Lloyd’s Claims Specialists Heed CEO’s Call for Electronic Processing

A number of Lloyd’s leading claims experts have come out in support of CEO Richard Ward’s call for the London market to start processing claims electronically as soon as possible.

An article on the Lloyd’s Website (www.lloyds.com) notes that, “during a panel debate at Xchanging’s annual conference in Brighton, experts praised the market’s vision for claims management and said the time was right to move ‘at the pace of the fastest’.” In his address to the conference Ward made the move to electronic claims processing one of his major priorities (See IJ Website Nov. 17). He hopes to achieve it by the end of 2007.

“The Electronic Claims File (ECF) – an electronic filing cabinet which makes processing claims faster and more efficient – is now available to market firms,” the bulletin continued. Lloyd’s introduced the new system, which has been in development for some time, earlier this year (See IJ Website Sept. 20). Once adopted, it will significantly reduce the amount of paper carried around the London market.

Panel member Rolf Tolle, Lloyd’s Franchise Performance Director, outlined Lloyd’s vision for claims, saying that much had been achieved but there was still a long way to go. He added that a recent study by the market on claims handling found that Lloyd’s was comparable with its peers: “However, if you aim to be the market leader that is not good enough,” he stated. “Claims and the way we manage them is the glue at the core of our strategy to deliver an optimal platform. “We will work in partnership with the market. We have a role to play in setting the standards and ensuring they are met.”

Another panel member, Miles Banks, Director of Claims at broker Aon Ltd., agreed with Tolle, and called for the market to drive adoption of the ECF. “We are very encouraged by the comments from Lloyd’s Chief Executive Richard Ward in which he says he wants to see ECF used across the market,” he noted. “The time has come for the market to move at the pace of the fastest. We cannot afford to wait for the slowest. We need to drive reform and enable those who are not moving at the same pace to join when they are ready.”

Banks added that if the market were asked to devise a paper-based system in today’s market, it would have few supporters. “A paper-based system has many hiding places for the inefficient,” he stressed. “ECF will drive performance data and transparency and as such there will be no hiding place for those who are inefficient.”

Closing the panel, Peter Murray, Claims Director of Ace European Group, said ECF was the first step in the journey towards an efficient process for claims handling in the London market.