Pen Underwriting, through close association with Davies Group claims business led by Darren Coombes, Executive Chairman and supported by his account management team Gary Hemsley and Matt Turner, revamped Escape of Water claims process is set to tackle the industry’s most costly area of domestic property claims, resulting in 10% saving on indemnity spend and a 15% reduction in the time taken to settle escape of water claims.

Escape of water remains the single largest peril spend in domestic property claims and costs across the industry are rising. In December 2018, the Association of British Insurers stated that insurers are paying out £1.8 million for it every day[1]. In 2017, data from the ABI revealed that within the first nine months of 2017, costs had risen to £483m – a 24% increase compared to the same period in 2014.

While the industry continues to advocate and deliver better preventative education for customers, Pen recognised innovative claims handling strategies would be required to bring claims spend under closer control. Figures from the ABI indicated the average escape of water claim has risen to £2,638, which coupled with the inconvenience and damage that immediately ensues, is a difficult burden for customers to bear[2].

The re-engineered claims process is designed to expedite administration of specialist service to customers, ensuring they receive the appropriate support sooner, by:

• A team of dedicated escape of water experts
• Bespoke escape of water handling process
• Use of mobile technology to accelerate repair process and reduce costs
• Advanced customer portal providing real time access to their claim

Gareth Crosbie Claims Director for Pen Underwriting, commented: “This innovation is reflective of Pen’s unwavering commitment to improving customer experience and delivering on its virtual insurer strategy. By working with the collaboration of Davies, we can give our coverholders and brokers an enhanced service and our customers more control. Escape of water claims were flagged by the Association of British Insurers as a key area of focus for insurers in 2018, and we’re proud to be delivering a solution to address this challenge.”

References:
[1] Association of British Insurers: https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2018/12/is-water-damage-covered-by-insurance/
[1] Association of British Insurers: https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2017/11/water-pressure–tackling-the-rising-costs-of-escape-of-water-claims-must-be-a-key-priority-for-the-industry-says-the-abis-james-dalton/