How we are making it easier for advisers to help clients with claims

The big news on Protection Guru this week was the  launch of our new Claims Hub. This has been greeted with widespread support across the industry with several leading figures in the adviser world highlighting that we are making an unprecedented level of information available to advisers from a single location.   

In the hub you can find extensive information from 16 insurers on their approach to: 

Claims Handling, including if dedicated people are allocated to individual claims and the level of training they receive 

Claims Notification including who can notify claims and how  

Claims Tracking how the progress of a claim can be tracked, who information is shared with and how it can be accessed 

Claims Documentation i.e. what is needed to support claims 

Call Centre opening times, how many days a week they work and what the out of hours service arrangements are 

Ongoing support which explores what additional services are provided to assist claimants. 

Over the last few years we have built a growing best practice model for insurers which enables us to identify the companies who really makes a difference when it matters most. Through the claims hub we plan to make it easier for advisers to understand the differences between how different companies work.  

Earlier in the week Adam Higgs released an insight on  Additional services claims stories which included case study videos highlighting how added value benefits have helped clients, these are now incorporated into the Claims Hub. 

In addition, you can access claim statistics for life, income protection and critical illness products year on year  going back to 2012. It has been noticeable that in 48 hours since we launched the claims hub that several insurers have been adding additional data which they had previously not provided. In a couple of weeks we may produce an analysis of which insurers are providing comprehensive claims data and those that are only making limited information available. I’m sure advisers will find this fascinating.  

A wide range of further services are in development to expand the claims hub including comparative analysis of different insurance claims processes to help advisers understand which companies really put their best foot forward when it comes to the most important part of insurance, paying claims and our ratings of insurers claims processes. Look out for more features being added soon. 

It is also worth recognising that our Covid 19 hub is still well and truly alive and we are capturing all the latest data and service changes from insurers as they begin to open up to more business. For example, on Thursday morning Adam covered Aviva removing underwriting restrictions as pandemic eases. A quick reminder to insurers  to make sure you keep us aware of any changes, not all companies are notifying us as promptly as they were when the pandemic kicked in. It’s really important for advisers to understand the changes that are taking place as we are on the path out of Covid restrictions as this will enable more policies to be written.  

I’m aware that many insurers are concerned at the prospect of more lapses now the risk of Covid has subsided, however, in my view the best way to avoid this is to make sure that advisers have all the information they need to continue to talk to clients. Protection Guru is here to facilitate such communications. 

We are still rolling out information on the performance of different insurers in our 2021 protection ratings and on Wednesday we explored  How Royal London excelled in our ratings. 

Later in that day we released the third instalment of highlights from the March Protection Forum discussion around Improving communication between insurers and advisers. This is another must read summary for anyone in the sales or marketing teams for insurers and reinsurers, packed full of valuable insight on have such organisations can really support advisers. 

Our next monthly Protection Forum will be held on Tuesday 8th June at 11am. If you haven’t done so already you can book your place  click here.  

It is also worth me mentioning that that our May Investment Forum Meeting takes place on Tuesday 25th May where a small panel of advisers will be discussing lessons that have been learned from working during the pandemic, and particularly which changes it is important for platforms and insurers to continue to adopt once normal life resumes. This may well be a useful event for all types of adviser investment platforms and insurers so again, if you’ve not already got your ticket  click here  to book one. 

Turning to our mainstream work of providing advisers with extensive independent analysis of issues that are important when giving protection advice,  Tuesday’s insight by Rob Harvey investigated Non-medical underwriting limits for income protection – how insurers compare. Rob also wrapped up the week with an analysis of Health and Wellbeing Added Benefits – everything you need to know which bought together insights on: 

• Mental health support 
• Fitness services 
• Nutritional services 
• Health checks 

The big story from our sister Benefits Guru Site this week was the announcement of our Standalone Open Finance Ratings for workplace pension providers – who got gold? This is the first time that any open finance ratings have been published in the UK so we believe it’s a pivotal analysis. In the near future open finance will have a significant impact on all elements of personal finance so regardless of the area you work in you should be reading this analysis.   

Also on Benefits Guru, Jason Green’s looked in detail at some of the companies who have excelled in our Financial Wellness ratings.  On Monday he covered Financial Wellness: Double gold awards for Aviva, analysing their performance. This was followed on Tuesday by Financial Wellness: Cushon enter the ratings with an overall Gold award and on Wednesday, Double Gold awards for Standard Life in the Financial Wellness with Open Finance ratings.  Post Covid more and more employers are looking to support the staff with financial wellness services so there should be a valuable analysis for anyone in our industry regardless of whether they work in wealth workplace or production.  

Have a great weekend everyone.