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11 October 2022

ILC Exclusive Motor Conference: Market unites to fight uncertainty

Uncertainty was the buzzword of the day as we attended the I Love Claims Exclusive Motor Conference in London last week.

The event was once again a fantastic day, with great speakers from across the industry taking to the stage to debate everything from the headwinds that continue to add pressure to supply chains through regulatory and legal reforms all the way to the growing importance of data in an increasingly uncertain word.

And no aspect of the insurance value chain is left untouched by these changing market dynamics.

Whether it be claims inflation applying added pressure to underwriters, capacity and supply chain issues impacting on the repair network, or new pricing regulations and the cost-of-living crisis changing consumer buying habits, headwinds are everywhere you look. And these winds are changing fast.

This means that keeping abreast of market developments is key for any insurance business, with data a key component of an insurer’s toolbox.

What the data tells us…

This message certainly came through in the penultimate session of the day, with our co-founder Matt Scott taking to the stage alongside Paul Sell from Trend Tracker and Karen Houseago from our partners at Consumer Intelligence to take delegates on a tour of data across three key areas of the industry – underwriting, claims and the customer.

Matt laid out the context for the session, talking about a swathe of challenges facing the industry – everything from claims inflation to the ongoing impacts of Brexit – and highlighted how insurer underwriting profits remain tight despite the drop off in claims experienced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He then provided a stark warning for the audience, highlighting how the latest EY forecasts are predicting a 113.8% motor combined operating ratio (COR) for UK insurers when the 2022 results are released, with rising costs a key factor behind this expected fall to an underwriting loss.

Trend Tracker’s Paul Sell then provided a clear picture of the challenges facing the motor market, laying out how the supply chain in particular is facing a number of pressures around delayed and missing parts, a lack of capacity and rapidly rising costs.

Karen Houseago rounded off the trio of presentations, revealing the results of a Consumer Intelligence survey that shows just how important the human touch continues to be in any claims journey, despite the rising importance of digital solutions.

With the presentations out of the way, Matt, Paul and Karen were joined on stage by Lexis Nexis’s Kajal Vakas to talk through the themes that ran through each presentation and take questions from the audience.

What soon became clear is that each of the panellists firmly believed data was a key factor in the industry overcoming the headwinds and uncertainty facing the market, and that focussing on one area of the market is not sufficient.

Instead, insurance companies need to keep a watch on changing market dynamics across all aspects of the insurance vital chain, with greater collaboration needed between claims and underwriting specifically.

And then of course theres the customer.

The new Consumer Duty regulations from the FCA have placed even greater emphasis on the importance of customer outcomes, and nowhere is this more important in claims.

This means that while keeping an eye on the data coming from across the different elements of the insurance value chain, insurers must also keep the customer front and centre of their minds when reacting to these changing market dynamics.

Want to get a better understanding of how these changes are affecting the market? The Insurance DataLab insight platform includes underwriting and solvency data on all UK registered insurers, as well as market data on everything from complaints handling to claims volumes and much more.

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