Share with your insurer

Nigel Bamber, head of client relationship management for XL Insurance UK & Ireland, says that it is more important than ever for insurers to understand the needs of customers.

Underwriters and brokers can work to lower insured limits and tailor cover to help clients in terms of their cost base, with risk engineers helping to reassess exposures, Mr Bamber explained during the latest panel discussion of Airmic Live, broadcast on the website of the UK’s Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (Airmic).

What he had to say provides some comfort for executives whose revenues have fluctuated wildly over the last 12 months. He made it clear that insurers were less hard-hearted than sometimes depicted. In one instance, XL came to the rescue of a client suffering a business interruption and property damage loss of tens of millions of euros, a claim which would have normally taken 12 to 18 months to settle. The client advised XL this meant it faced significant cash flow problems, and sympathetically the underwriter fast-tracked the payment period to five months.

Another major client starting a new operation needed a breathing space, and XL agreed to accept insurance premium in instalments: “an exceptional case, but it shows our ability to respond to clients’ needs in times like this”, said Mr Bamber.

XL and its counterparts have shown they will be flexible, but the basic
approach to underwriting has remained the same, which is a much more microscopic examination of the nature of risk than applied a couple of decades ago. From the buyers’ standpoint, the advantage is that demonstrating a better approach to risk management can result in a reduced total premium, and of course reflects a safer and more efficient business.

While encompassing the market generally, Mr Bamber’s comments will have a particular resonance in the maritime sector. It was understandable that at times like this, organisations might try to reduce their spend on maintenance, he said, but that might lead to a loss that could have been avoided and be a false economy for all concerned.

Do not be shy: share your issues with insurers, as Mr Bamber advises. They will certainly continue to reward those companies that can show progress or differentiation in risk management.