U.K.’s CII, CILA Formalize Claims Faculty

The U.K.’s Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA) announced that they have formed a Faculty of Claims to lead the market in the arena of claims handling and support.

Under the chairmanship of CII treasurer and past CILA council member Jonathan Clark, a board of leading market practitioners has been established to develop the Faculty. The first board meeting will take place in March with a view to formally going “live” with the Faculty on July 1, 2004.

“The Claims Faculty will offer a forum to all those engaged in claims activities within the financial services and associated industries,” said the announcement. “It will also encourage progression to qualified status and the maintenance of good practice in claims, recognised by the profession as essential with incoming regulation of the insurance sector.”

Clark indicated that the “Faculty is a major step forward for the sector. It will help to drive up standards and raise the bar of professionalism in claims. The purpose of the Faculty is to strengthen the link between the market and professional standards. This will be achieved through practitioner input into the provision of education, the exchange of information and the development of professional pathways for those who work in the claims arena.

“Importantly this will be underpinned by designatory letters linked to the CII’s own qualification framework and their accreditation in the national qualifications framework. Together, the CII and the CILA will also broaden the range at Certificate and Diploma levels. Furthermore, it has now been accepted by the CILA that Dip CII (Claims) will represent a further entry level to their examinations.”

Once established the Faculty will provide a knowledge base for members to gain access to market specialists via seminars, updates and newsletters. The Faculty will input into the development of relevant technical exam modules, learning materials and a CPD program.

The announcement listed the Claims Faculty board members as follows:

Chairman – Jonathan Clark, Crawford & Co, CII Treasurer
Bill Paton – Zurich, CII representative
David Williams – AXA, Cambridge institute president
Andy King -CILA, Deputy President
Chris Miller – CILA, Chairman Examinations Committee
Mike Jones – CILA, Chairman Education & Technical Committee
Graham Cave – CILA, Executive Director
Steve Wellard – CII, Marketing Director.