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The CLAIMS MANAGEMENT & COLLABORATION ISSUE: AFTER THE FLOOD Page 13 THE DATA DOESN'T LIE Page 14 SURGE & DESTROY Page 16 WELCOME TO THE AGE OF RESILIENCE Page 19 THE STANDARD Volume 14 EPD170LGR 35L/Day27/60 R290 www.ecor-pro.com • Wheels • Compressor Protection • DuctFlange • PowerMeter • DragHandle • Humidistat • WaterPump • QRCode Manual mail@ecor-pro.com-01918162898-www.ecor-pro.com UKOffice 30DAYFREETRIAL LGR Dehumidifier03 Editorial Enquiries Paul Williamson paul.williamson@realia.co Advertising Sales Cleo Brettell cleo.brettell@realia.co Design & Production Realia Marketing paul.williamson@realia.co bdma@realia.co The Standard is published quarterly by The British Damage Management Association. The Standard is written in collaboration with our members, showcasing industry thought leaders and success stories to the wider community. We are delighted to present the opportunity for our members to broadcast their expertise to the broader insurance industry by submitting opinion pieces and case studies for inclusion in The Standard. Please feel free to submit your content for consideration. Published 1st October 2021 DISCLAIMER: The BDMA accepts no responsibility for the views expressed by contributors within The Standard. Advertisements are accepted at the discretion of the editor and The BDMA and do not imply any endorsement of goods or services. BDMA membership Have you recently moved premises? Or have you recently moved to a different company? If so, please remember to send an update of your new details to info@bdma.org.uk Membership Update 04 Notes from the Chair 05 The BDMA’s View 06 Getting it right for customers in today’s claims market BDMA Conference 2022 08 Driving the BDMA conference further forward Learning & Development 10 BDMA Training News Guest Feature 11 BDMA Accreditation: For the wider claims handling profession – Jean Davenport, BDMA Guest Feature 12 Back in the game – Jodie Hill, Thrive Law Guest Feature 13 After the flood – Lee Mears, The Preston Associates Guest Feature 14 The data doesn’t lie – Matt Brady, Claims Consortium Group Advertorial 15 A better way to do claims management – David Shimwell, Revival Guest Feature 16-17 Surge and destroy: spotlight on the 2021 floods with Polygon & Belfor Sponsor Showcase 18 Edge Group Guest Feature 19 Welcome to the age of resilience – Graham Brogden MBE Virtual Roundtable 20-21 What's stopping us from building back better? – Jo Miller & Amanda Bredesen Guest Feature 22 Settling the restoration vs replacement debate – Greg French, Davis French & Associates Ltd New BDMA Members 23 BDMA Enquiries & Correspondence The BDMA, Harborough Innovation Centre, Wellington Way, Airfield Business Park, Market Harborough LE16 7WB Phone: 01858 414278 | Email: info@bdma.org.uk Website: www.bdma.org.uk Keep up with us on social media… @TheBDMA @TheBDMA BDMA (British Damage Management Association) www.youtube.com/channel/ contents contact us 2,598 Total Membership 98 Corporate Associates 1,033 Insurance Technicians04 Membership Update Directors John Thompson (Chair) chairman@bdma.org.uk Adrian Jolly (Head of Strategic Development) strategicdevelopment@bdma.org.uk Kathryn Rodgers kathryn.rodgers@harwellrestoration.co.uk Adam Waters Specialists specialists@bdma.org.uk Chris Edwards Specialists specialists@bdma.org.uk Marie Stearn DM Practitioners (Residential) dmresidential@bdma.org.uk Executive Committee Members & Constituencies Greg French DM Practitioners (Commercial) commercial@bdma.org.uk Phil McVay Claims Practitioners claimspract@bdma.org.uk James Parsons Insurance Technicians instechs@bdma.org.uk Richard Talbot-Jones Governance governance@bdma.org.uk Jean Davenport Learning and Development Manager jean.davenport@bdma.org.uk Support Personnel BDMA Administration Sophie Bennett Office Manager sophie.bennett@bdma.org.uk 01858 414278 Marketing Paul Williamson Realia Marketing paul.williamson@realia.co 01303 262101 Through partnership working and involvement in industry wide initiatives, the BDMA executive is also informed by the Association’s relationship with The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA). The BDMA Executive, Directors and Support Personnel We are pleased to share the news that the BDMA has continued to see significant growth in membership over the past few months. In fact, we recently reached a momentous milestone, recording the highest number of BDMA members and the highest number of members in the Insurance Technician category. We now have over 1,020 accredited Insurance Technicians among nearly 2,600 members in total. This robust growth is down to a combination of the high- quality digital training and examinations we offer as well as the general support and recognition shown towards our association. While we continue to work hard on transforming how we serve our industry and raise standards in the damage management sector, our focus remains strongly on meeting the needs of our members and supporting their progression. We recently conducted a wide-ranging governance review, which highlighted the opportunity to streamline and update the BDMA’s membership system, and we are pleased to share an important update with you. Claims Technician Designation Claims Practitioner membership has now transitioned to become Claims Technician membership, bringing it in line with our other categories. Existing Claims Practitioners are not required to do anything following the change, with your membership type adjusted to reflect the new designation at your next renewal. This concludes the adjustment of membership category titles and the complete list of titles and designatory letters are now as follows: • BDMA Tech – Restoration Technician • BDMA