In his new role as partnership manager at Gallagher Bassett (GB), John White is excited about helping insurers deliver on their promises to customers. He’ll be bringing 25 years of insurance experience to the Brisbane-based job – and operating on strong foundations. After 10 years of creating partnerships with a range of financial institutions, GB – Australia’s largest multi-disciplinary third-party claims administrator – has built a solid claims management capability in speciality lines, said White.
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“I actually sit next to our liability claims team and they are not only qualified but absolutely passionate about getting great claims outcomes. This is a growing part of our business, and I am keen to share this success story with other insurers and underwriters.”
Over his quarter of a century in the industry, White has held a number of senior sales and operational management positions at Credit Union Australia, Allianz Partners and RACQ. His role at GB - which partners with insurers worldwide to deliver best-practice claims management solutions - will be to develop new partnerships and “continue to build on GB’s success of the last 32 years here in Australia.”
White said he was drawn to the organisation because of its commitment to delivering excellent customer service. What does this mean for him? Quite simply that “when we make a promise to our partners, we keep it.”
“Insurers make a promise to their customer when they sell a policy,” he said. “Our role is very focused on keeping that promise when it comes time to making a claim. We do this through a single focus on claims management and delivering it in a timely, efficient and empathetic way.”
While White said Australian insurers “do a great job at delivering on their respective brand promises,” they face several challenges. Chiefly, risk mitigation and compliance in a changing regulatory landscape – both of which GB is well equipped to help with, he said.
“Insurers are looking for low-risk options that can help them solve customer experience related challenges,” he said. “Gallagher Bassett has decades of experience in supporting some of the largest insurers to proactively manage risks including natural disasters, resourcing and technical claims skills shortages.”
He sees other equally important issues too, such as how to maintain employee engagement and the “never-ending challenge of delivering a customer experience that is on par or better than the customer expected.”
As well as helping insurers meet and exceed these expectations, “Gallagher Bassett can support partners in different ways beyond claims management via the broader Gallagher group,” said White.
Shifting the gaze from challenges to opportunities over the next six to 12 months, White sees insurers continuing to invest in “core competencies.”
“In particular technology and process change that deliver superior customer outcomes,” he said. “At the same time they will look to divest or outsource those parts of the business where it is a distraction or difficult to maintain levels of expertise or scale.”
As for bumps in the road ahead for providers of third-party claims management solutions, White said the new requirements of the claims handling and settling obligations may pose a challenge for some, but GB isn’t one of them.
“We have a strong risk and compliance programme and we have been operating under this model for some years” he said, adding that the new requirements are ‘good for the customer and our industry’.
What would he like his legacy be?
“To be able to look back on my time at Gallagher Bassett and be proud that I created partnerships that were long lasting, mutually beneficial and were regarded by the industry as delivering the best possible claims experience for customers,” he said.
To find out more, go to Gallagherbassett.com.au
