16 April, London, UK

Businesses will now be able to make faster claims on their insurance and receive more accurate payouts thanks to a new innovative partnership between Europe’s leading provider of consumer and business credit information CRIF and claims management firm Crawford.

Gathering, analysing and submitting the appropriate evidence and documentation can take businesses a matter of hours or even days. Furthermore, after making an insurance claim, businesses can face delays when waiting for an insurance payout. This can lead to a range of challenges including cash flow problems, operational disruptions and even increased debt.

Utilising CRIF’s leading open banking technology, businesses who want to make a claim through Crawford can now securely connect their bank account as part of the process, enabling real-time, detailed categorisation and analysis of income, expenditure, and other KPIs in a matter of seconds significantly reducing the claims management process by 30%.

Agreeing settlements quicker not only enables claims management companies like Crawford to simplify processes, increase efficiencies and lower costs, but for claimants, expediting the settlement means the sooner it can return to ‘business as usual’.

Enabling insurance companies to move forward with payouts more quickly also importantly improves customer satisfaction and retention, with data from EY finding that 87% of policyholders say the claims experience impacts their decisions to remain with insurers.

While open banking technology is well-established in the banking sector, it has yet to be fully integrated and utilised by insurers. The partnership between Crawford and CRIF is set to revolutionise the industry, providing a more accurate reflection of the business and their claims, while providing this via automatic reporting tools as opposed to having to manually sift through data and evidence, saving both time and money, and reducing the risk of mistakes.

Considering Crawford’s position as a market leader in the claims management sector, having celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2021, and CRIF’s experience, having worked in the sector for 25 years with over 600 insurance companies, the partnership is helping to showcase the benefits that open banking technology can bring to the insurance sector.

Sara Costantini, CRIF’s Regional Director for the UK & Ireland, said: “CRIF believes that insurers would benefit from the adoption of new solution to optimise their customer journey, streamlining claims management and ensuring fast, accurate payouts. “CRIF’s partnership with Crawford leverages open banking to unlock better-informed decisions surrounding payouts. It’s fantastic to be making such an important step forward in the sector, while enabling more insurers to get quick and accurate decisions by streamlining their internal processes.”
Angus Osborne-White, Director of Forensic Accountancy Services at Crawford, said: “Managing the process of business interruption claims can be long, complex and time-consuming. Not only does this demand significant internal resources, but crucially it also holds up businesses from receiving the payouts that they often are desperately in need of. “The recent adoption of CRIF’s open banking technology is not only significantly streamlining this process but simplifying it. The partnership is equipping Crawford with the cutting-edge technology required to remain at the forefront of innovation in its sector, while also offering customers an unparalleled experience when it comes to claims management.”