Allianz Australia has revealed some of the secrets to its success after taking home the Gold Mansfield Award for excellence in claims-handling.

As reported in a Breaking News bulletin last week, the insurer was presented with the coveted prize at a ceremony in Sydney on Thursday evening. Finalists for the overall award were FM Global, QBE and last year’s inaugural winner Chubb.

Allianz also won the Mansfield Award for SME Property and Casualty and was a finalist in the Personal Lines category.

GM Long Tail Claims Donna Stewart told the large industry audience that claims is “at the very heart” of the Allianz business and that its Next Gen Claims program is a key development. 

“The launch of Next Gen Claims last year saw us overhaul our claims service so that many motor and home insurance customers now only need to make one phone call to resolve their claim.

“To achieve this we empowered our staff to be able to make decisions and have access to the right information at the right time. This means claims are settled quickly and our customers can get back to their lives while we take care of their claim.”

The awards, named after the English Lord Chief Justice who introduced the concept of utmost good faith to the insurance process in 1766, are organised by Insurance News and LMI Group, and made possible by the support of sponsors Insurance & Care NSW (icare) and Steadfast.

Winners and finalists are calculated using official reports and surveys conducted by LMI, with the results “weighted” so all insurers are viewed equally.

In a speech before the presentation of the Gold Mansfield to Allianz Australia, Insurance News Publisher Terry McMullan told the more than 200 attendees that the drive by regulators to return the concept of “trust” to financial services means general insurance “will get more rules whether they need them or not”.

“However, there’s not much harm in occasionally having the spotlight and then the blowtorch applied to old practices and habits that don’t fit with the needs of the 21^st century customer.”

He said every efficiently handled claim bolsters a customer’s trust, “and that’s what makes the claims professional a very special and, dare I say it, under-recognised person in insurance”.

Companies were not invited to make submissions or be involved in the judging process for the awards.

The full results of the Mansfield Awards for Claims Excellence, with the finalists, were:

Personal lines: The winner was Chubb Insurance. The other finalists were Allianz, RAC Insurance and TIO.

SME property and casualty: The winner was Allianz. The other finalists were Ansvar, Calibre Commercial Insurance and Chubb.

Corporate property and casualty: The winner was FM Global. The other finalists were Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Liberty International Underwriters, and QBE.

Specialty: The joint winners were GT Insurance and National Transport Insurance. The other finalists were Axis Underwriting Services, Mecon Insurance and QUS.

The Gold Mansfield Award for overall excellence in claims: The winner was Allianz. The other finalists were Chubb, FM Global and QBE.