Interview with Eric Merville, Head of Claims Solutions Department, January 2010

AXA Corporate Solutions formally launched a new claims process called CAPE² that is designed to eradicate much of the delay, cost and legal disputes that can cause so much pain for insureds or third parties following a claim that involves building damage.

AXA Corporate Solutions last year trialled a new property damage claims process called CAPE² in France that it hopes will cut out significant cost and time for all parties involved.

The process involves the rapid creation of a project management team once the claim has occurred to focus on remediation as quickly as possible, explained Eric Merville, Head of Claims Solutions Department. Potential coverage disputes are set aside as the team attempts to get the business up and running as quickly as possible.

The project management team, set up by AXA Corporate Solutions, is composed of the insured, the broker and the relevant experts such as loss adjusters. It agrees the agenda and timetable in a fully transparent way at the first meeting, explained Mr. Merville.

“The insurer does not delegate control and this is important. CAPE² gives transparency to the client because he will be fully aware of the strategy and timescale for the project. The client is comfortable that everything is being handled in the right way,” continued Mr. Merville.

AXA Corporate Solutions said that CAPE² is a dedicated “real-time” e-solutions tool that has been designed and created to allow all parties involved to share the same information, simultaneously.

“The key differentiator is that our AXA CS examiners are not sitting behind a desk. They are flexible and immediately visit the site to take the first measures, for example to establish the validity of the claim, wherever the claims occurr,” added Mr. Merville.

For the repairs, AXA Corporate Solutions is supported by Spie Batignolles, a French major general contractor that is able to provide a range of services from the design to the full reconstruction. Visibility and transparency are key, according to AXA Corporate Solutions.

“There can be grey areas in claims and the opportunity to sit down with the clients quickly enables us to find solutions,” said Mr. Merville. “Usually the process stops until such things are clarified. The benefit of CAPE² is to identify those grey areas and set them aside for discussion, but, at the same time continue to focus on getting the business up and running,” he explained.

CAPE² can be applied to all lines of business but is limited to damage claims to buildings of above €100 000 measured by the value of the building repairs. “In the future we will strive to increase the threshold and extend the concept beyond France,” said Mr. Merville.

Asked why AXA Corporate Solutions is prepared to invest up front in such a service at a time of tight margins for all insurers, Mr. Merville pointed out that the practical savings in terms of consequential claim following a property loss should justify the investment, regardless of the wider benefit of practical assistance offered to a customer at a time of high stress.

Written by Adrian Ladbury, Commercial Risk Europe
Les Rencontres de l’AMRAE, Deauville, January 2010

Commercial Risk Europe