Claims administrator Gallagher Bassett recently announced its acquisition of Fullerton Health Corporate Services, a company specialising in claims management in the accident and health space. The teams are currently in the process of integrating, and, according to Gallagher, the process will significantly strengthen its capabilities in the claims management space.
Gallagher Bassett’s chief client officer, Stacey Williams, says that efficiency in claims administration has long been an ongoing challenge for insurers, and this combination of teams will bring together two different sets of expertise to great effect.
“Gallagher Bassett has been operating in the accident and health space for some time, and Fullerton is very well established in that area,” Williams explained.
“From our perspective, the acquisition has really bolstered both our capability and scale, and also our best practices when it comes to accident and health.”
“Part of this process has been looking at what the Fullerton team does, and combining that with our processes to form the best solution for clients,” she explained. “We’ve now combined our accident and health expertise into one business unit at Gallagher Bassett, so we now have the best of both worlds under one umbrella.”
Williams says the accident and health space is developing rapidly, and part of the new approach will involve focusing with greater depth on injury management and earlier intervention. She says insurers have also had to deal with an increasing emergence of claims involving mental health – a relatively new area for this sector, and one that it is going to have to grasp very quickly.
“We’re really looking at how we can combine a personal injury claims management approach to accident and health,” Williams explained.
“A more enhanced injury management and early intervention focus is where we see the biggest opportunities, so we’re combining our workers’ compensation and personal injury experience with the expertise of accident and health, and seeing what outcomes we can deliver in that industry.
“It’s a balance between efficiency and complex claims management, and getting that balance right is an ongoing priority.”
