The United Kingdom's risk management association expects insurers' claims service levels to improve as more insurers sign up to its best practices guide.

In his presentation at this year's Assn. of Insurance & Risk Managers annual conference in Bournemouth, England, Paul Hopkin, AIRMIC's technical director, said the association was pleased with insurers' response to the claims best practices guide it published in January. The guide can be used by insurers to produce descriptive reports on their claims-handling capabilities, which risk managers then compare with their claims needs.

Five insurers have filed their final reports, and two more are expected to do so soon, said Mr. Hopkin.

AIRMIC welcomed the commitment to the scheme by its seven insurance member partners and says several nonpartner companies have expressed interest in participating.

The reports filed so far should be very useful to risk managers when selecting insurers, formulating service level agreements, and benchmarking service, Mr. Hopkin said. The initiative should improve claims handling as insurers use the guide to identify areas of weakness and to improve performance, he added.

The association wants insurers to be more explicit when describing their claims culture and philosophy, and more focused on their large commercial claims-handling capabilities. Insurers also should be more forthcoming with legacy systems details.