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E&Y studies strategies in UK     (Copyright Thompson’s World Insurance News.     The industry in the UK could save up to £1bn a year by developing an effective claims strategy and ensuring a robust execution of these plans.     That’s according to new research from the UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute and Ernst & Young. It surveyed 36 senior claims leaders, collectively managing 78% of the UK’s £41bn claims expenditure, along with more than 700 members of the CII’s claims faculty. Respondents identified increased indemnity costs, regulatory pressures and operational costs as the top three issues having the greatest impact from the financial crisis. The results identified mixed opinion around the representation of claims within the business: 40% of interviewees believed an improvement was needed to the attention paid to claims in the boardroom. At the same time, 43% of senior claims executives said they reported directly to the chief executive officer. The remainder reported either to the chief underwriting officer (16%), the chief operating officer (16%) or another business unit head (20%). Half of the respondents said claims were not fully involved in company strategy development. “For too long claims has been the Cinderella function of insurance companies, which seems odd given it controls the largest spend in any insurance company,” said Imran Ahmed, head of claims advisory for Ernst & Young LLP. “Our research identifies a real opportunity to turn this around, particularly as boardroom pressures in the current environment continue to bear down on managing costs. Key to claims transformation is the development and articulation of a strong business strategy and the ability to execute.”     More in our April 5, 2010 edition        Thompson’s World Insurance News P.O. Box 1027,  Waterloo, Ontario,  Canada  N2J 4S1 Tel: 519-579-2500 Fax: 519-745-7321 mpub@sympatico.ca THOMPSON’S WORLD INSURANCE NEWS , Canada’s only independent weekly for p&c insurance professionals, has been the industry’s most trusted news source since 1988.