HR: Claims Profession - A sea of change.

(From Post Magazine)

There was a time when underwriters were held in high esteem and anyone else in the insurance industry was regarded as almost a second-class citizen. However, the attacks of 11 September 2001, coupled with the more recent advent of a soft market and poor investment returns, have changed the scene dramatically.

Claims departments are receiving far greater attention. Employees are being supported and developments in this discipline are being rolled out to other parts of businesses - including underwriting.

The picture, of course, is not quite as simple as that. There have always been insurers that placed greater importance on the claims side of the operation, quietly supporting their teams for years. There is now, however, a widespread change in perception, according to Graham Gibson, director for claims at Groupama.

He says: "My own firm has always seen claims as a core competency and has recognised that a good claims department will save money. This is now a view more and more insurers are taking."

Mr Gibson believes a range of factors have been responsible for focusing insurers' minds on the back-end. "Fraud, for example, is an area that has always been an issue." he says. "However, in the past two or three years it has really risen up the agenda. I have noticed a genuine sea change and we all have fraud strategies now."

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