How we handle claims

Howden have a fully-fledged in-house claims department, ready to assist you when it matters most. We can talk all day about the quality of insurance policies but it’s during a claim that we truly prove our worth. 

Our claims department is impressive and highly respected. Other insurance brokers' clients often hire us to turn around problematic claims when their incumbent broker can’t deliver. 

We will help you submit claims, and negotiate with insurers on your behalf. 

Our insight, reputation and market footprint, ensure you get the best possible result. 

Any grey areas, we’ll get you back in the black. 

The flipside of claims is risk management. 

Claims learning is the bedrock of risk management. Whether you learn from your own mistakes or others’, we’re here to help you plan ahead. 

We can help you roll out risk-mitigating initiatives that make a big difference to your future claims experience.  

Claims analytics, risk surveys and suggesting improvements are all part of the service. 

Our insight helps protect your people and prosperity, helping you can save money and stress down the line.  

Claims are in fact, what educators call “teachable moments.” There’s an optimal moment to learn anything, and often with risk management, there’s no finer moment than claim time.

The value of a broker is twofold:

1. Embed systems and processes to maximise defensibility of claims

The broker proves their worth when a major claim occurs, or even worse, when it’s contested. Of course, when you have a Howden policy you have broad, responsive policy wordings that have been skilfully designed to avoid tricky pitfalls.

2. Make sure claims are a learning tool to feed into future planning

It’s not always easy to see why claims are happening, but if you make a point of learning from them, you can roll out risk mitigating initiatives that make a big difference to your future claims experience. 

We cut through chaos to empower you with a clearer view.

 Claims approach - step by step

1. Establish protocol and lines of communication

Frustrating delays are usually because of poor communication. We take charge early on, connecting all relevant stakeholders and setting up open, transparent lines of communication

2. Appointing loss adjustors

We handpick your loss adjustors (that is, actual named individuals, not just companies)

We insist on knowing who we’re working with. It’s much better to work with loss adjustors we know – you’ve had enough nasty surprises, we’re here to help you avoid any more.

3. Develop step-by-step processes

Advising step-by-step on best practice procedures around all of your different policies and claims types – including a personalised set of “Do’s and Don’ts around claims”

4. Training your stakeholders

Having helped you develop your processes, we provide training on the new-improved way of doing things. We enable you to ensure all of your relevant stakeholders are well versed in risk management initiatives.   

5. Claims portfolio review and analysis

Combing the portfolio to find problem areas, risk learning and making recommendations. We regularly review live, recent and annual claims against historical data, to find ways to improve and save. 

As well as leveraging our network and experience to get the claim paid as quickly as possible, most of our clients see claims as a learning opportunity. Using your broker in this way can be hugely beneficial, helping you take control of your risk scenario.