What do your files tell you about the knowledge of your advisers, your processes or your service proposition?
Looking for opportunities to reduce risk and business development can have significant impacts on a business's profitability and risk exposure.
Consider your operational resilience
Operational resilience is the ability to prevent, respond to, recover from and learn from disruption.
The disruption caused by Covid-19 has shown why it is critical for businesses to understand the breadth of potential influences to service delivery. Both the regulator and insurers look at operational and financial resilience as a key metric.
A business with little resilience headroom has a far greater likelihood of having to change from its standard approach if put under pressure. Pressure often leads to risks. You should understand how the business would react to different 'what if' scenarios.
Be open about any risks
All businesses have risks, use your PII application as an opportunity to disclose and explain any risks in your business and why these should not be a concern to the insurer. What are you are doing to manage, mitigate or remove them?
It is also prudent to consider which of your products and services could be a cause for concern in the future, even if they are not today.
Prepare for the new consumer duty
The FCA’s consumer duty proposals represent a significant shift in regulatory expectations on how businesses think and act to ensure good outcomes for their clients. It will mean reviewing, evidencing and monitoring how clients’ interests are at the heart of your business.
Unsurprisingly, the consumer duty is already on the PI insurers' radar. Showing how you are on top of regulatory change is a key part of current and future risk management.
Get alternative perspectives
Sometimes you cannot see the wood for the trees. A third party looking at your business is likely to see things you do not.
Many of us are guilty of spending too much time working within the business and not considering how it is perceived from the outside.
Engaging third-party support, and acting on any recommendations made, shows a commitment to investing in the quality of your business.
Build a positive relationship with your insurer
In current PII market conditions with a limited number of insurers, building ongoing relations with your insurer is becoming increasingly important.
Chasing reduced premiums or flitting from insurer to insurer is unlikely to generate goodwill with your insurer, when you may need it in future.
If the industry risk changes or you receive a rare complaint, continuity of relationship shows the insurer that these are blips and not representative of the business as a whole.
