Graham Newman, Product Marketing Manager, FINEOS
In November FINEOS held its London Market Claims Summit. Following on from our highly successful FINEOS Claims Global Summit which took place in Toronto in October, a specialised summit was held specifically for the London Market. We wanted to provide a very focused business event for the market and a London Market specific conference was the best way to do so.
We also wanted to create an event that was memorable in every respect, so we needed a suitable venue. Many of us in the insurance world spend hours in darkened conference rooms in hotels and business venues attending presentations by the great and good. Of course, we still wanted to retain the great and the good, but we thought that a different sort of venue was called for, something a little more exciting, something with perhaps a little more history. So, on a cold and windy morning in late November a great many insurance professionals from all sectors of the London Market found themselves in the space-age, sci-fi pod that is the Media Centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground in North London.
Seated in steeply banked rows normally used to the weight of sports journalists from around the world we spent an entertaining and informative day dealing with our theme: “Putting the Customer First, Driving Innovation in Claims.”
It is a truly wonderful view from up there; the entire cricket ground spread out below the vast three-storey glass front of the centre, the pavilion opposite and stands either side enclosing the view. The event organiser did tell me that we were lucky to be having our conference in the winter, as during the summer you may find well-known cricketers wandering about on the pitch, practising or preparing for a match. In such circumstances it takes a very interesting speaker to maintain the attention and interest of the audience. Not that we would have suffered of course, as all our speakers were made of the right stuff.
Jonathan Clark, Head of Business Solutions and Syndicate Claims Management at SCOR was our host for the morning. Relaxed and humourous as always, Jonathan gave an excellent opening address focusing the audience on the subject of the day. He described the summit’s objective as a practical exchange of views designed to help us better understand what works and what does not, and to help us speculate on what may be coming in the future. He reiterated that the customer is buying what we do – in the form of a well-managed claim. The purpose of the industry is to handle claims well while pooling risk. For the stakeholders it is about how we manage our resources – how we manage reserves and how we handle the capital. Investors like claims that are handled well – it bodes well for the long term health of the industry.
For the clients, service is vital – how we differentiate service for different clients is important as they all have different business models and different needs. To meet these needs, good claims people need a blend of good technical, business and interpersonal skills.
Jonathan introduced Ian Lynagh, FINEOS’ Chief Commercial Officer who welcomed the guests on behalf of FINEOS. This year, FINEOS celebrates its 20th Anniversary and welcomed its 60th customer world-wide.
He referenced our theme and made the point that technology can help make this happen. He drew attention to the FINEOS London Market Client Advisory Group, (CAG), which met at the start of the day and its importance to the way we do things and develop the asset. The CAG is an entity facilitated by FINEOS but run entirely by the clients, who form special interest groups. We have a Government CAG and a North American CAG so, with the growing number of London Market clients it was time to form one specifically to represent the interests of this community.
Ian also mentioned our new HQ in Dublin and the opening of the new FINEOS office in Lime Street, nicely positioned in the City near the Lloyd’s building.
Ian’s slot was a good opportunity to bring everyone up to speed on latest developments at FINEOS and give some context to the day’s proceedings. FINEOS has experienced excellent growth in the last year, with ten new sales of FINEOS Claims. FINEOS Claims for the London Market has led the way and is now available off-the-shelf and fully functioning for the London Market. FINEOS’ success in the London Market is testament to the significant investment that FINEOS has made in FINEOS prioritises R&D ensuring that we build into the Product as much configurable function as possible, vastly reducing – and eliminating – the need for custom code.
The Summit then moved on to a fascinating presentation from Ben Bolton of Gracechurch, but more of that in the next blog.
