The claims function should play a bigger role going forward in offering pre-loss activities to clients, says the new COO of Aon Benfield UK, Leonora Siccardi
Claims Media (CM): Congratulations on your appointment as COO of Aon Benfield UK. What are your new responsibilities and what are their synergies with your responsibilities in claims and client services?
Leonora Siccardi: In my new role as Aon Benfield UK COO, I lead and oversee the strategy, development and execution of policy and practice in all operational areas of the UK business. It is my responsibility to ensure that the operational side functions as efficiently as possible, while delivering a high level of service to all business units and to our clients.
I find that there are close synergies between the client services and operations functions. My dual role gives me knowledge of both the back and front side of our operating model, and this is invaluable when helping me to:
- Bring these areas together by increasing cross-collaboration and improving our coordination
- Leverage best practice and expertise so as to introduce a consistent approach to how we engage with our clients
- Use the knowledge I have gained on driving the business to help us define and implement a unified operational platform which supports our growth
In addition, the increased speed of change and the pressure on efficiency provides a great opportunity to improve the way we work, across the different areas of the business, by adopting new technologies while improving the client experience.
To be successful in leading and executing operational and client services change, it is key to demonstrate the value we bring internally and externally and engage with all Aon colleagues. It is important that we empower our colleagues to positively embrace changes and help them understand the operational and regulatory implication so that we can all align on strategy execution. At the end of the day, both roles are about people!
CM: What are your ambitions for 2018?
Siccardi: My ambition is to strategically work with our CEO, leadership team, and each function to build a unified and integrated platform across Aon Benfield UK that keeps the business performing at its peak while driving efficiencies and best practice.
CM: Was 2017 a busy year for Aon Benfield in claims?
Siccardi: In 2017, we saw a high level of claims activity—collecting billions of dollars in claims for clients, a significant proportion of which came from the Q3/Q4 hurricanes and wildfires in the Americas. These events, which included multiple hurricanes, floods, wildfires and earthquakes, truly demonstrated the value of our industry and of our claims service.
In addition, we have seen considerable growth in claims activity emanating from the liability side, including in the pharmaceutical area.
On the facultative book, aside from the natural catastrophe events that defined the second half of the year, we have