Nonetheless, alongside these broking behemoths, Jones DesLauriers, a Navacord broker partner, has likewise capitalized on the benefits that a claims advocacy team can bring to its clients.
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When Tariq Noorhassan, today a commercial lines claims manager and partner at Jones DesLauriers, joined the company, he was told by his manager, “We need to make a difference in how we approach the sales process – it cannot only be about pricing of the product anymore … There needs to be value beyond selling clients pieces of paper.”
At the end of the day, an insurance policy is a contract that is making a promise to the client that the insurance company will pay out for a claim if a covered event occurs. As a result, explained Spencer Shusterman, commercial lines claims manager at Jones DesLauriers, “The only real demonstrable way that the value of that product is realized by a client is when they have to make a claim against their policy. Our central role is to deliver on that promise – to demonstrate that the product we sold the client is fit for purpose and is actually doing what it was intended to do, which is to protect them from financial loss in the event of a claim.”
The claims advocacy team at Jones DesLauriers has a few key functions, the first of which is supporting the insured should there be a disagreement with their insurer as to whether a claim is covered by the policy. In this scenario, the job of Shusterman and Noorhassan is to review the policy and advocate on behalf of clients to ensure that their position is the one that prevails. That’s where the technical expertise that the team brings to their positions comes in especially handy, as well as their understanding of the insurance products and language within the policies.
Another valuable role that the claims advocacy team at Jones DesLauriers fulfils is determining the value of a claim once an insurer agrees that the event is covered. There are often disputes around what a claim is worth and this is where Shusterman and Noorhassan’s deep knowledge of commercial claims becomes vital in assessing and presenting the value of a claim in the best way possible to the insurer on behalf of their client.
In turn, “The insurer more often than not comes to agree that the value of the claim is closer to what the insured’s assessment of it is,” said Shusterman.
Even prior to a claim occurring, the claims advocacy team is often working with clients. Before a loss occurs, Shusterman and Noorhassan meet with clients and help them develop internal protocols, so that when a claim does occur they have the necessary processes in place to minimize disruption to their operations. They also track claims data so that clients can recognize where certain pain points or vulnerabilities exist within their businesses, and address them from a risk management perspective.
The dynamic claims duo at Jones DesLauriers focuses their energy primarily on complex commercial claims that are severe in nature and that can reach into the millions of dollars. When an insured suffers a loss and makes a claim, and if an issue around paying the claim arises, an account executive at Jones DesLauriers will engage the claims team to assist and land on a resolution that will satisfy the client’s needs.
The benefits that clients gain from this claims advocacy service are immense, as are the business benefits of providing this support for the brokerage.
“If we can help a client resolve a difficult claim to their satisfaction, it helps a tremendous amount in terms of establishing a close commercial relationship with that client,” explained Shusterman.
Claims advocacy is likewise an excellent tool to retain business since clients likely won’t change brokers solely based on price when they know that they have access to the claims resources that Jones DesLauriers provides.
“When you know that you’ve gained the trust of the client, it’s really a lifelong relationship you’ve established with them,” said Noorhassan. “It would take a lot for a competing broker to pry that client away, if beyond getting them the best rate and the best coverage you’re offering them services that they don’t pay for, but are equally as valuable. Retention has been high on those accounts.”
Added Shusterman: “It’s a very important part of what we do, because we’re not just a transactional business – we’re a service and advisory business … When you can help a client through a difficult claim and get a good result for them at the end of it, it demonstrates what the whole value of the insurance transaction is all about. That’s the raison d’être of what we do on the claims side.”
