Insurance News and Vero recently hosted a webinar on collaboration in claims management, highlighting the importance of effective communication and clear strategies when managing complex commercial claims. 

For brokers and the wider insurance industry, the task of balancing technology with human touchpoints in this area is increasingly difficult, but it is crucial.

In the webinar, titled Enhancing Collaboration in Claims Management, Michael Knight, Vero’s national manager of claims relationships, commercial property and specialty claims, emphasised setting expectations with brokers and clients, and addressing concerns promptly.

“There will be times throughout the claims process where a competent claims handler will actually foresee that something may or may not be going to take place that may cause some concerns or set that strategy off course,” he said. “It’s really important that we set expectations, both with our brokers and our clients, around what a strategy may look like.”

Vero’s leader of commercial property claims, Claudia Andretti-Quintal, addressed the role of technology in improving real-time communication and reducing administrative tasks. “Technology will have the ability to provide some more real-time and quicker notifications with our brokers and allow more transparency and visibility on claims,” she said. 

On the question of technology replacing humans in the claims process, Mr Knight said: “I don’t think AI is really the silver bullet to all of this.

“It complements the claims proposition and how we’re trying to remove the work involved in managing those smaller, less complex, low-dollar-value claims.” 

Anna Capone, Melbourne branch claims manager at McLardy McShane, focused on proactivity, stressing the need for quality claim submissions. 

“We can’t just lodge the claim and leave it and let it run, and not have that involvement. I can’t stress this enough: the best way to expedite a claim is to ensure that we, from the broking side, make sure we put forward quality claim submissions.”

The webinar audience asked what channels Vero uses for communication, what can happen if communication fails during a claim, and how technology could change things. Audience members also asked for real-world examples of collaboration helping to progress a complex claim.

If you missed this invaluable discussion, the 45-minute webinar is available below. It’s an essential watch for brokers interested in securing better claims outcomes.