12 years ago. Today, the Ashworth Mairs Group deals with a range of clients on a national basis, turns over £23m annually and claims to have been the first adjusting firm to receive accreditation from the Chartered Insurance Institute.

"Like brokers, what loss adjusters call 'added value' today will be taken for granted by clients tomorrow," he says, adding: "For example, initiatives such as electronic 24/7 claims reporting, which offers sophisticated management information to track spend and trends, etc., increases customer expectation.

Any service provider has to match customer expectations, but IT capability is now a given - not value added.

"The brokers needing to add value can be assisted by the support and relationship of a good adjuster. For example, pre- and post-event risk management can ensure claims are handled swiftly, which obviously can go a long way towards helping brokers retain clients," he states.

Mairs also cites ways in which loss adjusters can help brokers pitch for business against larger firms. "If a super-provincial wants to take on a national, we can assist. There are a range of ways we can do this, for example, in having a business interruption specialist to help calculate loss of client revenue. While this is not an exact science, having the expertise to project ahead quickly can help speed the claims process.

The amount of client management time that can be taken up in helping the adjuster or broker to calculate loss of earnings can be enormous and this can be reduced in this way with good pre-incident risk management."

Mairs also says that some larger brokers have BI specialists and adjusters in-house for this reason. And, because this expertise can mean the difference between a client being satisfied with claims service from a broker, he says it is important for brokers to exercise their rights with insurers.

"If a broker wants to move a client they can stipulate to the insurer which adjuster is appointed - especially if they are known to the insured. It is about gaining and maintaining the trust of the client, particularly during a claim when they are most vulnerable. In the case of BI, there is a massive opportunity for brokers."

Indeed, Mairs retains some brokers that he assisted from the early days when the company was established. In order to build a broker's trust, Mairs says that adjusters ought to be tailoring their service for different brokers, offering the following example: "Brokers are open to innovation and good adjusters ought to be assisting them with their strategy. One broker we had dealt with for years wanted to compete for business in Wales against a Welsh broker. We supplied all our literature in Welsh and English and the broker followed suit and won the business.

"I believe there is an opportunity for brokers through the relationship with their adjuster. Brokers want sustainable business, they do not want churn, and some choose to outsource the claims function if they have the right level of trust with the provider."

AMG, like others, offer white-labelled adjusting - effectively, when a client telephones the adjuster at a contact centre, staff answer in the broker's name. This leaves the broker's clients entirely in the adjuster's hands at that point; a fact that Mairs says further underlines the levels of trust required of the broker with adjuster.

In situations where the loss adjuster deals directly with the client, brokers need to be assured of the service that is being administered in their name. "You never know what element of service may lead to a client continuing to place their business with the broker," Mairs says, adding: "Attention to detail is therefore critical as there can be a unique selling point in everything you do. We teach our adjusters, who deal with high-net-worth clients - sometimes celebrities - how to shake a woman's hand as part of this."

Another added-value initiative, which Mairs says can be mutually beneficial to broker and adjuster, is graduate or trainee exchange schemes. "From a regulatory perspective and from the point of view of training, brokers placing staff with us, and vice versa, can be of tremendous value to the businesses as well as to the individuals taking part. Training is now in demand and a secondment can give a broker a real insight into specialisms on the claims side."

Mairs concludes by offering various tips (see box, left) for establishing a predetermined appreciation of the all-important financial consequences to the insurers, resulting in more formal attention and loss mitigation.

These pointers, he says, in a claims situation will allow people to get on with what they should be doing and avoid being diverted away from their core roles; with a shortened period of interruption, reduced BI loss, swifter reinstatement of the building, machinery, plant, stock and a work in progress, allied to customer confidence and business retention.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP

- Nominate adjuster and key personnel with 24/7 contact detail.

- Meet and greet with a view to developing a rapport.

- Assign a focal point and clarify the roles of others likely to be involved post-loss.

- Gain provisional appreciation of site(s) and business processes.

- Consider any outline business plan for the period three years hence.

- Identify key suppliers/possible subcontractors, alternative premises, consultants and other parties including accountants, solicitors and bankers.

- Identify key customers.

- Consider an integrated media strategy.

- Discuss/formalise disaster recovery and business continuity plans, including IT and telecommunications.

- Consider further revisions to risk management and policy cover, especially business interruption.