Insurance Taskmaster: Dealing with the aftermath of The Great Storm (1987)
Insurance Post and Verisk tasked six industry rising stars to solve some of the biggest historic challenges faced by the market over the past two centuries. In this episode, the contestants are literally caught up in a storm, more accurately the Great Storm of 1987.
On the afternoon of Monday 15 October BBC weatherman Michael Fish went on national TV to tell the UK not to worry amid concerns a devastating storm was heading our way.
However, that night many parts of the country was battered by winds reaching speeds of 115mph, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Which is where our Insurance Taskmaster contestants come in. Today the teams need to appease their gnarly, grizzled boss by devising a surge plan for the unprecedented volume of claims heading his way. Conscious of the fact this is 1987 and most of the information they need is stored in filing cabinets on the 4th floor of the office.
With just an hour to work out what to do and the clock ticking:
- Who will weather the early pressure to come up with the best plan?
- Who will be a [Michael] fish out a water and struggle to get a grip with what to do?
- And who will convince their claims manager that his bonus might not necessarily go the same way as his roof - and be blown away?
Watch the latest episode to find out.
Large loss events brought on by adverse weather demand a lot from insurers. They need to be able to assess damage and respond to a sometimes unprecedented volume of claims. Occasionally, there are events so devastating they cost the industry billions of pounds.
Thankfully, today organisations such as Verisk are at the forefront of offering claims and underwriting solutions that can help the industry prepare and respond for these events much more effectively.
To soften the impact of large weather-related losses, Verisk offers robust underwriting tools that not only ensure both residential and commercial properties are insured to value, but also measures each property’s exposure to perils at postcode and address-level to help you calculate an appropriate premium. Verisk also provides remote claims assessment and claims management tools to streamline and improve the process for customers.