An article, E&O Claim Frequency Is Increasing, written by an insurance industry consultant, Chris Burand, and published in the Insurance Journal, stated the following:
Poor Claims Service by Carriers.
One hundred percent of the agencies I have surveyed have said claims service has materially deteriorated over the last three years. I have reviewed published surveys that have supported the agencies’ complaints. Poor claims service is a causal factor in the increasing number of E&O claims because agency personnel tend to try too hard to help their clients get their claims paid. They accidentally cross the line and advise their clients in a manner that violates the agency’s carrier contract.
As frustrating as poor claims service is, make sure everyone in your agency is educated as to how far they can go when helping clients with a claim.
In particular, an agent can never, ever advise an insured that a claim is or is not going to be paid.
This is proof that what I and many others have claimed is true about the poor and deteriorating claims treatment that policyholders have been receiving from their insurance companies. The author of this article has extensive experience in the insurance industry:
With over 30 years of providing consulting services for the property & casualty insurance industry, Burand & Associates, LLC is recognized as a leading industry consultant. We strongly believe we can make a positive impact on the insurance industry through our consulting services and we have built our organization on that belief.
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Chris’s insurance career began in 1987 as a company underwriter and marketing representative. This work required the evaluation of agencies and agency operations, product development, marketing plan development, sales, pricing analysis, training, and underwriting. He earned the company’s maximum performance award as well as a variety of other awards for his innovative ideas and outstanding performance.
Chris is a nationally recognized speaker and author. He has been a featured speaker at more than 300 seminars and educational programs. He is a monthly columnist for The Insurance Journal, a past columnist for American Agent & Broker for eleven years, and his articles have appeared in Rough Notes, The National Underwriter, A.M. Best, and many regional insurance publications. He also publishes Burand’s Insurance Agency Adviser for independent insurance agents.
His view and that of his insurance agent clients who have a contractual agency relationship with the insurance companies is an indictment against the insurance claims industry by their own representatives.
So, when you read posts, newspaper articles, and see television stories describing the horrible treatment policyholders are being subjected to where the rubber meets the claims road, just remember that the insurance industry silently agrees with us.
“Houston—we who are running the insurance claims industry have a claims handling problem.”
Thought for the Day
A positive impact stems from our admission that we were wrong or our thinking was wrong. ‘I’m wrong’ are two little words that can help improve our own positive attitude.
—Richard M. DeVos