Sr Tech – Senior Restoration Technician • BDMA Tech (Ins) – Insurance Technician • BDMA Tech (Claims) – Claims Technician • BDMA Tech (Comm) – Commercial Technician • BDMA SpecRest – Specialist Restorer Members should feel free to use these updated designatory letters immediately or from their next membership renewal date. For Claims Technicians, there is an updated collective mark that can be used on personal stationery to showcase your accreditation. This is available via the BDMA office – please contact the team for further details. As ever, the use of designatory letters and the collective mark are subject to maintaining membership, payment of subscriptions and maintenance of CPD. For membership queries, including upgrading your membership, please contact the office at info@bdma.org.uk , and for any queries relating to the membership revamp project, please contact Richard Talbot-Jones at governance@bdma.org.uk05 Notes from the Chair NOTE ABOUT SHARING ON SOCIAL Keep the photos coming! Each month we're tagged in lots of your photos on LinkedIn, sometimes they're e-learning certificates, sometimes they're photos of you celebrating your BDMA exam wins. Either way, make sure to tag us @BDMA (British Damage Management Association), so we can share on our company page and in our monthly newsletter! Hello readers, Welcome to this issue of The Standard, and once again I’d like to thank all of you for your continuing commitment to maintain the highest of standards in the work you do. It goes without saying that the last 12 weeks have continued to be a busy time, both for the BDMA and within the world of damage management. We’ve seen devastating fires across the globe, torrential rainfall across Europe and, of course, damaging floods across areas of the UK as well. Our thoughts and prayers go to all those who have suffered in these awful events, and especially to those who have lost family members. It has been humbling to witness members of our international community, both BDMA and not, responding to these situations with skill, stamina and sensitivity to help those who have lost their homes and property. Personally, in recent months I've spent time both in the UK and Germany working with colleagues and alongside professionals from other companies who only want to do their best for their clients. Long may that continue. Since my last report, we have held face- to-face examinations here at the BDMA in both June and September, and our online offering continues to grow for learning and assessment. With the BDMA training diary now booked right through until December, we look forward to welcoming candidates over the coming months. And with membership numbers continuing to rise month on month, for those of you considering taking on any of our qualifications, I can only say get your booking in as soon as possible! My thanks again to all of the BDMA staff, both office and virtually based, who put the work into making these courses such a success. Looking ahead, the big event on the horizon is the BDMA conference, and now that contracts are signed, I am pleased to invite you all to join us at the East Midlands Conference Centre on 29th – 30th June 2022. This will be a chance to showcase all that’s best about our industry — not just the ‘toys’, but the ever-expanding skill set of those around us. To register your interest and make sure you stay up to date with all conference news, go to bdma.org.uk. We flew the BDMA flag at the Flood Expo last month, promoting the conference, and we are also preparing for the AGM in November. I encourage you all to take part, either directly online or by contacting the office with your thoughts and wishes. Take care, John Thompson , BDMA Chair06 They say that when a customer makes a claim this is the ‘moment of truth’, nowadays this is definitely the case. It is imperative for brokers and insurers that the service a customer receives when they make a claim exceeds their expectations. It will form their opinion of the insurer and ultimately lead them to decide whether they renew or go elsewhere. I know from first-hand experience of customers who have renewed their policies directly after experiencing great service and I’m sure there are many stories of those who haven’t renewed when things haven’t gone to plan. But there are many challenges facing the industry, customer expectations are constantly changing, and competition is rife. So, how do we address this, maintaining that competitive edge whilst still exceeding customer expectations? Artificial Intelligence/Automation The subject of automation and the use of bots in the claims handling process is very current and has been for a while now. Although automation can drive down the claims lifecycle and cost, many of the claims our members are specifically handling, such as flooding in the home, can be distressing, and the importance of a human element in the management of these situations cannot be underestimated. We know that the decision-making process, when it comes to the management of water damage claims, is not straightforward. There can be many twists and turns along the way. The property may get re-flooded, there could be issues that lengthen the drying process – the list is endless. Technology should enhance human intelligence, not replace it. It should prevent overloading the customer service team with calls, enabling them to spend more time helping people with complex or sensitive cases. There are some fantastic examples of members who are using technology in this way. Sustainability Sustainability is a significant issue for us all, not just our industry. We are becoming more aware of our carbon footprint and our responsibility to the planet. Being more sustainable in the management of claims