Why Clarke Dove believe every insurance broker should have an in house claims team.
Meet the claims team.
January 2023
Why every insurance broker should have a claims team – Find out how Clarke Dove's in-house claims team offers expert advice and support to every client.
Handling claims is a crucial part of the insurance process and our service to all our clients.
When a client experiences a loss covered by their insurance policy, they will file a claim with the broker, who will provide initial advice and then work with the insurance company to assess the claim and determine the appropriate course of action. In some cases, insurance brokers no longer provide this service to their clients, expecting clients to go directly to the insurer or outsourcing the service to a third-party provider. In our experience this seldom works and often leads to dissatisfied clients, so we don’t do it. Having a dedicated claims department allows us to handle claims efficiently and effectively on behalf of our clients. It also helps to ensure that our clients receive prompt advice and fair settlements when they experience a loss. Our claims team maintains strong relationships with our clients, supporting them through some of the most stressful and emotional events. By providing an excellent claims service, we prove our commitment to our client's needs and satisfaction.
What is an in-house claims team?
Our claims team is a team of two; within the brokerage, Kevin and Katie are responsible for handling the claims process for clients from notification to settlement. This includes receiving and reviewing information about claims, determining coverage and liability, using their experience to present the claim to the insurer in the best light, tracking progress and updating the client, negotiating settlements, and ensuring the timely and correct payment of claims to clients. The claims team works to ensure that the claims process is handled efficiently and effectively, this often involves a lot of time chasing insurers (in the background) for updates and making sure the client’s expectations are met so we can be sure we’re delivering excellent customer service and maintaining great relationships with our clients.
Meet the Clarke Dove claims team
Kevin Dean Cert CII
Claims Manager, Kevin has over 15 years of experience in claims management, working in all areas of claims management across the insurance sector. About his role, Kevin says "Our clients know we’re here to help them when they need to make a claim, and we’ll be there at every stage of the claim. In serious circumstances, this could be the worst day of their lives and we need to be on hand to provide advice straight away and to help smooth the claims process balancing the situation with making sure we have the information we need to present the claim to the insurer in the best possible light.”
Katie Ritchie
Claims Handler, Katie has worked for the company since 2005 having various roles since her time at Clarke Dove. Katie looks after a portfolio of claims, making sure they are progressing, keeping the diary up to date, and updating clients on developments.
Kevin and Katie work together on making sure the team is up to date on claims trends, updates from insurers, and any regulatory changes that could affect claims handling. Sharing information with their colleagues regularly. For example, a recent trend we continue to see is delays in the car repair sector, this is due to a shortage of parts as well as the shortage of vehicles. We will work with insurers to ensure all options are explored to make sure the client has their vehicle repaired and returned to them as soon as possible.
What are the benefits of an in-house claims team?
We think having an in-house claims team is critical to how we deliver the best service and advice to our clients, here we have summarised just a few of the benefits.
1. Our claims service is tailored to the client
We know that when it comes to claims nothing is standard, each claim is different, and each claim form is different. So, our team created a claims service that is tailored to the client and not to the insurer by creating a suite of claim forms that capture all the information the insurer needs so there shouldn’t be a need to come back to you for more information. These are regularly updated to reflect any new trends or requests from insurers.
2. We'll be there when you need us
We know that this job can thrust us into the most devastating points in people's lives and our clients know that we are here for them, our experienced and professional claims team is here to hold their hands from notification through to settlement and beyond.
We deal with the insurers and loss adjusters on behalf of our clients, so they don’t have to add the worry of knowing what to say to whom during an already stressful experience.
We will also work with our clients to agree on the method and frequency of communication, so we manage their expectations.
3. We have great relationships with our insurer partners
Our experienced claims team has built up relationships with insurers and adjusters over the years built on mutual trust and integrity, we know what information to gather, how to advise the client, how the cover applies to the circumstances of the claim and how to present this information to the insurer in the best manner possible, making the claims decision easier for the insurer.
These relationships also allow us to have conversations about claims when cover may not be provided or liability is not clear so that if we need to challenge a decision, we know the best person to contact.
4. Our in-house claims team delivers positive outcomes to our clients
We know that having a claims team in-house helps us to deliver great customer service, which helps us retain and win clients. But customer satisfaction is just one of the ways our claims team helps clients, here we have summarised a few more;
a. better risk management, by identifying patterns in claims we can help maintain better processes or advise on risk management strategies to minimise future claims.
b. our claims service helps boost our credibility, demonstrating our commitment to high-quality service to clients and potential clients whilst also showcasing our professionalism and expertise.
c. all our clients get access to specialised advice and expertise, as well as a team with experience in dealing with complex and large losses. Our claims team is working on your behalf to ensure your claim is settled promptly and equitably.
How Clarke Dove's in-house claims team support our clients.
Here are just a few of the ways Kevin & Katie, our claims team help support our clients;
a. we notify your insurer and present the claim for you
When new clients come to us, or an existing client makes a claim for the first time they are not always aware that insurance policies make the policyholder responsible for preparing the right information for the insurer for them to process the claim, this can sometimes come as a shock which is why we have an in-house claims team who will report the claim, prepare the claim and all the necessary paperwork, reports or quotes required by your insurer. We do this for all our clients, it’s part of what we do, and we pride ourselves on the service Kevin and Katie deliver to our clients daily.
b. we’ll give you updates when you need them
The rather unglamorous task of our claims team is chasing insurers for updates, checking repairs are on time, or checking payments have been made, but this is what ensures that claims are processed and settled promptly. We know that knowing what is happening to your claim is important and that is why we have a process built around our clients so that we can agree on how and when you are updated on the progress of your claim, so you aren’t having to get hold of the insurer or wait on the phone to speak to someone, we do this for you!
c. we’ll support claims disputes, so you don’t have to
We know that sadly not every claim is paid and there are circumstances where we will challenge insurers on a decision made based on the information, we have presented to them, mostly this is done in the background but if you are left feeling disappointed by a claim decision, we will help you dispute the claim with the insurer using our experience and relationships with insurers.
To conclude, we know that an insurance broker's job is to advise clients on how and what to buy in terms of insurance products to protect their risk exposure and to help them navigate the claims process which is why our claims team is an integral part of our business and to do this any other way would go against everything we stand for as a business. Our clients know that they can trust us to be there when they need us the most when they need to make a claim.
If you have any questions about Clarke Dove or our claims team, please contact Kevin on 0115 9628342.
Further Reading – If you enjoyed this post you might like to read our recent article on underinsurance click here