Three keys to a great P&C commercial programs claims team
Challenges specific to P&C commercial programs require a higher degree of understanding and expertise.
In the complicated realm of claims adjusting within property and casualty (P&C) commercial programs insurance, developing a first-rate claims team is no minor feat.
This article looks into the complexities of the P&C commercial programs space. It offers insights into major pain points, provides valuable guidance to professionals wrestling with complex claims, and explores the factors that characterize an exceptional P&C commercial programs claims team.
It’s a fact: Commercial program claims are more complicated.
P&C commercial programs insurance deals with protection for property assets and liability risks for businesses. It’s designed to meet the unique needs of commercial organizations, providing coverage for a range of perils that may affect their property and operations. The series began with an introduction to claims adjusting fundamentals, lessons learned from years of on-the-job experience about what it takes to perform the job successfully. These included: the power of a thorough investigation, the importance of transparency, why timing matters, how reserving claims can be complicated, and how a focus on empathy and customer service ultimately leads to equitable outcomes.
While the same lessons apply equally to the P&C commercial programs space, there’s an additional layer of complexity. Let’s explore the three factors that can help you develop and sustain an outstanding P&C commercial programs claims team.
No. 1: You have extensive relationships in the P&C commercial programs space.
Building and maintaining relationships in P&C claims adjusting isn’t just the icing on the cake; relationships are the cake itself. P&C commercial programs claims adjusters spend their careers nurturing relationships and partnerships across the entire insurance distribution channel — from retail agents and brokers to wholesalers and managing general agents (MGAs), carriers, and reinsurers. These relationships aren’t just about simple networking or professional courtesies; they form the fabric of P&C commercial program claims settlements and can either facilitate or complicate access to competitive programs, policy rates, and reinsurance. Understanding the various roles within the distribution channel isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach either; individual relationships must be tailored according to the unique needs of everyone in the supply chain.
‘Who you know’ isn’t just about making connections; it’s about developing trust and transparency. There’s a delicate balance between cooperation and ethical practices to ensure that industry professionals uphold with integrity and fairness the primary promise to insured parties. Developing wide-ranging industry relationships can be an art form. Successful claims adjusters understand that relationships are more than just a means to an end. They are an ongoing process of mutual understanding and trust-building inside the wide-ranging P&C commercial programs space. The art of relationship building lies in aligning people’s interests while upholding professional ethics and transparency to policyholders.
No. 2: You have a sophisticated understanding of the commercial lines of business in which you operate.
Beyond relationships, it’s essential to possess an in-depth understanding of your commercial lines of business. You need to appreciate fully the specific issues that affect exposures within different P&C commercial lines. It’s about understanding the many questions that can turn a seemingly straightforward claim into a complex web of liabilities and damages. Assessing exposures can be challenging and without an in-depth awareness of the various factors at play, setting reserves accurately and in a timely fashion becomes nearly impossible.
When it comes to P&C commercial programs, the stakes can be high. A seemingly minor error in exposure assessment can create a cascade of effects on liabilities. Understanding the fine print, differentiating between lines of business, and foreseeing potential challenges are skills that separate the exceptional from the average commercial programs claims adjuster.
Consider, for instance, a scenario involving a commercial property claim. A seasoned adjuster recognizes that assessing exposure goes beyond visible damages. It requires a holistic understanding of the property, potential business interruption, and even the geographical and environmental factors that might influence the claim. Without this understanding, it’s easy to take a bad situation and make it worse. You could risk escalating costs. You might end up hiring unnecessary experts. Your lawyer may run up an unnecessarily large tab. An experienced P&C commercial programs adjuster, for example, knows how and when to deescalate and decelerate the process.
No. 3: Your team is staffed by expert personnel with extensive P&C commercial programs experience across regions.
At the heart of any great P&C commercial programs claims team are the people who form it. Not just anyone can do this job; it takes experience. A lot of it. The ability to make strategic decisions, often on the fly, is a prerequisite. Knowing when to engage legal counsel, understanding regional differences, and recognizing the demands of various programs set apart the experts from the novices. Different regions require different knowledge bases and present unique challenges to the varying lines of business. A first-rate P&C commercial programs claim team is a tapestry of broad experiences and backgrounds across jurisdictions to handle the multifaceted nature of P&C commercial claims. It’s not a solitary endeavor; it is collaborative. Claims adjusters, agents, insurers, MGAs, carriers, and reinsurers form an interconnected ecosystem. By embracing a culture of knowledge sharing, where insights and best practices are exchanged freely, collectively claims professionals can elevate their teams, their networks, and the industry at large.
Commercial programs claims adjustment: Strategic, specialized and communicative
Building a first-rate P&C commercial programs claims team can be both challenging and rewarding. From cultivating healthy industry relationships and understanding the range of commercial lines to staffing with seasoned professionals who know their regions and jurisdictions, each aspect is key. Claims adjusters aren’t just professionals who settle claims; they are orchestrators of fairness and integrity across a complex insurance ecosystem who must understand how all the details fit together. They are the unifying force that brings together contracts, risks, and resolutions. Assembling a great P&C commercial program claims team isn’t a destination. It’s a journey marked by expertise, relationships, transparency, and a relentless commitment to continuous improvement and to delivering on the promise of insurance.
Louis Pippin (lpippin@venbrook.com) is chief claims officer at Venbrook Group. Melanie Thompson (mthompson@onesourcecms.com) is a senior claims adjuster and SVP at OneSource Claims Management.
Any opinions expressed here are the authors’ own.
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