ClaimControl - General Other - Insurance Management System

Date: 02 Aug 2004

A new on-line insurance management system is set to help almost every company in the construction industry get back in control of the spiralling costs of insurance.

The industry has been blighted in recent years with huge increases in premiums and fewer and fewer insurers prepared to take on the risks. This is largely due to fringe operators not adhering to industry best practice. Reputable firms are increasingly being required to prove they have adopted procedures and systems that set them apart.

Designed by software developers Alphatec, ClaimControl™ has already been piloted with civil engineering and highway company Crowley and following a launch at an industry insurance seminar, looks set to be adopted almost immediately by many more firms.

The secure on-line system has been designed specifically to help all types of companies involved in the construction industry to control the rising costs of insurance by allowing every incident and claim history to be recorded and tracked.

Most companies are relying on a spreadsheet or paper-based approach to managing their insurance processes but with around 75% of all payouts falling below the excess level, and therefore coming straight off the 'bottom line', there is a pressing need to gain greater control of the whole process.

ClaimControl™ requires no set-up or on-site software installation. It is an easily accessible on-line service where customers simply log on and then add, update and analyse all of their claims and incidents. As more and more information is added, the system allows the user to investigate trends, and to highlight areas or individuals where action is needed. Crucially it also provides an overall view of their insurance costs.

It has already proved its worth with London-based civil engineering and highway infrastructure specialist Crowley. It has been using the ClaimControl™ system for over a year now and is making substantial savings on its insurance costs, which has taken even trailblazers John Crowley by surprise.

"The main drivers for change were dramatic increases in premiums and the fact that claims were taking up more and more management time," explained Graham Williams, Financial Controller at the company.

"Every claim we receive is a direct hit on our Profit and Loss. ClaimControl™ has allowed us over this first year to get to the source of those claims so that we can take steps to reduce them. There's no doubt it has saved the firm a fortune.

"It has allowed us to identify potential Health and Safety issues and actually allows us to manage our own risk by training and disciplining the workforce. Add the fact that it allows us manage commercial negotiations when renewing cover and it's easy to see that it has put us back in control of insurance."

Alphatec hopes that ClaimControl™ will be adopted as a model of Best Practice by many of the 28 different federations in the construction industry. The company has recently carried out research showing that there has been huge growth in use of the Internet at construction companies in the past two years, and it believes ClaimControl™ is a fast and effective long term program for insurance control and cost reduction.

"It's very simple, does not require any up-front investment, and is available for companies to use immediately," explained Alphatec's Grant Browning. "With increasing Internet use, ClaimControl™ will be accessible to most, if not all companies in the industry and has the potential to bring enormous cost savings and remove a lot of headaches."

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