Markel International plans to grow its claims team in Australia in a bid to build on its progress since launching here in 2023.

“Our Australian office has had a quite monumental past couple of years in the sense of its presence and growth and the opportunities we see coming,” international claims MD Chris O’Shea told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“We’ve got multiple products, leading products out there right now. We will continue to develop those products and grow some new product lines, potentially new target areas within the Australian market.

“The claims team and expertise will grow hand in hand with the underwriting business.”

Mr O’Shea, who is based in London, spoke while visiting the Australian team and business partners including brokers.

He says Markel’s “local empowerment” model, in which each market has a claims team, is a key differentiator for the specialty insurer.

“It’s, what more can we all do to deliver the best for the client? There’s a level of expectation,” Mr O’Shea said.  

“What they’re really after is specialised, technical expertise … which is exactly why we go down the model of a local claims empowerment approach.

“We don’t want authority and strategic decision-making by a panel or committee back in London, we drive that message locally.”

Claims inflation is still a challenge, Mr O’Shea says.

“We have felt it over the past few years, and I think that’s here to stay. What we hope is that it doesn’t continue to trend in that direction.

“We need to manage accordingly. So the key here is understanding the client.”

Australian head of claims Lisa Mitchell says the business has a “proactive” mindset around supporting clients.

“With respect to claims costs, yes these are increasing and identifying the underlying factors and the progression is important,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “It also underpins our approach of proactive speciality claims handling and, where the need arises, engaging specialist third parties.

“We focus on understanding the claim when it is made and taking steps to try to resolve at an early stage to help minimise claims cost.”

She says new Australian legislation such as mandatory climate reporting frameworks, privacy reforms and greenwashing laws “may well lead to claims which are not currently within the portfolio mix.

“Staying informed on the changing regulation and understanding how this may impact our clients and the types of claims we may see is vital.

“This is coupled with ensuring we have experienced specialist claims handlers who are able and empowered to adapt to any ‘new’ claims.”