Q: Stuart, tell us a bit about yourself and the wider Marine Liability Claims team.
A: I joined Miller straight out of university, after completing a degree is Business Studies back in 2000, meaning I’ve just completed my 20th year here! I came straight into the Marine claims team working on liability accounts alongside our now Head of Claims at Miller, Andrew Ford. I’ve found liability claims to be the most interesting and varied of what we do in Marine claims and have enjoyed getting to know our clients and markets alike.
Alongside myself, the Marine Liability Claims team includes Katie Rix, Richard Revell, Myles Latif and Chloe Bishop. Katie focuses on the International Group and Individual Club Business, whilst Myles works predominantly on Ports and Terminals, as well as support on Club claims. Richard and Chloe recently joined the team, further bolstering our client support and expertise.
Q: How was the transition to working from home and handling claims electronically?
A: We are very proud of how seamless the transition from working in the office full time to overnight working remotely was. It is a real credit to everyone within claims, within Miller and across the whole market on how this unprecedented circumstance was handled and our high standard of service to clients maintained.
We have been presenting claims electronically to the market since 2007, complemented by meetings and calls with underwriters, so this way of working was largely established already. Marine liability business tends to be long tail and while we continue to have a number of paper files, the market has accepted for these to be presented via email since March 2020.
Q: How have you continued to act as a client advocate whilst unable to meet with insurers?
A: We are fortunate to have a team with strong working relationships with the market. We’ve always believed in the benefits of getting to know our underwriters and building that rapport and understanding, despite the transactional side of claims broking being largely electronic. This has put us in good stead for the current environment as we have been able to maintain those relationships and conduct business effectively using phone calls and video conferences as alternatives to face to face meetings.
For a particularly high profile case, we organised and hosted a market wide video presentation attended by over 80 participants, which was appreciated greatly by insurers.
Q: Have you seen many claims arising from Covid-19?
A: Whilst of course there has been a general impact on all of our clients and insureds, there has been a limited number of ‘pure’ Covid-19 related claims reported. We do have a couple of non-damage business interruption claims, however insurers are waiting on the outcome of the FCA test case before being able to comment definitively on coverage.
Q: How about non-Covid-19 related claims?
A: Fortunately, the expectation that there might be a reduction in world trade due to Covid-19 has not materialised and as such, claims activity post lockdown has not reduced. We continue to support and service our clients as their claims need arise.
Q: We’re frequently hearing the term ‘innovation’ with regards to insurance. What does claims innovation look like to you and how is this benefitting clients?
A: As a whole, the market is looking at ways in which the claims process can be streamlined. Having fewer agreement parties on policies (that is the number of underwriters required to agree a claim) and shortening the settlement times so that the claims experience can be simplified and more expedient is the goal. We are also looking at how best to capitalise on this new agile way of working in a post Covid-19 world. We can envisage a situation where claims teams, brokers and underwriters across the market continue to operate in this way, however we believe it is important for those relationships to be maintained and forged for the ultimate benefit of the client.
Q: And finally, what do you enjoy most about working on the claims team?
A: I enjoy the problem solving element of working in claims, assisting our clients in finding a solution and maximising the benefit available under the policy. Working with the client, giving them guidance and seeing this through to the ultimate conclusion provides a great deal of satisfaction.
Thank you Stuart.
