Special Section sponsored by

VENDORS

Crawford & Company

Key services: claims services, business process outsourcing, and consulting

Crawford & Company is synonymous with property claims administration. Of course, the company handles those kinds of claims—and plenty of them. But it also does a whole lot more. To demonstrate the range of offerings, the firm recently unveiled The Crawford System of Claims SolutionsSM, which it describes as “the most comprehensive, global, integrated solution for all corporate, insurer and reinsurer claims administration.”

According to Jeffrey T. Bowman, FCCA, company president and CEO, The SystemSM is a resource locator, if you will, that grew out of an intensive strategic planning process encompassing all of the organization’s operations. “We have traditionally been viewed largely as a property claims operation,” he explains. “But we are much bigger and have many more products than that.

“We serve more than 100 classes of business,” adds Bowman, who also serves on the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and the Insurance Institute of America board of trustees. “The System lets us present ourselves in the three ways we engage clients—claims solutions, business process outsourcing and consultancy.”

Claims services encompasses property claims adjusting, of course, but also accident and health, financial risks, liability, marine and aviation, auto, recovery, and workers compensation/employer’s liability. Business process outsourcing includes claims administration, legal settlement, managed property repair, medical management, product warranty and third-party administration. Among the consulting offerings are absence management, audit, counter fraud services, data services, educational services, global programs, and pre- and post-loss services.

“From a market point of view, in the U.S., we have the largest share of claims, outside of what insurance carriers hold themselves,” Bowman explains. “That is the same on a global basis, as well.” Among the firm’s more unique assignments is its handling of a major auto manufacturing company’s claims under its Chapter 11 reorganization.

A key Crawford focus involves program administrators. In the U.S., it serves a number of the managing general agents (MGA), including many from the London market, where the company has strong connections with syndicates and carriers. “We bring into the U.S. the claims handling the London market requires,” Bowman notes.

Among its clients is the U.K. insurer Brit, with a significant number of MGA programs in the United States. “We have a hub in Atlanta, which has both Brit and Crawford staff,” Bowman notes. “We handle full servicing for Brit to comply with the Financial Services Authority regulations. They have one point of reporting back to the U.K., no matter what their MGA program is.” On some Brit programs, Crawford handles claims adjusting and administration. On others, it just does administration, with other adjusters reporting into the program.

Crawford employs a technology solution that lets it provide detailed information to carriers and audit information from the claims handling process. “We can take it through our overall process,” Bowman notes, which involves desktop handling, on-site claims review and referral through Crawford Contractor ConnectionSM to any of more than 2,500 contractors who can quickly handle repairs and mitigate losses. “We are able to go in and effectively work with clients to ensure they get data efficiently—professionally delivered in a way that meets their individual requirements.”

Besides advanced technology, Bowman cites the firm’s people and their expertise, along with its broad geographical footprint, as key competitive strengths. “We have more than 300 locations in the U.S.,” he explains. “We’re also passionate about training and education, and offer extensive courses both online and in the classroom for our staff and others.”

The Target Markets Program Administrators Association represents an ideal venue for Crawford to connect with many of its clients at one time, Bowman notes. “It’s a great fit,” he explains. “It’s an opportunity for us to showcase our capabilities, especially our business process outsourcing offerings, to a range of clients and prospects, as we unveil The Crawford System of Claims SolutionsSM.”