Category: Claims Management

Behind the Scenes of Successful Insurance Claims Management

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Behind the Scenes of Successful Major Claims Management

Insurance claims management is our core business, especially when it comes to complex or major claims. In doing so, we strive to achieve successful, swift, and fair results.

Our clients and Insurance Claims Management

Fischer Sports GmbH is the global leader in Nordic skiing and one of the world’s leading brands in Alpine skiing, as well as one of the biggest manufacturers of high-quality ice hockey sticks. The privately held company employs nearly 2000 individuals who all share a passion for and dedication to winter sports. Fischer Sports GmbH was founded in 1924 in Ried im Innkreis, Austria, where the global headquarter is still located. Manufacturing
of skis takes place in Austria and Ukraine.

In October 2020 a fire occurred in the Ukrainian production site, caused by a fluorescent tube. The small incident quickly became a major loss, although the building was equipped with a sprinkler system. The reason for this was that the fire could spread through a suspended ceiling over most of the production hall.

GrECo took over the claims management and immediately identified the stakeholders in the process. In addition to the central and local Account Team, GrECo experts in property and business interruption insurance were nominated, the respective insurers were informed, and appropriate loss adjusters were added to the team. Despite that this was a major loss and the location was outside the EU, the claim has been managed successfully, and the reconstruction was started within a year. Unfortunately, the full start-up of the new facility had to be interrupted due to the outbreak of the Ukrainian war, but could be restarted in the meantime.

“Part of our Alpine and Nordic skis are produced in the Ukraine. In order not to miss a whole season we were under a huge time pressure to rebuild our site. GrECo performed extremely well in this case: they established a qualified claims handling team, were on-site in just a few days, managed the relations to all stakeholders and guided us to settle the claim successfully and in time together.”

Christian Egger
CFO at Fischer Sports

What is necessary for successful insurance claims management?

Managing insurance claims is our core business, especially when it comes to complex or major claims. In doing so, we strive to achieve successful, swift, and fair results. Our goal is to ensure our clients receive the contractually agreed benefits and services. We therefore pool all our resources to assist our clients from the very beginning.

Experience shows that 6 key factors largely determine a professional claims management:

  • Crisis management as an effective precaution for an emergency: Being an experienced risk specialist, GrECo steps in long before a claim or other potential threat arises. We provide companies with project-specific support and targeted engineering services. We also help our clients to help themselves. During the last two years, we noted a sharp rise in the demand for crisis and business continuity management. Hence, we assist companies to prepare themselves, act systematically, and be one step ahead in the event of a major claim. The aim is to enable them to handle a crisis in the best possible way and emerge from it largely unscathed. The focus has long since shifted away from mere fire events to new drivers, such as increasing cyber crime and natural catastrophes as well as volatile supply and value-added chains.
  • Adequate risk transfer: Managing risks via a risk transfer requires tailored and transparent insurance programmes. Ideally, there should be no nasty surprises in the event of a claim, e.g.: the lack of risk adequate components in coverage or insufficient insurance sums. Changes in risks –whether due to new markets, products, services, regulatory changes or economic issues – must be constantly evaluated. Currently, the high inflation rate, driven by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has led to huge adjustments in both insurance sums and limits on the compensation sums payable.
  • Documented loss adjustments and sensitisation: Special contractual provisions for loss adjustments help speed up the process and avoid potential pitfalls. We step in right at the beginning and agree upon independent assessors with the insurer, implement claims handling procedures and sensitise key stakeholders during workshops with clients. That way, we professionally support and help manage our clients’ claims management as soon as an event occurs.
  • Industry insight and technical expertise: Handling complex and major claims professionally requires us to be familiar with our clients’ busines smodels, their processes, products and services as well as their industry sector. Our vast insight enables us to manage claims proactively and meet assessors, crisis communication experts and loss adjusters at eye level – irrespective of whether we are dealing with production faults or assembly errors in plant engineering, with worldwide recalls of cars due to faulty supplier products or a ransomware attack on a food producer. Every member of our expert team is a specialist in his or her field. Besides lawyers and business economists, our teams comprise experts in machine and plant engineering, chemistry and chemical technology, geodesy and geoinformatics, cultural engineering and water management, natural hazard management, environmental technology and ecotoxicology as well as cybersecurity, IT and communication technology.
  • Knowledge of the insurance markets and selected expert networks: Given GrECo’s strong market position, we are in touch with all decision-makers in the insurance market and work hand in hand with independent, highly specialised loss adjustors who are part of our international network which we have established over the years. During the entire claims settlement process we are in close consultation with all stakeholders: our clients, the assessors and loss adjusters we engage as well as the respective insurers. By acting as “facilitators” and “translators”, we take care of the strategy and communicate in a transparent manner to shed light on facts, answer any technically related questions, and clarify matters concerning economic impacts and insurance coverage.
  • Best in Class – GrECo Complex Claims Team: Complex and major claims are best managed by ou Complex Claims Team. In the event of a claim, they nominate a Complex Claims Manager to steer the entire claims settlement process. Depending on the specifics of an individual case, we combine GrECo’s most suitable resources with the Complex Claims Team. We add client insights via the Account Team and make sure that the diversity of our experts delivers a best-in class claims management. This means that the team is not only familiar with our clients and their industry sectors, but also knows the specifics of the insurance programmes’ coverage inside out. That way, we make sure our clients receive the insurer’s contractually agreed services while securing their liquidity at the same time. In line with our international programmes, our team also manages major claims abroad and collaborates closely with the respective local GrECo nova brokers.

This article is part of our new Annual report 2021. The annual report gives you a review on GrECo`s facts & figures of the last business year and our most important developments. In addition you can find testimonials on the services the GrECo Group provides to its clients. The case studies are from different industries and GrECo regions.

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