Benign weather patterns are a thing of the past, according to Gallagher Bassett New Zealand chief client officer Steven Walsh (pictured), who believes a collaborative approach is key amid the likes of the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
“The weather catastrophes experienced this year have underscored the crucial role of preparedness and collaboration for insurers,” Walsh told Insurance Business. “As the frequency and intensity of weather events continue to rise, it becomes imperative for insurers to have robust event readiness plans in place.”
For Walsh, the importance of preparedness in the face of severe weather catastrophes cannot be overstated.
“With the increasing frequency and magnitude of these events, insurers must be equipped to handle claims volumes that can reach tens of thousands during natural disasters,” the chief client officer said.
“The primary challenge for insurers lies in having a well-prepared and activated response plan to effectively manage the unprecedented influx of claims and address the complexity of the damage caused. As claims volumes reached over 40,000 following Cyclone Gabrielle, insurers faced extraordinary pressures to deliver claims outcomes.”
As a strategic claims partner, Walsh noted that Gallagher Bassett’s role in a catastrophe event is to deploy a comprehensive event response plan to streamline claims outcomes and support insurers and the community. The key, he stressed, is working together – with insurers and with Gallagher Bassett colleagues both here and abroad.
“By proactively working through various scenarios and partnering with a trusted claims specialist, insurers can anticipate the unique challenges of each event and initiate a well-coordinated crisis response strategy,” he told Insurance Business.
“Secondly, collaboration is a key factor in effective claims management during times of crisis. The mobilisation of our global resources serves as a testament to the value of a global partner. This collaborative approach ensured a cohesive response for many local insurers [and] is an important lesson for insurers in building their resilience against severe weather events.”
Elaborating on the reinforcements that his camp leveraged, Walsh painted a picture of how overseas units provided support to the company’s local operations.
“The support from international teams was critical to achieving the magnitude of claims triaging and efficiencies accomplished throughout the crisis,” he noted. “This was a top-down approach among our global CEO and senior leaders from the US, the UK, and Australia, which enabled us to tap into substantial resources to accelerate claims outcomes...
“By mobilising our global resources, we were able to provide the necessary manpower, expertise, and scalability required to handle the influx of claims and ensure that customers received timely assistance during a challenging period.”
According to Walsh, customer service personnel in the US and Australia, as well as Gallagher Bassett’s global service centre in India, were utilised to triage claims while temporary local resources were recruited.
“As the next stage of claims set in, GB’s global loss adjusting teams were engaged, which saw a dual endeavour as local resources completed onsite visitations and international teams completed the work overnight,” he highlighted.
Moving forward, Walsh is urging insurers to approach similar claims scenarios by prioritising event readiness and proactive planning.
“Every event or catastrophe is unique and with its own challenges, which makes planning all the more important,” he said.
“To ensure that [additional] resources are match fit and ready to run on, with little to no notice, insurers are encouraged to work alongside strategic claims partners in peacetime to proactively develop strategic plans, a knowledge base, and reporting and data requirements to facilitate a match fit for when there is such an event.”
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