Axa and referral fees.

mikey72

Wasn't it Axa that took the moral highground and banned referral fees from claim management companies? Not the highground in hindsight. They own the company. So Swiftcover, wholly owned by Axa, now own SIMS. So the insurer can plead losses from the insurance side, the apologists will happily quote these as the reason for increased premiums, and the money stays in the claim management company, that make the profits. Smoke and mirrors, and spin at it's very best. (The reason I found the link, Axa kept redirecting me to the Swiftcover logo'd t&c's) http://newsroom.axa.co.uk/media-releases/2009/swiftcover-brings-claims-operations-in-house/

Spiderham

To be fair to AXA this could be damage claims rather than PI claims handling. As in that prior to 2009 when you had a claim and were insured by Swiftcover they'd outsource it rather than employing their own claims staff.

Looking at http://www.simsclaims.com/ they do appear to be/have been an outsourcing company as opposed to a PI claim Claims Management Company.

InsideInsurance

They are the traditional claims management company - ie they act on behalf of the insurer as an outsourcer and not the ambulance chasing type acting for the claimant.

The fees for using outsourced claims management are not passed on to the defendant in the same way that the inhouse claims management costs arent.

mikey72

If Axa have an in house company, they won't be referring anywhere else, so still no loss of fees to worry about, and SIMS do all the usual ambulance chaser jobs, even if they make it sound more attractive. - Third Party CaptureIf your policyholder is at fault you will want to arrange the repairs and look after the other parties. Our dedicated team provides a focussed approach and ensures great returns. - Personal Injury Legal AspectsWe provide specialist Investigation, Negotiation & Settlement of Personal Injury Claims (including litigation and high-value claims) - Uninsured Loss RecoveryOur dedicated team recover outlay for clients and policyholders alike.http://www.simsclaims.com/services.html

InsideInsurance

Which is what every insurer who does third party direct capture also does... remember the ones you complain about because they dont give impartial advice etc?

mikey72

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Which is what every insurer who does third party direct capture also does... remember the ones you complain about because they dont give impartial advice etc?

Yes, I also said I'm sure other insurers own accident management companies, credit hire companies, etc, and do a very fine accounting job to keep the profits totally separate to the underwriting losses.

InsideInsurance

I am not reading what SIMS do as credit hire etc, direct third party capture would be providing them with a non-credit hire hire car in the same way that an insurer would if they admit fault and can get in before the ambulance chasers.

mikey72

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I am not reading what SIMS do as credit hire etc, direct third party capture would be providing them with a non-credit hire hire car in the same way that an insurer would if they admit fault and can get in before the ambulance chasers.

Yes, non credit hire for third parties (as Axa are paying of course it's not credit hire), and their service for their own clients, - Temporary Hire Sometimes equipment (for example cars) cannot be replaced or repaired quickly enough for individual needs. SIMS Claims Services are able to arrange temporary solutions for most losses. and of course - Personal Injury Legal Aspects We provide specialist Investigation, Negotiation & Settlement of Personal Injury Claims (including litigation and high-value claims)

raskazz

mikey72 wrote: »

SIMS do all the usual ambulance chaser jobs, even if they make it sound more attractive. - Third Party Capture

Er, third party capture is the direct opposite of "Ambulance Chasing". It's insurers of liable first parties trying to capture and manage third party claims by negotiating directly with the claimant - before ambulance chasers get their hands on the claim and start adding legal costs, hire costs, spurious personal injury etc.

Likewise with the personal injury aspect above - "settlement" indicates that they offer an outsourcing option i.e. dealing with third-party claims on behalf of the liable insurer - rather than operating on behalf of a third-party claimant.

And likewise with the temporary hire - a lot of insurers either include as standard, or offer as an option, a like-for-like courtesy car for their policyholders in the event of a damage claim, rather than the small hatchbacks most repairers offer. So SIMS will provide this facility for the insurer.