Litigation Document Productions

litigation document productions

Solving the Document Problem in the London Insurance Market

In terms of the global insurance industry and the complex subscription market risks on which London has built its reputation, the devil remains in the details. Whether electronic or hard copy, documentation is the foundation of the insurance and reinsurance industry. From a client’s perspective, it’s the most important part of the business process and getting a document wrong can mean problems or litigation. Since the insurance promise is based on a written contract, the industry’s most important product is the policy documentation which lays out the criteria for coverage and the basis for payment of claims.

The way in which documents are created has lagged behind the non-subscription market carrier programs, despite being the only element seen by clients.  London is rightly moving towards a greater use of technology within its processing, including electronic policy and claims documentation.

 The need to eliminate debatable wordings remains pivotal to the ability to accurately underwrite and price risks. It also reduces the number of disputes over the validity of claims which are not only time-consuming and expensive, but severely damage the reputation of individual underwriting companies. Automating the documentation creation process will lower these costs and risks.

Capturing the Risk Details

The key components are the risk details. Capturing the right details, whether in words or numbers, is vital to business management and risk exposure. An effective document automation solution enables accurate capture of both words and data and produces quality documentation. Claims and disputes have shown the dangers of ‘loose’ document production and brokers and insurers have been compelled to address this challenge, not only to satisfy the needs of clients but also in order to comply with the Contract Certainty Code of Practice. Yet, how many organisations still rely on basic word processing packages to manage complex document assembly throughout negotiations between the various parties in the process?

The technology now exists to provide brokers and underwriters of all sizes with a solution that enables them to build complex and bespoke contracts via an easy to use web interview. And, the benefits go beyond pure document production. Document Automation helps underwriters and brokers to deliver business solutions which cut time, error and risk from their contract development process.

Industry Leaders Embrace Document Automation

Global Insurance Broker, Willis Group Holdings, will be using document assembly software to create slip documents in online templates via a series of questions.  The documents are then rendered into Word files that data can be extracted from or added to.  The relevant insurers are also able to access the data from the slip.

Jonathan Prinn, COO of Global Placement at Willis said, “As a major broker representing multi-national clients with complex risk requirements, we will be using document assembly software to help us streamline and accelerate the speed of data capture and to eliminate error for enhanced account management and customer service. One of the key benefits of the system is that it provides greater controls to deliver contract certainty as well as transparency.”

Similar comments were heard from a major underwriter. Teresa Beach, Head of Transformation for the Catlin Group said, “We face competitive pressures globally and as such we need to produce timely and accurate policy documentation in local markets to remain competitive.”

The Right Solution

To be truly effective, a document automation solution needs to be flexible and able to manage a library of wordings and clauses, as well as capture key contract data appropriately at the different stages of the placing process. It must then build the contract and produce a client document that will satisfy the firms’ compliance officers and lawyers.  Les Doel, Head of Administration at Lloyd’s broker Croton Stokes Wilson notes, “One of the key issues we had to consider when reviewing our software options was flexibility and ease of amendment.  If the MRC guidelines change or new compliance rules need to be incorporated, our templates can be revised in minutes and published to all users instantly.”

Clearly the benefits which can be delivered by this technology are now available and are in fact, in use by market practitioners.  An effective insurance industry solution can capture the complete range of risk and contract details and create a range of insurance documents (from quote to policy or certificate) that meets the needs of the client. 

In the end it comes down to this:

• Insurers and brokers need to avoid legal issues which can arise when incompatible wordings, coverages or inaccurate information are included in the contract. 
• Compliance with Contract Certainty remains a key regulatory objective of the FSA and a challenge which underwriters and brokers must continue to work together to achieve.
• Clients and brokers must provide accurate risk and contractual information and insurers and brokers must ensure that all terms of the contract are complete as well as clearly and unambiguously expressed, including any conditions of subjectivities.  All of this must be done before the insured and their insurer(s) enter into the contract.

By solving the document problem in the London Market with the right document automation solution each of these issues is addressed. The market needs to embrace solutions which can deliver and manage document content (both words and numbers) in a timely, accurate and cost effective manner. Significant steps have been taken by the London market in the move towards electronic transmission and exchange of data. The next step is to use document automation software to improve the quality and accuracy of insurance documents and reap the benefits of this competitive advantage.

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