CII Conference to Focus on FSA Claims Regulations

The U.K.’s Chartered Insurance Institute announced that its newly-formed Faculty of Claims is to host a session at the UK Insurance and Financial Services Conference, which will be held at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

The session will focus on “the complex issues facing claims handlers in light of new regulations,” proposed by the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) aimed at raising the standards of claims handling and promoting fairness for the policyholder. “Under this increased scrutiny, staff involved in this fundamental aspect of insurance will be expected to put the processes and skills in place to ensure the ‘Customer is treated fairly,'” said the bulletin.

Steve Wellard, CII marketing director commented: “Over 90 percent of policyholders rate claims service as the second most important aspect of their insurance experience. It is therefore essential that the right skills are there to ensure both fairness and efficiency in claims handling. Without fairness, customers will not be satisfied, and without efficiency, premiums will inevitably rise. The importance of both aspects is consequently plain.”

The CII noted that claims costs make up 70 to 80 percent of overall insurance expenses “- and only 5 percent of the total claims cost is head count – the rest is the actual cost of the claim.” Wellard added: “These figures speak for themselves. There is no doubt that there is the scope for increased investment in training and development, and the recruitment of skilled workers in order to increase the effectiveness of claims handling. At the conference, we will be looking at just how far the claims industry has come, the implications of regulation and what needs to be done to create commercial advantage.”

The session at the conference will take place on Friday October 1. Panelists will include Bernie Aldous, claims director, Beckett Group; John Davies, head of household and commercial supply chain, NUI; Glen Gibson, President of the Canadian Insurance Institute; Chris Miller, deputy president, CILA; Bill Paton, head of claims, Zurich; Peter Salt, proprietor, Peter J Salt & Associates; and David Williams, claims director, AXA.

The Faculty of Claims was launched in July by the CII and Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA). It provides a centre of technical excellence and good practice along with tools and services to maintain and enhance the competence of claims workers in the industry.

Full details and online booking for the CII conference are available at www.conference.cii.co.uk or by calling 020 8332 7696.