Lloyd’s Implements Xchanging Claims Handling System

In what it called “a good step towards eradicating paper in the market,” Lloyd’s announced the implementation of “an electronic filing cabinet,” which has been launched “for handling Electronic Claims Files (ECF). It is now being made available to all Lloyd’s managing agents and brokers, making the whole claims process faster and more efficient.”

Lloyd’s said the “new claims system will help to eradicate the amount of paperwork carried by brokers. The ECF initiative allows claims to be processed without the need for brokers to carry volumes of files between underwriters and Xchanging, the company that provides adjusting and processing services to the Lloyd’s market.”

Andy Brookes, Head of the Market Reform Programme Office [See related article], commented: “The ability to process claims electronically is a major milestone in reforming the London market. It marks the beginning of the end of the huge piles of paper you see brokers carrying each day. Sponsored by the Market Reform Group, the level of support from brokers and carriers alike demonstrates the whole market’s recognition that tangible time and efficiency savings can be achieved. We are now focused on ensuring a broad take-up by all market participants.”

A pilot program involving 12 managing agents and five brokers has been testing the system over the last year before it was rolled out for the Lloyd’s market.

The bulletin noted that London-based “International Underwriting Association (IUA) firms have been using Claims Agreement and Settlement Systems for some time. But they are now piloting the ECF infrastructure and, once completed, the repository will be extended to all of their members as well.”

Steven Haasz, Director of Business Process and Change Management at Lloyd’s, added: “Reforming and modernizing the processes used by the Lloyd’s market remains a key priority. This ‘electronic filing cabinet’ will remove a significant amount of paper from the system and streamline the whole process. It is a significant step towards a truly modern market.”

Following the launch of the claims processing system, Lloyd’s said: “The same technology will be used to enable the market to process premiums and policy documents electronically as part of the Accounting and Settlement (A&S) project. This began market testing earlier in the summer and will be rolled out to the market in due course.”

Xchanging CEO Roger Townsend observed: “What we are witnessing is the first step in Recovery and Reconstruction (R&R) for the London Market’s back-office processing. We expect to improve significantly the speed and efficiency of claims for all participants. Xchanging is delighted to have worked with the entire London Market to deliver what is a real sea change in processing ability.”