Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 60

EDITORIAL BOARD
Safeguarding the
Future at SYNETIQ
As a vehicle recycler that provides a
responsive service to clients during a
catastrophe, we understand just how difficult
preparing for potential events can be. There’s
simply no way to predict how they will unfold.
Monitoring, learning and adapting from past events can provide an
element of preparation for future catastrophes, but with only 8% of
large business currently monitoring climate-related risks 1 , there’s still
some way to go in building quality results to help.
We experience an increase in vehicle volumes each winter, a common
time for catastrophe events, and being aware of this does help us to
enter preparation-mode as we approach the colder months. During
this season, we monitor weather changes and plan our resources
accordingly so we’re never on the backfoot.
Having a consistent and honest line of communication with our
clients has been a vital tool in our ‘catastrophe event toolkit’. Being
aware of their vehicle volumes gives us the chance to plan and direct
our resources; only by working together can we ensure the claims
process continues unaffected. We reflect on successes as well as
lessons learned, using this to plan for future events as a team.
We don’t overlook the fact that policyholders are at the very heart of
a claim. We’ve all been in their shoes; we want the claims process to
be as smooth and pain-free as possible. Our colleagues are trained to
work with policyholders, acting as a helpful resource during what can
be an extremely stressful time.
The insurance landscape as a whole is ever-evolving, and we need to
be ever-adapting as a result. Within the vehicle recycling industry, it’s
all-hands-on-deck to look into the safe disposal and recycling of EV
batteries. We’re also conscious that the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel
vehicles is creeping ever closer. We need to prepare ourselves for an
increase in claims relating to EV vehicles at all times of the year, not
just during a catastrophic event.
At SYNETIQ, we’re working with OEMs and risk intelligence specialist,
Thatcham Research, in order to look at solutions and bring a recycling
solution to the industry.
Assessing climate risk isn’t isolated to the insurance industry, and
it’s certainly not our issue to face alone. The UK Government has
already called for large businesses to step up in their monitoring and
reporting of such risks. From April 2022, it has become mandatory for
large businesses to report climate-related risks to the Task Force on
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, with the aim of increasing the
quantity and quality of climate-related reporting across the business
community 2 . This cross-industry approach of working together truly
is the way forward to successfully tackle whatever climate challenges
could come our way.
Tom Rumboll,
Chief Executive Officer, SYNETIQ Solutions
1
ONS Business Insight and Conditions Survey (2022)
2
www.gov.uk
‘GROW’ at EDAM Group
We’ve all had an interesting couple of years,
faced with challenges that could not have been
foreseen, learning lessons about ourselves
and what is important in our lives. This has
also been a challenging time for business, not
just in terms of survival but also in terms of
maintaining people, our greatest asset.
Investment in a People Strategy has never been more integral to the
success of a business - not just to survive, but to thrive. The strategy
must provide clarity of purpose, strong leadership, and personal
growth. It must be holistic and take account of the employee at a
personal level. Do you see a nameless claims handler, or do you see
John, an expert communicator with ambitions to become the next
Team Leader?
At EDAM, we know every member of our team, their story so far
and what they want their next chapter to be. We are also committed
to understanding and providing the support needed to make that
their reality.
In late 2022, after extensive collaboration with our team, we launched
our new performance management model ‘GROW’. ‘GROW‘ ensures
that we possess clarity on our ‘Goals’, get ‘Recognised’ for our
contributions and support ‘Opportunities’ for personal growth, all
whilst taking good care of our ‘Wellbeing’.
To further support this initiative, we launched our Learning Hub
and issued each employee with at least 2 ‘GROW’ hours per month,
which can be used as the individual sees fit. Through ‘GROW’ and the
Learning Hub, we can unlock and support the potential of our people.
We also host an array of development opportunities, such as
shadowing placements offering the opportunity to explore and
understand more about another team. Other options include
Leadership Development, Secondments, Technical Training, Skills
Training, wellbeing activities and volunteering opportunities.
The Learning Hub is ‘For You, By You’, and the results speak for
themselves. 10% of our team have moved to another role or have
been promoted within EDAM to start their next chapter, including two
members of our Leadership team who have since been promoted
into Senior Leadership roles. We have received around 850 Learning
Hub requests and have issued over 1,000 ‘GROW’ hours to our team
in the last six months. Last but not least, we are very proud that our
employee turnover is now at an all time low, significantly below that
of the wider industry benchmark.
Clare Charity,
Group Learning and Development Manager, EDAM Group
MODERN INSURANCE | 21