Insurers could become tougher on claims to help margins in soft market, says Aon

John Bell, head of claims for Aon Risk Services, speaks out about trends in insurer claims handling and in support of Airmic’s agreement to reduce insurers’ use of reservation of rights.

Insurers are focusing their fight for margin retention around claims, as rates fall and revenues are under threat. Whilst claims frequency is falling, the levels of liability settlement are increasing above inflation and are not being matched by rate rises. As a consequence, insurers are scrutinising claims much more thoroughly and are seeking to apply policy conditions more strictly than before.

This has led to some high value liability claims being potentially compromised on the part of