Kelly Whittington on our customer-first, data-driven claims strategy

Mark: I'm joined here in the studio by Kelly Whittington. She is director of Commercial Claims at Aviva. Aviva has the tagline Unstoppable Together when it comes to brokers, where's the proof that applies in claims?

Kelly: I think it really applies in claims. I mean, ultimately, it's that point of claim where brokers, customers, are, are sort of deciding have they made the right choice by purchasing their product with Aviva. So we were really delighted in a recent global data survey that we, that we had back that over 250 brokers across a wide segment, set of segment of brokers, had basically voted us as number one for their, for, for the claims service, that we provide. So we were really pleased with that because I think that gave us confidence that brokers are happy when they've placed their customers with us. For us in claims, it's all about trying to work with brokers and clients to say, how can we work better and smarter together? And then combined with the data set that we have in Aviva, how can we build tools that help us make faster, speedier, more consistent decisions to drive better outcomes for customers. And that's about speeding up the life cycle of the claim, but also making sure that when claims are not covered, we're spotting that and, and dealing with that. And, and a great proof point would be recently, we, we announced that we'd saved over £140 million worth of fraud, which is all important because it means we're not putting that cost into genuine customers' premiums, for going forward.

Mark: But if I can dig into that claimed Aviva difference... let's call it that. So, pick that up and say motor as a space. What, what are some of the things you're doing there?

Kelly: I think one of the things we feel really proud of in the motor space is that we are now the only insurer with a wholly owned repair network, and that's our business, Solus. With the recent acquisition of the Direct Line Group, that brought into the family the Direct Line Auto Services. So we now have over 40 garages covering the whole of the UK, where basically that capacity is protected for customers. What we see through that is lower claims cost, and there can be up to a 50% improvement in terms of the cycle time from the customer dropping their vehicle off to get the repair started to them being back on the road, and that's really what matters to customers in a, in a motor claim. And so I think to enhance that further, one of the things that we've recently launched, is just the proposition that says if customers, for Minifleet on our Fast Trade platform, notify us of a claim quickly with all the right and relevant information, that we will reduce the excess. So that means that's less outlay for them. They can go into our Solus repair network and know that they're gonna get dealt with very well from a service point of view, with, with a quicker turnaround time. But that also leads to lower cost onto their claims experience when it comes to their renewal pricing. So actually, we're always looking at what and how can we enhance our offering to customers and brokers further, and that's the most recent development.

Mark: Another area I know Aviva's very keen on is digital developments and how you can make claims more efficient, and easier both for brokers and their clients. So can you dig into that in a bit more detail? What are some of the specifics you're doing there?

Kelly: Yeah, sure. So sticking in motor just to start with, I think one of the things that we heard loud and clear from brokers and clients was actually having the ability to tell us about an accident from the side of the road as it happened was quite important. So this year we've launched the ability for customers to notify us online of a claim by the side of the road. So that's really positive. We've spoken before about the fact that we are now we are still the only insurer that have built a direct link between our systems and the Acturis software house. And basically what that means for brokers is we will push information to their system directly, negating the need for them to call us. And that's really important because that cuts out frictional costs between us and, and it helps us be there for customers rather than dealing with some of the administrative tasks. And on top of that capability, we've recently launched the ability for brokers to track repairs through that functionality as well, which was again, some feedback that we'd had that that would, that would be very helpful. If we look further ahead, we're also looking at how do we build the ability for the notes that are on our system to appear onto the broker's system as well. So again, giving them all the right and relevant information that they need at any one point in time. And we're really confident that, by the end of this year, early into next year, that capability will be there too. So lots of investment happening in that space. All designed around trying to make sure that we are making things as easy and effortless for customers and brokers as we can. 

Mark: But all of that process and that investment in technology, have you got an example of how that has played out in the real world, you know, with a, with a claim?

Kelly: Yeah. So, I think, there's lots of investment happening across the whole, like sort of suite of areas that we have in our claims community. If I think in the property space, we've invested heavily, recently into our in-house loss adjusting team. We have national coverage, for ensuring that our team can be on the ground with customers, in the event of a property claim. That proposition sees that we'll commit to being on site within 48 hours of being notified of the claim, because we know that in property speed is of the essence. And what that's enabling is us to settle some claims, within seven days. And we had a recent example where a golf shop, a golf club, sorry, had a fire, which caused some damage to their club shop, and we had a temporary repair shop up and, up and running in 14 days to enable them to keep trading. Thinking as well about some of the investment that we're doing, hopefully as people will have seen the recent news that we've acquired, the Disaster Care Platinum offering. And basically what that means is that we will now have our own restoration company. So when customers have a flood or a fire or an escape of water claim, we can be on site with our loss adjusting team within 48 hours, and people who can get the property starting to dry immediately. And we think that's a really unique capability that no one else can offer.

Mark: We're talking roughly speaking about the midway point of 2026. So what have you got in the pipeline for the claims team for the second half of this year and perhaps even into 2027?

Kelly: Yeah, sure. So, I talked about some of the digital enhancements that will be coming later this year. So I think that's something that, you know, watch this space. We definitely see that as a, as a value add, offering to our proposition. We also will be doing a series of webinars, as, Aviva, since the acquisition of Direct Line. We appreciate we have a lot of data and insights about claims, things that can reduce costs, things that can help customers get back to normal quicker. So there will be a series of webinars that we'll be, undertaking. So I'd encourage people to sign up to that and, and hear more from us there. And we'll also be coming to a town near you, with our regional road shows. So we've done those now probably for about the last three years, and that's where we invite people in. And we'd really be keen to get account execs to come in to hear about the proof points in claims that we believe help them on why they can be confident to sell the Aviva product. So it doesn't, it's not just for claims people, so everyone is welcome. And we've recently hired somebody new into our team, as the Head of Claims relationships, recognising the importance of working with our broker partners on the claim side. So Sarah Beckett will be at those sessions with myself and a number of the team, and we'd love to see you all, at those events.

Mark: We have to leave it there. Kelly Whittington, thank you.

Kelly: Thank you.