Thanks for all the Feedback!

We were thrilled to win two more awards at this year’s Underwriting Service Awards ceremony, held in London last month. This would not have been possible without the input of all the brokers who took the time to vote and provide their comments on our service, in total 650 insurance brokers contributed towards the awards.

Being voted both Legal Expenses Team of the Year and MGA Team of the Year is an honour, of course, but the feedback we get from these awards is even more important to ARAG, as it helps us to improve our service even more. So, a big thanks to everyone who participated.   

What you thought of our service

We were really pleased to see that over half (52%), of you use ARAG for your legal expenses insurance, which means a lot of high quality feedback for us. These are a few highlights from the answers that you gave:

The last thing we want to do is take your support for granted. We will study all the comments that you left and see where we can improve. In pursuit of better customer service, we have already restructured our claims department to adapt to the changing regulatory and legal landscape and ensure we can meet customer expectations now and in the future.

Dramatic rise in money claims sign of rising debt

The Government has just released scores on the doors for County- Court civil (non-family) cases in England and Wales for July to September.

The number of cases "dealt with" stood at almost half a million – an increase of around 24% on the same the previous year. This is the highest quarterly total since 2008, and is driven entirely by an increasing trend in specified money claims being issued at the County Court Business Centre (CCBC).

Specified Money claims

91% of claims were money claims. These claims can be filed on line and are then issued in bulk by the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) in Northampton.

The number of claims  "issued" is reflective of the volume of claims filed and the increase in claims  is of concern since it is a gauge of the number of debt recovery contract and property damage disputes (amongst other claim types) being pursued.

Household debt is rising 

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has given a warning about the high level of debt in UK households. In particular he said that consumers were borrowing more on their credit cards and other unsecured debt. Figures showed that credit card lending is at a record level, up by £571m in the last month. 

Non-specified Money claims

9% of claims were non-specified money claims – which were mainly personal injury claims. Despite protestations about ever –increasing volumes of whip-lash cases, the number of non- specified Money claims reduced by 8% compared to the same quarter in 2015.

Early help to chase debts Once they have registered to use our on-line legal services Essential Business Legal policyholders can create a series of useful debt recovery letters which can be effective in avoiding arrears accruing. Our legal document website has smart software that allows the user to populate the letters by prompting for required information in response to simple questions. Guidance notes are available to help with this process and there is a progress bar which shows how much of the process has been completed. The first letter in the series is a polite reminder. If no agreement to pay is received after a couple of weeks the second letter can be sent to the debtor. The third letter is a final demand which can be used as a "letter before action" if the customer still refuses to pay the sum(s) owed. Users should select "Money Claims on-line" when they get to a question about filing a claim .The documents are so smart that they allow the user to automatically calculate and add interest for late payment. We would recommend that policyholders retain evidence that they have sent the letter(s) – either by retaining confirmation of recorded delivery or e-mail receipt. When all attempts to collect have been exhausted, policyholders can download a claim form (from the legal services website, or from our company website). This should be completed and sent to us with evidence of sending the debt recovery letters. We will validate the claim and instruct a lawyer under the terms of our Insured's LEI policy to pursue the debt.

Final words from me…. Debts are increasing…. Get your ARAG policyholders to register for on-line legal services. It could prevent debts escalating but if it becomes necessary to pursue legal action you have them covered!

Courts and Tribunals update

The Government has announced concessions which amount to a U-turn in relation to recently introduced increases to Immigration and Asylum Tribunal fees. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/courts-and-tribunals-update   

From 25 November  applicants will be charged fees at previous levels and reimbursements of the difference between previous fees and the new (higher) fees will be made.   

The change of heart is to welcomed but it  is disappointing that we have yet to receive any similar news in relation to the level of fees payable to bring claims to Employment tribunals. 

The outcome of the Government’s review of Employment tribunal fees is long-awaited. 

New faces bring further underwriting experience

It’s fitting that, as we reached our 10th birthday, ARAG UK was also well on its way to hitting the one hundred employee milestone.

It has been a year of growth for ARAG, and the latest recruits to join the team in our Bristol HQ represent an expansion of our underwriting department.

Andy Dyer joins the company as Underwriting Operations Manager, bringing with him more than thirty years’ insurance industry experience, most of which has been gained in the legal expenses sector.

