The Role of the Adviser at Claim Time?

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Do the respective roles of adviser and insurer need to be better defined at claim time?
  • Yes (72%)
  • No (25%)
  • Not sure (3%)

Our latest poll explores differing views held by advisers as to the level of involvement they should have, together with the insurer, at claim time…

On the surface, it seems to be a ‘no-brainer’ to suggest that any active adviser allocated to a client’s policy should have the opportunity to support them, if they wish, during the claims process. Research released by the Beddoes Institute, however, suggests disagreement amongst the adviser community as to what the respective roles of the adviser and the insurer should be at this critical time when the rubber hits the road (see: Adviser Roles Not Clearly Understood…).

This Beddoes research covers a broader set of parameters, dealing with the perception of policy holders, advisers and insurers as to who should provide various services to the client during the life of a policy, from advice to application to implementation, maintenance and claiming.

…there appear to be differing perspectives as to where the roles of the adviser and insurer begin and end at claim time

When it comes to the claims equation, the Beddoes research found more than half of advisers (55%) said they had a joint role with insurers in the area of claims, but 36% believed it was solely their role and that the insurer should play no part in assisting with management of the claim.

Neither of these views is wrong, but the point is that there appear to be differing perspectives as to where the roles of the adviser and insurer begin and end at claim time, with no clarity around what could or should be the ‘default’ position for each stakeholder. Hence our question: should there be more clarity – more definition as to what should reasonably be expected of the adviser and insurer at claim time.

Should there be a clearly understood or even generic starting point, from which the individual adviser and the insurer should agree to proceed and modify as appropriate?

We could go on, but will leave it there for the time being and hand the conversation over to you. Let us know what you think and we’ll report back next week…



1 COMMENT

  1. The role of the Adviser is clear. Their responsibility is to support their client at the time of their greatest need. As such there is no need to define their role further. The LIF will have the effect that fewer advisers will perform this “unpaid” role as they will not be able to afford the significant amount of time involved. Have the Government factored this into the LIF equation? The answer is obvious – NO.

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