From payer to partner: The view from claims

By AXA XL Head of Claims, Switzerland, Urs Blaettler

When today’s interconnected global economy started to take shape in the 1990s, the opportunities for major property and casualty insurers were considerable. Companies were growing fast and expanding internationally, and they needed the industry’s support as new operating models also came with new sets of risks.

However, the challenges also were formidable. In particular, many insurers started to question whether an arms-length relationship with clients made sense as they took on more extensive and more complex risks. So began an ongoing journey to adopt a different way of working with clients.

AXA’s strategy for this is “from payer to partner.” When it was introduced, our claims teams readily embraced this strategic direction as it neatly aligns with our passion for building strong client relationships and working closely together, not only by providing protection but also by helping clients solve their strategic risks—in other words, putting our balance sheet and expertise at clients’ service.

The ideas and ideals behind this new strategic direction weren’t disruptive since we already had experience partnering with our clients. To explain what we mean about going “from payer to partner” in claims, I thought it would be helpful to share some examples of what that looks like and how we are making the rhetoric a reality. These examples illustrate what it means to be a partner before and during the “moments of truth,” i.e. when a client faces substantial losses.

High expectations

I would first note that our clients, here in Switzerland, but also across Europe and beyond, expect a lot from their insurers. Most large, well-known companies and many medium-sized firms want tailor-made solutions and to work with underwriters who can create insurance solutions that respond to the needs of their complex businesses, i.e., do more than simply copy-paste. 

When it comes to claims, their expectations are two-fold. First, clients and brokers expect entirely digitised end-to-end processes. With mass and standard claims, they want the entire process, from notification to final settlement, to be simple, digital and transparent.

Second, they want to work with an insurer that can provide relief and support on significant or complex claims. In Switzerland and in most our European markets, that means having a dedicated claims handler as their point person. In some other markets, that means capitalising on third-party loss adjustors' specialist capabilities and resources. Whatever the model, clients and brokers expect a highly collaborative process when resolving more significant or complex claims.

Building trust

When I was asked to illustrate how we create and sustain partnerships with our clients, two examples immediately came to mind.

The first shows how we strive to increase touchpoints and build relationships with clients before claims occur. Two years ago, we won a new account with a leading Swiss-based manufacturer with over 60 production facilities across the world. A member of my team—an attorney who has been with the company for 20 years and is well-known and -respected in the Swiss market—was assigned as the key liaison for the client’s claims.

Shortly after we won the business, a few of our risk engineers and underwriters inspected one of the client’s main production sites in Central Europe. Our claims lead accompanied them. Even though this was a discretionary expense for us, clients expect claims handlers to understand their risks, operations, expectations, style of doing business, and so on. And to get to know each other. Personal rapport helps give clients confidence that our claims handlers understand their companies and are asking good questions.

Creating the foundation of what we hope will be a productive long-term relationship is critical at the moment of truth. Regardless of the line-of-business, navigating the complexities of a significant claim is far easier when you are already familiar with the company’s background and context and know the different people on the client’s team.

Respond quickly and capably

My second example involves a fire at a Swiss client’s main production facility. While trust, open communications, and a good understanding of the client and its people make a huge difference, the point here is that when the need arises, claims handlers also must be highly responsive and competent.

The call came in at 6.00 pm on Friday while the fire brigade was still battling the blaze. One of our property claims handlers contacted the plant manager that evening and agreed to meet him at the site early the next day. The claims handler also alerted a company specialising in cleaning and recovery after fires that their services would soon be needed.

On Saturday morning, our claims handler, the plant manager and the company’s broker toured the site and assessed the damages to the company’s production lines, administrative offices and surrounding areas. That early site visit was instrumental on several levels. Based on the plant manager’s expertise and insight, our claims handler quickly determined what was needed to secure the site and then get the unaffected production lines back up and running. Those solutions included, for example, hiring a second company to clean smoke-damaged areas and, since the fire impacted the plant’s electrical systems, bringing in generators so the unaffected production lines could be re-started.

Just as important, that initial site visit helped establish a productive working relationship between the key stakeholders. The first days of complex claims like this are often chaotic, and the way forward isn’t always immediately apparent. Thus, the response and recovery effort can be enhanced or hindered based on how well the “project team” comes together and leverages each other’s respective capabilities and expertise. In this case, those resources included the plant manager’s detailed understanding of the facility and our claims handler’s deep experience with fire losses and extensive network of repair/restoration specialists. It also helps when, as was the case here, the claims handler has the authority to approve expenditures up to a very high level so contractors can be dispatched and purchase orders issued without delay.

That first site visit helped create trust and a shared understanding of what had to be done and when and what capabilities/resources were needed. For our claims handler, that early visit was the first of many trips he took to the site over the following months to inspect the progress and coordinate with the plant manager and on-site contractors.

Although this fire was a substantial blow to the client—it will take another year to rebuild the damaged production lines—our fast, capable response and effective collaboration with the client helped limit the company’s losses and prevent an already unfortunate situation from becoming even worse.

In closing, I would note that developing and maintaining close relationships with our clients is a priority. And by overcoming the transactional paradigm that has historically characterised the commercial P&C industry, we can resolve claims more satisfactorily and efficiently while also helping companies better manage and mitigate their risks