Joining Andy is Ryan Smith, our new ATE Technical Underwriting Manager. Ryan also has plenty of insurance experience, having worked in the industry for over fifteen years, more than half of which has been spent as an ATE Underwriter.

Also new to the team is ATE Technical Underwriter, Tom Hunt. A law graduate, Tom has worked in insurance for over four years, most recently as an Assistant Underwriter.

Motoring on

While other ARAG emergency products may be the focus of attention for many, our motor breakdown products are doing very well and provide a valuable solution to brokers and insurers alike. It is an ideal add on for personal and commercial policyholders alike and sits well as a scheme alongside a motor policy, where it can be extremely cost competitive.

Our flexible and extensive cover can provide UK-only or Europe-wide assistance for roadside repair or the recovery of the vehicle for electrical or mechanical failures and can be tailored to include other areas of cover such as miss-fuelling.

Typically, the majority of breakdowns are attended within 40 minutes and over 75% of these are repaired at the roadside, enabling drivers to continue safely to their destinations. However, where a repair is not possible, the policy cover also includes the cost of alternative travel and overnight accommodation.

CLAF unlikely to open up new path to justice

A working party has determined that a Community Legal Aid Fund (CLAF)  probably won’t work unless sufficiently funded from the outset. The CLAF model involves creating a pool from which funding for legal cases could be drawn, subject to successful claimants forfeiting some of their damages.  (Sound familiar?  Hint…. damages-based contingency fee agreements and success fees payable under conditional fee agreements (No-win –no fee) which are private agreements operated by law firms but in other respects have a similar outcome). The CLAF could be used to plug gaps in litigation funding, for example where CFAs and contingency fee agreements are not available or they could compete against After The Event legal expenses insurance for those who do not have Before The Event.

The working party has concluded that a major problem is finding “seed funding” to commence new cases in advance of revenue being generated.  A further challenge may be to design a scheme that offers acceptable terms to lawyers.  “For profit” and “not for profit” CLAF options are being contemplated and interested parties are invited to complete a survey. Here’s a link to the full article from Litigation Futures  and the CLAF survey. http://www.litigationfutures.com/news/profession-wide-working-group-outlines-initial-doubts-viability-claf

My own view is that it would be interesting to see some figures on the number and type of cases that could be suitable for CLAF funding on the basis that exisiting funding methods are unavailable;  together with a forecast of the impact that court digitisation is likely to have on current case numbers.  If more disputes can be resolved on- line without the need to engage a lawyer the need for the CLAF model will reduce. There seems to me to be little point in setting up a funding mechanism to compete against ATE and BTE so I believe the CLAF proposition will need to focus on claims that are not picked-up by LEI.  

Finally,  if a CLAF does get the go-ahead it will only ever get off the ground if the public are suitably educated.  This could be a further major challenge. Public awareness of LEI is gaining traction but it has been a slow journey.

Product Development Synergy

Being part of a worldwide group means we can exchange ideas and experience when designing new products.

To this end, ARAG’s product experts from 11 countries attended this year’s Product Workshop which was held in the Netherlands. ARAG UK was represented by Product Development Manager Lesley Attu and Business Insight Analyst Melody Kiernan. 

The opportunity to pool ideas, build networks with European colleagues and exchange knowledge was enriching and delegates were able to bring back some innovative ideas and approaches to develop for the future.  

Going from the general to the particular, participants started by debating the nature of innovation, before getting into the nitty-gritty of novel product design. Germany revealed a new motor LEI product with backdated defence for traffic offences; Spain presented a bundle of cyber protection aimed at young families; Belgium showed how to move from an initial proposition to developing a B2B product in just a week. The valuable interaction of ideas culminated in shared experiences of product features in family covers and concluded with a wrap-up session.

 

A New Vision for Claims

Chris Millward is hardly a new face at ARAG. He has been an integral part of the claims teams for the past nine years. 

Since taking over as Head of Claims in June this year, Chris has recognised that whilst the department was performing to a high standard, there were regulatory and legal landscape changes (both past and future) which meant that structural changes were required to ensure that the department continued to perform to the highest standards expected from customers and regulators, as well as to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

The key changes bring in a Claims Manager specific to BTE and a Claims Controller whose function is to oversee the back office – complaints, auditing, reporting and the like. The changes will ensure that there is a clear focus on these areas with the customer at the very heart of the operation.

See our press release here