Five UK General staff are set to be affected after the underwriting agency signed an outsourcing agreement with Direct Group.
Under the terms, Direct Group will take responsibility for processing non-complex commercial and motor claims. This equates to around 3000 claims a year.
Michael Warren, UK General chief operating officer, told Post that the staff impacted are claims handlers who currently work in Manchester. Under the terms of the agreement they will be offered relocation under transfer of undertakings regulations.
He added: "This is about each organisation doing what it does best. We know that Direct Group is a claims specialist and our experience of them has been good. It is a cost-effective solution, and the policyholder will get a better outcome."
Mr Warren said he believed the employees that decide to move will benefit because they are joining a larger organisation from a claims perspective: "There are far more opportunities there than within a relatively small claims team in an organisation like ours. Geography always plays a part in whether individuals are able to practically move from Manchester to Halifax. It will depend on their individual circumstances and that is what they are all considering now as part of the consultation."
The consultation period started on 18 May and will last for one month.
Mr Warren concluded by reiterating UK General is not looking for a new CEO to replace Tim Rolfe who left the group in March, continuing with Howard Posner as executive chairman.
Direct Group is pleased to announce its appointment as Administrator to handle the policy and claims administration on the Hamilton Insurance contract that was acquired in November 2007 by Norwich Union. The deal involves the transfer to Direct Group of over 300,000 policies. Direct Group will provide services including run-off on the range of insurance lines that Hamilton currently offer, including household, creditor and personal accident.
Derek Coles, Chief Executive Officer of Direct Group, commented “This is a prestigious contract for Direct Group which reinforces the successful and long term working relationship we continue to have with Norwich Union. Furthermore it demonstrates Direct Group’s ability to handle scale and capacity, illustrating to the market that we can implement and deliver business projects of this size and nature.”
Direct Group announces that it has been appointed as Claims Administrator for a new Payment Protection Insurance product recently launched by a major financial institution. This new product offers the customer the flexibility and choice of mixing and matching cover to reach a level of protection that meets their needs.
Direct Group will provide a specialist claims administration service on behalf of the client which provides the customer with a high quality service in the unfortunate event of a claim.
Derek Coles, Chief Executive Officer, commented “As a Managing General Agent, Direct Group have the flexibility of providing clients with a ‘one-stop’ solution for all services or alternatively, as in this case, providing only a certain range of services to meet their needs. This allows the client to concentrate and focus on developing other areas of their business”.
Direct Group is delighted to announce that its recently formed Property Claims & Administration Service has been selected for a five year contract as the sole provider of a completely outsourced schemes solution to Royal & SunAlliance.
The scheme will deliver a completely web enabled solution to incorporate premium collection, policy administration and claims handling for a number of Royal and SunAlliance schemes including tenants’ and students’ contents and right to buy.
Derek Coles, Managing Director, Direct Group, said “Direct Group is delighted to have been selected by Royal & SunAlliance following a rigorous and competitive tender process that sought to identify a partner that met Royal & SunAlliance’s requirements for innovation and high standards of service delivery and performance.”
Derek added “Direct Group Property Services has delivered rapid growth since its launch and the move into property complements our unique position in the partnerships marketplace. Our expertise as an MGA gives us an enviable legacy of investment in our core operating systems and supporting infrastructure. As a result, we are able to deliver, at speed, a wide range of tailored insurance solutions to our partners through a wide range of insurance relationships.”
