Willis Rolls Out New ‘Quality Index®’

In a move it describes as taking the “price and prejudice” out of clients’ insurance decisions, Willis Group Holdings has launched a new “Quality Index” for its global clients.

Chairman and CEO Joe Plumeri touted the new service as the “the ultimate insurance buyer’s guide.” It aims to provide benchmarks for “carriers on their performance in underwriting, policy administration, claims and service activities.”

“Willis is committed to placing its clients’ business with those carriers who best meet their needs,” Plumeri added. “The Willis Quality Index has been designed to enhance both our and our clients’ ability to make more informed decisions.”

Willis said that in phase one of the project, it “will share the Willis Quality Index reports with insurers to help raise industry standards and service levels for clients. During phase two, in early 2008, Willis Quality Index data benchmarking relative performance of carriers in specific sectors will be shared with clients to help them in their market selection.”

The quantitative data used in the Willis Quality Index is derived from “a range of internal Willis systems, while the qualitative data was captured by two global carrier evaluation surveys.”

The survey was completed in July 2007 by over 2,700 Willis employees. The key findings include the following:
— Insurers performed best in underwriting and claims, while the poorest performance was in the area of policy administration, which is particularly surprising in the UK where this category is subject to intense regulatory interest.
— Specialist carriers are perceived as offering a superior level of all-round service to Willis and its clients as opposed to carriers with more general product lines.
— There is evidence of a huge variation in the service experienced by region. Employees in North America indicate more favorable views of their markets than other Willis retail offices worldwide.

For too long now, clients have been basing their insurance decisions on ‘price and prejudice’ – who’s going to give me the best deal and who do I like doing business with?” Plumeri continued. “The Willis Quality Index will help our clients take the guesswork out of selecting carriers. We will customize the Index based on our clients’ individual priorities and will identify those carriers that best meet their needs on a risk by risk basis.”

He emphasized the importance of selecting “partners based on superior performance and financial strength,” which the Willis index is designed to do.

The Willis Quality Index report summary and an information brochure on the Willis Quality Index can both be found at: http://www.willis.com/Extras/Publications.aspx

Source: Willis – www.willis.com.

Topics Carriers