is a big part of that. Many leading insurers are now only selecting suppliers who have more sustainable ways of working. Being more environmentally aware not only helps the planet, but in many cases, can ensure that claims are settled quicker and at a lower cost. Sustainability in the claims arena is all about driving the right behaviours and decisions to reduce our carbon footprint and the amount of waste going to landfill. Repair over replacement is key here, ensuring that the industry has this approach to all that we do. The tricky part is educating the customer on this ‘new normal’. We are completely accepting of the fact that if you are involved in a car accident and your car is badly damaged, in most cases your insurer will repair it, rather than supply you with a new car. Why is it then that, if you have a kitchen and it gets flood damaged, a policyholder will assume their insurer will just get them a new one? Why are customer expectations so different? There is a real education piece here for the industry to inform customers of the huge benefits of a restoration over replacement approach in not only saving the planet, but driving down costs, timescales, inconvenience – the list is endless. Driving innovation as a result of COVID-19 The pandemic has, without a doubt, driven innovation in our industry, working practices have changed greatly. As we were told to stay away from each other, we as an industry ensured that we could still do our jobs with less to face-face visits, whilst still leaving customers with that professional and personal approach. This is something that is set to stay, and we need to further look at our working practices to drive down claim lifecycles while still exceeding customer expectations. Working collaboratively is so important in this, learning from each other to improve working practices has to be a good thing. BY Chris Edwards THE BDMA'S VIEW THE BDMA'S VIEW GETTING IT RIGHT FOR CUSTOMERS IN TODAY’S CLAIMS MARKET There are many challenges facing the industry, customer expectations are constantly changing, and competition is rife. How do we maintain that competitive edge whilst exceeding expectations? Chris Edwardswww.primedr.co.uk The High Net Worth Disaster Restoration Company 0708 DRIVING THE BDMA CONFERENCE FURTHER FORWARD BDMA conference BDMA conference 2019 FEELS LIKE A VERY LONG TIME AGO NOW, AND IT IS FAIR TO SAY THAT THE WORLD WILL PROBABLY NEVER RETURN TO THE WAY IT WAS BACK THEN. 2019 was of course the year of getting BREXIT ‘done’, with the predominant conversation being around how UK industry would cope. Who would have thought back then that BREXIT would be eclipsed by an even greater challenge? There was of course another conversation being had, one much closer to home. ‘Defining the 21st Century Landscape’ was the theme of the BDMA’s 20th anniversary conference where we explored how the damage management sector could drive the change necessary to secure a bright future, whilst also reflecting on the past 20 years. It was a highly successful event in lots of ways, with record numbers of delegates and 89% of post event survey respondents rating the conference as good/exceeding expectations. 41% rated it as outstanding and memorable. This was just some of the feedback we received… It was an excellent event, with a tremendous amount of learning and insight passed on. I also felt it was very well run and organised, and the dinner (and hugely inspiring speaker) was a real bonus. ” “ Congratulations on a superb conference, you should all be walking on air, everyone I spoke to said the same, snappy programming, great range of topics, slicker dinner and awards ceremony, a result! Until the next one.” BREXIT, and of course COVID-19 has forced organisations to think and behave differently. They have needed to be more agile, smarter and more resilient than ever. So, while the 2019 conference defined the landscape, the 2022 conference will embrace what our brave new world needs to look like, hence the theme 'The roadmap for sustainable resilience'. The property insurance supply chain has faced a series of unprecedented challenges since we were all together in November 2019. We are well used to dealing with competition, with even greater customer expectations, with surge events, with changes in insurer priorities. In a sector where resilience and response are the ordinary, our resilience and response have been tested in extraordinary ways recently. But there remain big challenges ahead for our industry and if we are to continue to prosper and grow, we need to build even more resilience into our businesses and demonstrate sustainability – not just in Environmental, Sustainability and Governance, but in business performance. That is why this conference will set out the roadmap for sustainable resilience. Within the conference and exhibition, there will be three key themes addressing the strategic and tactical requirements in equal measure. We will also be showcasing the latest in innovations to ensure there is something for everyone – from technician to claims practitioner, across every part of the supply chain from insurer to equipment manufacturer.www.bdma.org.uk THE BDMA CONFERENCE IS BACK! Join us on 29th – 30th June 2022 at the East Midlands Conference Centre as we look to define ‘The roadmap for sustainable resilience’ . With capacity for over 50 exhibitors and 400 delegates, this promises to be our biggest conference yet. And with flexible pricing options for delegates, sponsors and exhibitors, we are planning to make this event truly inclusive for all. So, if you are interested in speaking, sponsoring, exhibiting or attending, please do register your interest at www.bdma.org.uk today. 09 BDMA conference BDMA conferenceNext >