Claims services get thumbs up but risk managers demand more focus – Sweden

Lennart Edström, Vice President of Group Risk Management at Electrolux, told Commercial Risk Europe that he is generally happy with the claims services provided by risk transfer partners. But he added that this can depend on the insurance market with which buyers are dealing. “If you are just looking for the cheapest possible capacity, some Bermudan companies, cheap capital that goes in and out of the market is available but you will have a problem when you have a claim because they don’t really consider paying claims. They will put their lawyers on the case to try to get out of the claim and then they will run. So we are always looking for long-term relationships—companies that we know and that understand us and will help us in the event of a claim. And we have really good partners,” he said. Charlotte Barnekow, Head of Insurance and Risk Management at Ericsson, also reports a positive claims experience. She stressed the importance of early claims scenario planning and feels more can be done in this critical area.hide“It is not the limit that should be discussed when you are entering an insurance contract but rather how will the product be delivered in a claim, who will be there and how are you going to coordinate all insurers together in cases where there a number of insurers or reinsurers on the risk,” she stressed. “You cannot have twenty different insurers debating if something is covered or not, you need to give the authority to a lead or a panel. That pre claims discussion must take place well in advance of any loss. I think a lot is talked about this but then other things take over, and although as a risk manager you might want to prioritise this discussion it doesn’t always, or even often, take place,” she added Anders Esbjörnsson, Group Risk Manager at construction firm NCC Försäkring AB, said he is happy with claims services and praised insurers and loss adjusters with which he has worked. However he raised doubts as to whether this experience would extend to all countries around the world. “Of course we have had hard discussions with insurers or reinsurers from time to time, generally on the bigger claims, but it is a mature business and loss adjusters and insurers are professional. When there is a large claim you look into conditions and the contracts and act professionally. So I would say that the loss adjusters and insurers we work with are really good. So I am more than happy. But we operate in a region where we are familiar with the culture, which makes things easier, so I would guess that I may have answered differently if I had business all over the world and was trying to solve losses in India or China,” he said. Like his fellow risk managers, Fredrik Finnman, Swerma’s President and Group Risk and Insurance Manager at ASSA ABLOY, has no real complaints over claims services and payment. But he noted that problematic delays can be caused by a lack of authority at local insurers. “A couple of years back we had a problem with one of our insurers but that was not so much to do with the acceptance of the claim but rather the authority that the local insurer office needed to approve it. They always need to make a referral to the head office. When you have a big claim local offices need a quick answer. So for us the problem was that it took a long time just to get an answer on whether the claim was going to be accepted or not,” he explained.

Claims services get thumbs up but risk managers demand more focus – Sweden

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Risk managers want software providers to integrate more AI tools

Court says German government must tighten up climate protection

Alternative solutions and specialty drive Scor’s Q1 growth

AXA XL names new client and distribution officer in APAC and Europe

Costs rapidly rising for employee health insurance in Portugal

Risk managers want software providers to integrate more AI tools

Court says German government must tighten up climate protection

Alternative solutions and specialty drive Scor’s Q1 growth

AXA XL names new client and distribution officer in APAC and Europe

Costs rapidly rising for employee health insurance in Portugal

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Risk managers want software providers to integrate more AI tools

Court says German government must tighten up climate protection

Alternative solutions and specialty drive Scor’s Q1 growth

AXA XL names new client and distribution officer in APAC and Europe

Costs rapidly rising for employee health insurance in Portugal

Related Articles