Insurance Services Office Strengthens Claims Handling Team

January 1, 2011 / 4 min read

UK Product Manager and Senior Business Analyst appointed to provide insurance companies with consultancy, pre- and post-sales support, training and mentoring in the Claims Outcome AdvisorTM solution

Insurance Services Office (ISO), a leading provider of insurance claims services and information about property and liability risk, has strengthened its claims handling team with the appointment of Bryan Harries as UK Product Manager and Simon Bradshaw as Senior Business Analyst. Bryan Harries and Simon Bradshaw bring 18 years combined claims handling experience to their new positions, where they will provide insurance companies with consultancy, pre- and post-sales support, training and mentoring in ISO's Claims Outcome Advisor (COA) personal injury claims management solution.

Bryan Harries and Simon Bradshaw will also be responsible for optimising COA's existing performance with the development of additional functionality specific to the UK market. This will particularly address ongoing changes in UK medical and legal practices, as well as supporting shifts in existing claims handling practices driven by developments such as the Woolf reforms and the code of best practice for rehabilitation and early intervention. These enhancements will further enable insurance companies to manage the multiple dimensions of their personal injury claims portfolios.

Commenting on the appointments, David Smart, Business Development Director, ISO said: "Through these appointments we are demonstrating that ISO is committed to making Claims Outcome Advisor the claims handlers' choice for personal injury claims management. COA is a sophisticated solution that enables claims handlers to agree fair and equitable settlements, and provides management with advanced tools for better management of claims portfolios — and therefore better overall control of their company's performance — by utilising a more flexible approach than current rules-based models. Having come from a claims handler background, both Bryan and Simon have extensive knowledge of the challenges of claims handling and of our own Claims Outcome Advisor solution and their appointments allow us to offer our customers effective support and a range of professional services to ensure they can make the most of this solution."

Bryan Harries added: "We are continually looking at ways of developing and updating COA for the UK market to support the proactive injury claims business. The personal injury claims market is rapidly changing. The impact of factors such as the Woolf reforms, the code of best practice for rehabilitation and early intervention, Law Commission 257 and the ever-growing 'ambulance chasing' litigation culture, has revolutionised the way in which claims must be handled. Our insurance customers know that they must constantly evolve and adapt to prosper in this ever-changing environment. With regular software updates to our system and an in-depth understanding of the business, we are committed to incorporating additional functionality to address these changes — giving our customers the best tools to manage their claims.

"One key new innovation in COA is a facility to enable insurance companies to set reserves for their outstanding personal injury claims," continued Simon Bradshaw. "Accurate reserving is an increasingly important element in the success or failure of an insurer. Traditionally this process has been very difficult to achieve with any great degree of accuracy. COA's powerful reserving tool will use both historical data, and the specific injury severity on individual outstanding claims, to calculate more accurate reserves across the whole portfolio of claims."

Bryan Harries joins ISO from PMSC where he was Senior Business Analyst and worked on the initial development of COA. ISO acquired COA from Mynd Corp. (formerly PMSC) in December 2000. Before that Bryan Harries was at Norwich Union, where he was a Team Leader for personal injury claims and part of the project management team responsible for the implementation of a company-wide insurance software system.

Simon Bradshaw also joins ISO from PMSC where he was a Business Analyst. Before that, he was at National Insurance and Guarantee Corporation's (NIG) Technical Claims Unit, where he worked as a personal injury claims handler and was also responsible for developing the company's archiving systems and implementing changes in claims handling processes following the Woolf reforms.

About COA

COA is the industry's first object-based solution to enable the complete management of personal injury claims portfolios. COA understands the severity and recovery implications of over 20,000 medical conditions, including injuries, treatments, complications and pre-existing conditions, and 14,000 occupations. 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 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

Insurance Services Office Inc., (ISO) is a leading provider of insurance claims services and information about property and liability risk. ISO provides statistical, actuarial, underwriting and claims information and analysis; consulting and technical services; policy language; and information about specific locations for a broad section of commercial and personal lines of insurance. In the United States and around the world, ISO serves insurers and reinsurers, as well as agents, brokers, self insurers, risk managers, insurance regulators, and other government agencies.

For more information please contact:

David Smart, ISO
Tel: 01252 761351
dsmart@iso.com

Philip Szomszor, IBA
Tel: 01780 721433
Pszomszor@iba-europe.com

If you would like to receive this release via e-mail, please contact ISO@iba-europe.com

Release: Immediate

Contacts:
Giuseppe Barone / Erica Helton
MWW Group (for ISO)
201-507-9500
gbarone@mww.com / ehelton@mww.com