Fortis implements ISO Claims Outcome Advisor

  • New claims evaluation solution for Fortis will support its approach in the settlement of personal injury claims
  • Solution will help Fortis maintain its position as the most efficient motor insurance claims handler

London, UK – April 15th 2009 – Fortis Insurance Limited, a leading UK car insurer, has signed a five year agreement with Insurance Services Office (ISO), the UK’s leading provider of personal injury claims evaluation systems, to utilise its ISO Claims Outcome Advisor (COA) solution. The implementation, which follows a six-month pilot by the Fortis Personal Injury claims team, will provide Fortis with a claims evaluation solution that supports its current proactive approach. COA will help reduce claims lifecycles and deliver consistently fair personal injury evaluations for the 1.6 million car policies that are currently insured by Fortis.

Fortis has consistently proved itself to be the most efficient motor insurance claims handler in the UK. According to Datamonitor's 2008 study Claims Management in U.K. General Insurance, the car insurer has maintained the lowest ratio of motor claims management cost for four consecutive years, and ISO's COA system will enable it to continue to maintain this position. Management information tools —– accessible through the COA Dashboard —– will give Fortis enhanced visibility of claims lifecycles and settlement values to streamline claims operations and ensure fairness for all claimants.

Richard Harris, Head of Motor Claims at Fortis, commented: “After a successful pilot, we found that COA created the right type of support in settling our personal injury claims quickly and fairly for the benefit of claimants. The availability of high quality management information will enhance our proactive approach to claims management and help us understand how we can work more closely with the claimants’ lawyers to improve the claims lifecycle. In addition to the benefits of the system, it has been very easy to implement, and our claims handlers have been able to pick up the new and enhanced features quickly, with a minimum of training. It was important to us that the claims handlers maintained their responsibilities, and the system supports this requirement.”

Joe Pendle, Director of Client Services, ISO, said: “We are constantly working towards fairer settlements and more efficient claims lifecycles, which our COA system fully supports and empowers insurers with the information they need to achieve it. We are also continuing to develop the Personal Injury Claims Assessment System (PICAS), which aims to bring together insurers, solicitors and medical professionals to make the whole process better for the claimant. COA enables insurers to benefit more from this new initiative and deliver significant advantages to the claimant.”

ISO recently launched the COA Dashboard, a management reporting enhancement to COA that enables claims handlers to instantly drill down to detailed, up-to-date information and analysis that compares data case by case, by lifecycle, and by region. The dynamic, easy-to-use graphical dashboard requires no training to use and is a significant addition to ISO's existing management information reporting suite. The new functionality enables companies to manage the claims process quickly and take full advantage of the data held in the COA system to deliver fairer settlements for claimants, while providing greater insight into insurers' claims operations.

About Fortis (Insurance U.K.)
Fortis (Insurance U.K) is a leading provider of award-winning personal and commercial lines insurance solutions in the U.K. Fortis U.K. has two main divisions, manufacturing both non-life and life products, which are distributed through a range of channels including brokers, IFAs, intermediaries, affinity partners and the Internet, as well as various wholly or partially-owned companies (RIAS, Fortis Insurance Solutions, Affinity Solutions Ltd, Text2Insure and InsureTECH Systems). Insuring in excess of 6.7 million customers and working with a range of partners, Fortis is recognised for delivering consistent and high-quality customer experiences. In 2008, its profit before tax and interest was £76 million and its GWP was GBP 758 million.

About ISO Claims Outcome Advisor™ (COA™)
ISO Claims Outcome Advisor™ (COA™) is the industry's leading personal injury claims management solution that manages the multiple dimensions of organisations' personal injury claims portfolios. COA understands the severity and recovery implications of over more than 18,000 injuries, treatments, complications and preexisting conditions and 14,000 occupations and creates for an insurer an historic database of all of its injury claims. COA helps claims handlers, managers and actuaries manage the unique and complex medical, legal and occupational issues presented by personal injury claims, and helps ensure appropriate financial arrangements are agreed to and implemented. Claims handlers can manage all aspects of a case from first notice of loss to return-to-work plans, rehabilitation and damages.

About ISO
A leading source of information about risk, ISO provides data, analytics, and decision-support services to professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, real estate, health services, government, human resources and risk management. Using advanced technologies to collect, analyse, develop and deliver information, ISO helps customers evaluate and manage risk. The company draws on vast expertise in actuarial science, insurance coverages, fire protection, fraud prevention, catastrophe and weather risk, predictive modeling, data management, economic forecasting, social and technological trends, and many other fields. To meet the needs of diverse clients, ISO employs an experienced staff of business and technical specialists, analysts, and certified professionals. Around the world, ISO helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets.

For more information please contact:

Fortis Press Office
Tel: 023 8035 2754
press.uk@fortis-uk.com

Mark Strang
Business Development Manager – ISO
Tel: 01252 761055
mstrang@iso.com

Manuela Whittaker
The PressOffice – PR for ISO
Tel: 01780 721433
mwhittaker@pressoffice.targetwire.com

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