Claims Zone

Meet the team
Elina Arter joined Hiscox in September 2005. As Professional Indemnity Claims Manager, she manages a team of three people, who have more than 33 years of combined claims handling experience. Elina (below) deals with the day-to-day management of PI claims and all technical referrals from her team, as well as looking at the bigger picture, determining how the team can be more efficient and how they can ensure that exceptional service is consistently provided to their clients.

Q: Why do you think a good claims service is so important?
Elina: It’s the real ‘shop window’ for Hiscox, and is the only time that our products and services are truly put to the test. For our policyholders, providing an exceptional claims service is often fundamentally important to the future success of their business. For example, in a recent IT claim, we gave the policyholder the authority to meet with their client and agree a settlement figure on the spot. This enabled them to maintain their critical client relationship.

Q: What makes the Hiscox claims service stand out from the crowd?
Elina: Our claims service is fair, it has integrity and it’s imaginative – we try to think outside the box when resolving a claim. We only recruit people with the necessary expertise to offer this service, whether they’re qualified solicitors, legal executives or law graduates. All our staff are required to undertake further study and training, including passing the ACII exams. This distinguishes us and our claims service from the majority of other insurers.

Q: What do you like most about working at Hiscox?
Elina: Hiscox is dynamic, challenging and forever changing. We really try to move with the times. There is certainly no time to sit back – I am always being challenged and developing skills in new areas. I very much enjoy the interaction with the rest of the business and, in particular, working closely with underwriters to try to make Hiscox an even more successful and profitable business.

Q: What did you do in your past life?
Elina: Before joining Hiscox, I was a qualified solicitor in a private legal practice in the City. My experience in insurance law gave me invaluable experience in dealing with a broad range of claims against professionals. Prior to that, as a teenager I was a member of the England swimming team – I took fourth place in the 1994 World Cup. I have since retired gracefully!

We’re here when you need us

Sorry, wrong number!
How a slip of the fingers nearly cost one Commercial client thousands
When a car insurance company hired an agency to produce some newspaper ads for them, they weren’t counting on handing new business to their bitterest rival. Due to a mix-up at the advertising agency, when people called the phone number in the ad to get a quote on their car insurance, they weren’t put in touch with the company who paid for the ads – but with their closest competitor! The phrase “heads will roll” springs to mind, but at least the agency was spared having to pay for the huge cost of running a replacement set of ads. Why? Because they had taken out an errors and omissions policy for media companies – in other words, Hiscox paid.

Relocation, relocation
When a fire at the venue threatened an event, Hiscox got on its bike to sort it out
If you’re hosting an event, you expect to worry about the ice sculpture melting and whether enough people will show up – not whether they have any place to show up to. That’s what happened to one Hiscox client, whose event was taking place at the National Motorcycle Museum. Just before the big day, he got some bad news: the museum had been destroyed in a fire. Panicking, he checked with nearby venues, but they were fully booked. He then turned to Hiscox for help, and we were able to book a space at the Aston Villa football ground, just ten miles away.

Ring leaders
What happened when one Household client decided that love was more important than money
On their golden wedding anniversary, a client’s husband presented her with a beautiful diamond and sapphire ring. When it was stolen some years later, she was devastated – not only was the ring very valuable, it also had great sentimental meaning. So, instead of just giving her the money it was worth, Hiscox decided to go the extra mile. We called on one of our expert loss adjusters and some contacts in the jewellery trade, who sourced some equivalent gemstones from overseas and then had another ring custom-made to match the original. The result? Our client was over the moon – to her, the ring represented so much more than the money it was worth.

For further examples of claims triumphs and tragedies,
visit www.hiscox.com/doccentre

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