In today's integrated insurance world, adjusters need to keep agents and brokers fully apprised of the status of claims in addition to their usual contact with carriers, one broker strongly advised here at a gathering of top claims officials.

Competition among producers and an emphasis on servicing the customer has caused agents to become involved more than ever in the claims process, according to Rose Kuba, area vice president for claims and professional standards manager at Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services.

She delivered her suggestions during the 12th Annual ACE (America's Claims Event), sponsored by The National Underwriter Company's conference division.

Previously, she said, the extent of claims involvement for brokers consisted of getting information from a client and reporting the claim to a 1-800 number.

Today, however, Ms. Kuba said brokers are involved in the claims process from beginning to end because servicing the customer has become such an important aspect of competition for intermediaries.

In any case, she said, customer service “starts and ends with the broker”–and claims are no exception.

Ms. Kuba said that satisfying clients should be the goal for everyone within the insurance world because “without the client, we don't have a business.” She said clients expect claims service that is timely, efficient, effective and friendly.

To meet such service standards, Ms. Kuba said adjusters should call clients within 24 hours of filing the claim, make appointments with clients immediately, and then keep those appointments, to avoid losing credibility.

If an adjuster cannot fulfill their obligations to the client, then Ms. Kuba said it is important to contact the broker to ensure the adjuster and broker present “a united front” to the client.

Friendly service is also important, Ms. Kuba said, because it will affect the client's outlook on the adjuster and the company.

With respect to effective service, Ms. Kuba said clients need to be able to make sense of an adjuster's decisions, regardless of whether the client agrees with them.

To that end, Ms. Kuba noted that insureds require a lot of explanation throughout the process because they generally know very little when it comes to insurance in general, and their own policies in particular.

She said insureds might know how much they paid for coverage, and to call the broker or agent with all problems. Beyond that, she said, many of them do not know important coverage information such as their deductible, policy limits, coverage areas, and their duties in the claims process other than simply reporting the loss.

To put the insurance knowledge of typical clients in perspective, Ms. Kuba asked the claims professionals in attendance to think about how much they knew about their auto policies before they became involved in the insurance industry.

The client, Ms. Kuba concluded, is not an insurance expert, although the client's perspective matters more than anything else in the claims process.