Risk Managers Rate Carrier Claim Handlers

These days, CFOs and CEOs scrutinize claim payments and processing more heavily than ever before. As a result, risk managers invariably feel mounting pressure to be more proactive and efficient when evaluating the performance of insurance carriers.

Are claims being handled as quickly and accurately as possible? Is there room for improvement in terms of how information is relayed and coordinated among various parties? How can companies make processes and data more transparent? These are but a few questions risk managers ask themselves, given this increasing accountability to upper management.

Although the methods employed to gauge claim performance vary among managers, many agree on some basic criteria. For example, Greenwich Associates identified three core assessment considerations when it independently surveyed 683 U.S. corporate risk managers in its 2010 Large Corporate Insurance Study. To identify top-performing carriers, the international research firm examined claims' coordination with brokers; claim-processing responsiveness; and willingness to pay claims.

After weighing all of the data collected and clients' quality ratings, the firm named four winners of the 2010 Greenwich Claims Excellence Awards. Ranking first was FM Global, a commercial property insurer, which had the highest client scores, followed by Travelers Insurance Co., Chubb Corp., and The Hartford.

"Among these market leaders in claims, two companies stand out for special recognition," commented David D. Fox, managing director, Greenwich Associates. "FM Global [received] superior client ratings in every aspect of the claim-paying process, and The Hartford [saw] impressive improvements in quality ratings from 2009 to 2010."

Fox noted that only FM Global received "excellent" ratings for broker coordination from at least half of its U.S. corporate clients. Greenwich Associates also dubbed FM Global the best U.S. carrier when it comes to claim-processing responsiveness, with approximately two-thirds of FM Global's corporate clients assigning top scores in this category. The Hartford came second, with "excellent" scores from 46 percent of clients, followed by Travelers (43 percent) and Chubb (41 percent).

The firm added that the rest of the top ten U.S. carriers typically receive "excellent" ratings for claim processing responsiveness from 21 to 30 percent of their corporate clients.

"Responsiveness does not refer to immediate or even necessarily speedy payment," said Brett McNeice, client associate at Greenwich Associates. "Rather, companies are looking for carriers to be transparent about how the processing cycle is progressing and to be proactive in communicating to insureds where they stand."

Greenwich Associates reported similar results when it asked survey participants to rate carriers with whom they would conduct business based on a "willingness to pay" claims. Once again, FM Global, The Hartford, and Travelers claimed the top three spots, respectively earning "excellent scores from 66 percent, 43 percent, and 42 percent of corporate clients.

"Everyone understands that in a complicated industry resting on complex contracts and underwriting documents, sometimes the claim process will break down -- it's a function of sheer complexity and basic error rates," said Greenwich Associates Relationship Manager Robert Mata. "The question is: Is my carrier doing everything it can to expedite the process, keep me informed and get my claim paid as quickly as possible?"

Old Republic Co., AEGIS, and Allianz garnered honorable mentions.