Claims Review 2022 – A Leader’s Perspective – Lisa Bartlett, President, UK & Ireland, Crawford & Company
I’ve approached several Executives from different areas of the claims market, to share their thoughts and opinions on a number of topical issues impacting the sector throughout 2022 and looking at the key challenges and opportunities for 2023 and beyond.
Today’s review is with Lisa Bartlett, President, UK & Ireland, Crawford & Company
It feels like we have reached a period of stabilisation when it comes to remote working. Would you say your organisations views on hybrid/remote working have changed post pandemic?
The pandemic has in many ways sparked a reimagination of the workplace and a shift in mindset where work is defined more in terms of what you do rather than where you do it. At Crawford, we have looked to adopt more flexible working practices that reflect lessons learned from the transition to remote working during the various lockdowns.
The overarching workplace strategy is to empower our employees to take greater ownership of how they deliver on their objectives and enabling them to achieve a work/life balance more closely aligned with their personal needs.
In 2021, for example, Crawford UK launched the Smarter Working initiative offering our employees a new, agile way of working. As part of the program, colleagues can choose where they work from and what hours they work, selecting the most appropriate time and location to meet the day-to-day requirements of their role.
However, it is important to recognise the many benefits of being able to interact with colleagues in the office environment. That regular interaction is key to building company solidarity and a sense of togetherness, as well as providing a core environment in which to learn from peers and senior figures through working alongside one another.
Another lesson transferred from the pandemic is Crawford’s heightened commitment to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our employees. We have maintained many of the initiatives that began during lockdown which promote a positive outlook amongst our people, such as our online social events and conference call walks where we encourage people to conduct these calls while enjoying some fresh air.
Many of the things that we have introduced have been in response to employee feedback. What we have learned through the integration of remote working practices and greater flexibility is that as a company we can not only maintain but raise performance and service levels, while allowing employees to manage their working day.
With ongoing supply chain shortages and the rising prices of goods, what measures are being taken to protect service and response times?
Our managed repair solution, Crawford Contractor Connection, is at the fore front of driving changes to help our supply chain partners by:
Accelerating payments to support cashflow and delivering incentives for reduced claim lifecycle.
Reducing administration tasks to allow suppliers to invest more in customer impacting skills.
Supporting partnerships that connect contractors with charities and organisations, so we are encouraging and enabling apprenticeships to help with labour challenge.
Creating “buying clubs” to secure greater discounts for building materials.
What more can be done to validate the ESG credentials of insurance supply chains?
There is a much greater onus on organisations within the insurance supply chain to not simply display their ESG credentials but actively demonstrate measures taken to boost sustainability, manage social impact and maintain the highest standards both within their company and through their supplier network.
At Crawford, we are committed to supporting the ESG ambitions of our clients on numerous fronts. For example, as part of our claims management process we can track the carbon footprint of the individual claim. We are also able to offer claims solutions which are designed to reduce the environmental impact, such as our ‘Zero to Landfill’ soil management policy which aims to promote sustainable soil management in the aftermath of a polluting incident.
We also have a Sustainability Charter for contractors in the Crawford Contractor Connection network. As part of our supplier selection process, we expect companies to adopt good environmental practice concerning the selection of materials, the work undertaken, and removal and segregation of waste, etc. We also ensure all suppliers have their own Environmental Policy, detailing good practice approaches to waste management, sustainable materials, carbon reduction, and efficient work planning, and conduct regular audits to ensure compliance with their own procedures and our practices.
We are constantly monitoring our own carbon footprint and introducing measures to shrink it. For example, we have reduced our reliance on premises across our organisation, as well as expanding the number of electric and hybrid vehicles in our fleets. We have also implemented programmes to lower energy consumption in our data centres and use audio and video conferencing to reduce travel impacts. As part of our community focused efforts, in addition to supporting numerous charities, we have launched initiatives such as our donation of used laptops to local schools.
What is the greatest impact the cost-of-living crisis has had on your organization, and how have you responded?
