Simon Hatton, Head of Bureau Credit Control explains the past 12 months have been one where the operation has undergone rapid change to keep pace with market modernisation and the demands of clients. 

Davies have been offering premium credit control (PCC) solutions for over two decades, and during that time we have seen significant market change, and recent years has seen the pace of change increase. 

Whilst Blueprint 2 will change some of the ways in which the market works and should improve the payments process as everyone will be on the same system, we have been looking at how in terms of PCC will impact us and our clients. There will be no major impact on clients however the fact remains that we will continue see premiums which have not been paid in line with the terms of the contract. 

We understand the changes the market is undertaking, and we realised that we needed to change to adapt to the future market. We have been looking at what we have been doing and we looked at how we can do things differently. We have invested in experienced people and introduced new processes, and our IT team has made the back office process more efficient. 

It means our clients are now closer to us as a business and the information we have is delivered to those clients more efficiently. We have worked with our clients and brokers to see how they want information delivered and the type of information they are looking for us to provide. 

Clients want to reduce the levels of the debts they are owed and are looking for a better payment performance from brokers. 

Like many parts of the market, Covid impacted the way in which the market was able to operate when it came to PCC, however our analysis is advising the market is now returning to pre-Covid levels. 

Due to high interest rates clients are keen to have their income in their accounts. Clients are also asking for more granular data on their PCC operations which is a real positive for us as it again allows us to provide the value we deliver. They are also keen to get up to date information which they can access to get a realistic picture of where their PCC stands. 

The work we have been doing has been designed to give our clients an edge in the market, by reducing costs and increasing performance rates. However, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. We need to ensure that we are performing in every area of the business and the process. 

Carriers may look to establish their own credit control operations, but why look to recruit a large number of highly trained staff when, we can be an extension of our clients and deliver those services in a more cost effective and collective basis. 

Not only have we looked to our processes, but we have also been working with brokers to create a system whereby we can ask less questions and in doing so ensure that the broker can spend more time answering those questions and providing the data both we and our clients require. 

There is still more to come as the market continues on its journey towards modernisation and we are looking to the future with a great degree of positivity as we can see the opportunities for ourselves and our clients. 

We also understand that it is not a one size fits all solution. We are able to tailor the solutions and services we offer to the needs of individual clients, so they get only what they need and what they want. It is not a case of a different approach it is simply a case that we have implemented systems which allow us to do more. 

If you would like to continue the conversation, get in touch with Head of Bureau Credit Control, Simon Hatton at simon.hatton@davies-group.com