The client calls again about the water leak
A client had an escape of water at their shop six weeks ago. The claim was notified, a loss adjuster visited, and since then the client has heard nothing. They call. The handler searches their inbox for the claim reference, finds the last email from the adjuster, and promises to chase. They email the adjuster, who replies three days later asking for a document the client sent a month ago.
Multiply that by every open claim in the office. Motor claims with third parties, property claims with contractors' quotes, liability claims that run for months. Each one has its own cast of people and its own rhythm, and the handler is the only link between them.
Claims live in inboxes, not in a system
The broking system records that a claim exists and holds some notes. The actual activity happens in email: the notification, the adjuster's appointment, requests for estimates, the settlement offer. There is rarely a field that says 'next update due by', so a claim can go quiet for weeks before anyone notices.
Claims also do not belong to the claim handler alone. The account handler, the client's executive and sometimes a director all get calls. Without a shared view, each of them has to go back to the claims person to find out where things are.
Why this matters at renewal
- Clients judge the brokerage on how their claim felt, not how it was placed.
- Handler time goes on reassurance calls rather than on progressing claims.
- Claims that stall for weeks turn into complaints.
- Missing information requests sit unanswered because nobody noticed them.
- Claims experience for renewal is hard to compile when the status is scattered.
A tracker built around the next expected step
- Each claim notification is logged with the insurer, the adjuster where there is one, the claim reference and the client contact.
- Emails about the claim are matched to it by reference and sender, so the whole history sits in one timeline.
- Every claim carries a next expected event and date, such as adjuster visit, report, offer or payment, set by the handler or suggested from the last email.
- When the date passes with nothing received, a polite chaser goes to the insurer or adjuster quoting the reference, and the handler is told if that goes unanswered.
- Requests for information from the insurer are picked out of incoming emails and sent to the client as a clear task, with an upload link.
- Clients get a short status update at each change, or a secure page where they can see where their claim is, in plain English.
- Managers see every open claim by age and by time since the last activity.
The decisions in a claim, such as disputing an offer or escalating a declinature, stay with your people. The tracker makes sure nothing sits unnoticed while they are busy with other work.
The claims board
| Claim view | Shows | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Quiet claims | No activity past the expected date | Claims handler, daily |
| Waiting on client | Open information requests | Client executive |
| Ageing | Open claims by age band | Manager, weekly |
| Client page | Current stage and next step | The client |
What claims handling feels like afterwards
Fewer calls start with 'I have not heard anything'. The claims handler starts the day with the claims that have gone quiet and those waiting on the client, instead of scrolling back through threads. And when renewal comes round, the claims history for the account is already in one place.
Signs you need this
- Clients regularly call to ask where their claim is.
- Open claims can go weeks without anyone noticing no update came.
- Claims correspondence lives in one person's inbox.
- Compiling claims experience for a renewal means searching email.