QBE has removed Cerno from its loss adjusting panel following a review of external services.

A “disengagement” period of one month started on January 22.

During this period agents and brokers can appoint Cerno to new claims, but from February 22 no new appointments will be permitted.

“Following a recent review of our external loss adjusting services we have made the decision to end our arrangement with Cerno,” a QBE spokesman said.

“The decision to rationalise our panel was made as part of our ongoing commitment to drive better claims outcomes and enhance our customer experience.”

Cerno MD Tony Button told insuranceNEWS.com.au: “Cerno was invited to tender for the QBE short-tail property assessing panel and was advised in January that we were unsuccessful.

“Although we were disappointed at the decision, we are focused on continuing to provide the best possible service to other clients in our portfolio and working on our company transformation program, which began late last year.”