The Protection Distributors Group (PDG) has introduced claim assessment times as a new measure for its claims charter.
The move comes as the PDG published its list of provider claims charter signatories for 2023 after obtaining and assessing information on how insurers support claimants.
Fourteen insurers have been named as signatories to the charter for 2023 including AIG, British Friendly, Guardian, Holloway Friendly, HSBC Life, Legal & General, LV=, MetLife, Royal London, Scottish Widows, Shepherds Friendly, The Exeter, Vitality and Zurich.
The only change from last year’s list is the omission of Aegon, who were replaced by Royal London to whom Aegon sold their protection book to in the spring.
The PDG also released a new badge for signatories, which will include the year was awarded. Going forward a new annual badge will be issued for those who achieve charter status.
Elaborating on the new claim assessment times measure to be introduced next year, the PDG said while it was pleased with the number of insurers that meet the current criteria.
But it was disappointed with the overall time taken by insurers to assess claims forms and gather evidence as part of the claims process, as this can cause financial problems for claimants as well as additional worry and distress.
It added the issue had also been raised by many advisers who have experienced “significant” delays by insurers at claim stage, and the group felt this cannot be ignored.
The PDG will be undertaking the next charter review in January 2024. That is earlier than originally planned as the group said it felt this new measure needed to be implemented “as soon as possible, while at the same time giving insurers fair notice so they can implement changes”.
It added the exact criteria will be based on service developments for the remainder of this year as the PDG will continue to campaign for “significant” improvements in claims service levels and be working with insurers to help them achieve this.
Best practice
The group highlighted Holloway Friendly as an example of best practice in the industry, being the only insurer to consistently deliver timeframes of three days or less to assess both claims forms and evidence.
The charter was introduced in 2018 to improve outcomes for claimants by improving basic levels of best practice undertaken by insurers. It sets out a number of criteria which must be met before an insurer can become a signatory.
This year’s review included additional questions on service standards for assessing claims forms and reviewing medical evidence.
Neil McCarthy, chairman of the PDG, (pictured) said: “We continue to see challenges to service levels in the area of claims, which makes the work that the PDG are doing in this area all the more important for securing the best possible customer outcomes.
“This year we have seen a significant drop in service, particularly regarding assessing claims forms and the time taken to assess medical evidence. While we acknowledge these challenges, we feel it is very important that the charter continues to serve as a driver for positive change in the market which is why we will be raising the bar in 2024.
“We applaud the fantastic work insurers do in paying claims and providing additional help to claimants in the form of added value services and hope this future change to the charter will serve as inspiration to insurers to also ensure the time it takes to assess claims is much improved.
“As always, we remain committed to working with those insurers who are not current signatories to help raise standards across the whole industry.”