The cost-of-living crisis is placing many individuals and families under incredible financial strain which in turn is impacting people’s mental wellbeing as they struggle to cope with these pressures. And with little sign of an end in sight, it is imperative that companies takes steps to help reduce these various burdens wherever possible.
Every employee also has access to the Crawford Benefits platform which offers discounts with major retailers ranging from 5-10% which include essential purchases such as food. We also host regular webinars with financial experts on how to manage money, avoid debt, and save more effectively.
However, we are still exploring ways to provide greater financial support.
What event or reforms have had the greatest impact on claims during 2022?
One of the most impactful developments for the claims sectors in 2022 was the sharp increase in inflation which was driven by a vast range of both global and market-dependent factors, and which continue to create upward pressure in 2023.
Factors including geopolitical instability, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19-related lockdowns, global labour and materials shortages, supply-chain disruption, the continued ramifications of Brexit, cross-the-board price hikes reflected in record inflation rates, and the escalating energy crisis, created one of the most challenged claims environments in recent history.
Other developments that have affected the sector include shifts in customer expectation and the demands placed on the claim management industry, the hyper wage inflation increases that are being experienced as well as the ongoing talent challenge which is being faced by the insurance industry as a whole.
What key recruitment challenges have you faced this year, and how have you addressed these issues?
The industry as a whole is addressing the challenge of a shrinking talent pool and recognising that there simply has not been sufficient investment in attracting and retaining talent in the sector over the last decade. We are seeing highly experienced practitioners retiring from the sector, yet there is not sufficient upward movement of expertise to support effective succession planning.
To counter this, at Crawford we have adopted an enterprise-wide approach to talent which is based on attracting and retaining expertise across all aspects of our organisation, and which extends from those just starting their careers through to our senior management team.
We have challenged ourselves as a company to invest in key areas such as secondment and mentoring programmes, to ensure that the knowledge and experience within our senior ranks is capitalised upon by those rising through the ranks. We have also been looking to increase the number of internal promotions that we make – in fact in 2022 we saw an uptick in internal promotions of 45%.
Through our Crawford Academy, we take those new entrants into the claims arena along an intensive technical training pathway to give them the skills and capabilities to become part of our Major and Complex Loss division.
To support the inflow of new talent, we also launched our Major and Complex Loss Apprentice Scheme for 2022. For those participating in the scheme they start their journey with a full program of development, giving them access to all the tools and training that they’ll need to succeed.
At Crawford, we believe it is critical that we grow our own talent pool through boosting our investment in learning and development, and then retain that talent and help them to develop long-term successful careers with us.
What more can the industry do to attract talent into the claims sector?
As a sector, we need to become better at telling what is an incredible industry story and highlighting the diversity of roles that the claims sector offers. And that diversity will only increase as we work to attract talent from a broader spectrum of arenas to evolve and advance the capabilities and technologies that we offer.
The sector plays a critical societal role in helping restore lives, businesses and communities in the aftermath of often very impactful and traumatic events – and that is an environment we believe needs to be bringing in the best possible talent to ensure we deliver on that.
I also think we need to be doing more to engage with and open doors for people in more disadvantaged communities. Too many young people from such backgrounds do not fulfil their potential because they often lack access to the support and opportunities of their more privileged peers. That’s why Crawford has partnered with Future Frontiers, a program of face-to-face career coaching to help young people discover and explore inspiring careers.
At the other end, we also need to make sure that we leave the door open for those who may have left the sector for whatever reason, so that we can make it easier for them to bring their knowledge and expertise back to the sector.
What is the greatest challenge facing the claims market moving into 2023 and beyond?
One of the most important challenges that the claims sector faces in 2023 is how to ensure that we can continue to maintain the highest possible customer service standards, while doing so in a way that delivers the level of efficiency and cost savings that are critical to companies during this period of financial hardship. That will require continued investment in new talent and the ongoing integration of innovative technologies into the claims ecosystem to help us deliver on those evolving expectations of the client.
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All the best,
Gary Pike
Founder & MD Right International
