CRIF partners with Crawford to streamline insurance claims process for UK businesses

A new partnership between European consumer and business credit information provider CRIF and claims management firm Crawford will deploy Open Banking technology to enable businesses in the UK to make faster claims on their insurance and receive more accurate payouts.

Typically, gathering, analysing and submitting the appropriate evidence and documentation to make an insurance claim can take businesses hours or days, and the same businesses can also face delays when waiting for an insurance payout, leading to cash flow issues, operational disruption and, in some instances, debt.

CRIF cited data from EY which found that 87% of policyholders say the claims experience impacts their loyalty to insurers.

CRIF’s Open Banking technology means that businesses making a claim through Crawford can now securely connect their bank account as part of the process, and in doing so, enable real-time categorisation and analysis of income, expenditure, and other KPIs, reducing the claims management process by 30%.

CRIF’s Sara Costantini

Sara Costantini, CRIF’s regional director for the UK & Ireland, said: “CRIF believes that insurers would benefit from the adoption of new solutions to optimise their customer journey, streamlining claims management and ensuring fast, accurate payouts.

“CRIF’s partnership with Crawford leverages Open Banking to unlock better-informed decisions surrounding payouts.”

She added: “It’s fantastic to be making such an important step forward in the sector, while enabling more insurers to get quick and accurate decisions by streamlining their internal processes.”

Angus Osborne-White, director of forensic accountancy services at Crawford, called managing the process of business interruption claims “long, complex and time-consuming”.

He said: “Not only does this demand significant internal resources, but crucially it also holds up businesses from receiving the payouts that they often are desperately in need of.

“The recent adoption of CRIF’s Open Banking technology is not only significantly streamlining this process, but simplifying it.”

Further reading: CRIF forms strategic partnership with Ozone API