BIA 2016: General insurer, personal lines insurer, commercial lines insurer

Customer focus: claim tracking and quick payment

Axa was hailed as Commercial Insurer of the Year for an entry that proved better financial results could be achieved by focusing on customer needs and satisfaction rather than simply a volume play.

Axa’s Jon Walker and Darrell Sansom collect the Commercial Insurer of the Year award from Crif Decision Solutions’ Sara Costantini

Once Axa had turned its commercial business around as per the objectives set out by then commercial CEO Amanada Blanc in 2011, the strategic focus turned to longer term success. A goal that hinged on creating a business that delivers profit and growth led by consumer demand and a focus on outcomes – far removed from a traditional approach of creating products and services and then telling the customer what their choice was.

For instance, in claims, Axa created an experience that was low on process and high on customer service. In underwriting, the insurer sought to makes things as simple in direct as it was in the broker channel.

As a result of this bold approach, Axa introduced eServe, which allows brokers and customers to track the progress of their claim online, 24 hours a day. In addition, Faster Payments has allowed it to credit customers’ accounts within minutes of a claim being settled.

Axa has also launched a completely new mid-market proposition (Axa Vantage); delivered two new products via Connect, its e-trading platform; introduced a new Premier Partners proposition with 140 brokers signed up delivering double digit growth in year one; while continuing to support brokers with training and development.

So confident was Axa in its new proposition it engaged with Feefo, an independent online customer review company, for both the sales and claims experience to allow customers to publicly rate the service they receive.

And the results have been impressive.

Axa’s Feefo rating averages at 97% positive and it was recently awarded Gold Trusted Merchant status for the second year. In January this year, Axa became the first commercial insurer to be awarded Investors in Customers 3* Exceptional rating.

The business has also cracked the £1bn barrier while improving its combined operating ration by over nine points.

Both the commercial direct and intermediary businesses have seen volumes and customer bases grow year on year. In December 2015, Axa commercial came first in the biannual Brokerbility service survey, the 12th consecutive time it had come out top on this survey.

As one judge put it: “Standing still was not an option here, so it is good to see Axa build on the successful turnaround to take the business onto a new level in terms of engagement and growth.”

Data, development, distribution 

In a highly competitive space, Covéa was crowned Personal Lines Insurer of the Year for fulfilling its objective to “stay ahead of the curve” in everything it did – from the quality of insurance products, to the ways in which it trades with and the services broker partners.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s Stuart Sandell hands the Personal Lines Insurer of the Year award to Carol Geldard of Covéa Insurance

Covéa impressed the judges by maintaining close and regular contact with brokers to facilitate its aims, building lasting, meaningful relationships and providing them with top-notch service, exciting business ideas, and lots of support.

The last 12 months also saw Covéa maximise the benefits of its recent acquisition Sterling Insurance and launch a direct-to-consumer arm, Provident Insurance; it has increased its access to data, which it is using to enhance product propositions across all distribution channels.

And the outcomes speak for themselves.

Covéa has outperformed top line budgeted target on all product lines while achieving bottom line profitability, including double digit increases in motor and household; it was awarded 88% in the Customer Satisfaction Index by the Institute of Customer Service; and it was allocated a grading of World Class Service for motor and home claims and gold Investors in People status.

As Will Price, director at BGL, said: “Covéa Insurance stands out for its rapid transformation into a market-leading insurer for client service and rating innovation, helping it to achieve impressive growth over a very short space of time. Its management style is open and straightforward – it really does listen and deliver on its promises.

“Their new direct operation gives it access to data that should result in an improved performance across their motor account, which will be beneficial for us and our customers.”

Carl Shuker, CEO of A-Plan, added: “We have a very long trading relationship with Covéa, which goes back over many years. It is far more of a ‘partnership’ than an ordinary trading relationship.

“We are passionate believers in client service and great client outcomes, and Covéa has always been highly responsive to the needs of us and our clients. It is highly collaborative in the development of policy wordings, cover and the client proposition – far more so than many of its competitors.”

British success story

The overall General Insurer of the Year prize went to a firm that proudly boasts that not only is it “a British success story”, but since its birth in 1986 it has never made a loss.

The influx of capital to the insurance market in recent years has challenged the underwriting and cycle management skills and profitability of many insurers. But the judges were won over by Beazley’s response, an approach which includes product innovation and attracting and nurturing the best talent along with a well-diversified portfolio of specialist products delivered through excellent service to brokers and their clients.

The team from Beazley collects the General Insurer of the Year award from DAC Beachcroft’s David Pollitt 

Among the highlights have been Beazley Breach Response, which offers an innovative service-based approach to clients, providing access to a wide range of specialist service providers to help clients mitigate the specific issues created by a data breach, offering much more than just a cheque at a time of a claim. In total, Beazley has helped clients handle more than 4000 data breaches. 

Elsewhere, Beazley boasted its new pleasure craft insurance is the only product in the UK market to incorporate Datatag to help boat owners to mark outboard motors with a unique fingerprint that can be recognised by the police or the insurance industry.

Besides, its e-trading platform myBeazley allows brokers to quote, buy and service a range of specialist insurance products with the ease of use ordinarily reserved for consumer websites. At the inaugural Lloyd’s Innovation Awards myBeazley was recognised as the Best Non-Product Innovation, with the judges describing it as “a real and genuine investment in understanding the end-users’ needs and thoroughly testing the product”.

In terms of demonstrating service, Beazley – which claims to insure around half of the jewellers’ block business in the UK – was able to show the value of its offering when following an audacious heist in Hatton Garden during Easter 2015, the insurer settled out policyholders’ claims within a month.

Beazley’s 2015 results reflected the benefit of continued progress across many fronts of its strategy. For the third year in a row, it achieved a combined ratio below 90%, recording 87% in 2015.

In terms of third-party praise for the business, in 2015 Gracechurch Consulting invited underwriters in the London market to name the fellow underwriters they most admired. Beazley underwriters took four of the top ten slots, more than any other company.

On the claims side, Beazley has built a widely respected team, evidenced by the fact that in 50 in-depth interviews with brokers in London and the US across all Beazley’s business lines, 96% of respondents expressed a positive or very positive view of the company’s claims service.

In 2015, Beazley’s employee survey showed 80% of its staff agreed it had a work environment that is open and accepts individual differences. As a result of a focus on gender diversity, the number of female underwriters employed by the group has also increased by 17% and female claims managers by 14% during the course of 2015.

All this contributed to one BIA judge exclaiming: “An outstanding performance delivered by a high-quality and, importantly, stable management team that have created a fantastic culture that inspires others to maintain the excellent track record the business has built up over recent years. A deserved winner.”