06 August 2004 – Markel International, the specialty property and casualty insurer, has become the first major insurer to sign up to the Kinnect Platform since the initial launch group was formed last year. Markel has also made arrangements with Marsh and Willis to allow all of their US North American property business with the two brokers to be handled through the Kinnect Platform.
User trials with the two brokers are now under way with plans for Markel’s involvement to go live by the end of August.
Gerry Albanese, President and Chief Operating Officer of Markel International, commented: “We see substantial benefits in terms of improved contract certainty and in the future in the early notification that Kinnect will give us of our signed line exposure. We will be working closely with Kinnect to develop ways to receive the standard, structured risk data that is so fundamental to the insurance process but which, at the moment, is laboriously entered and re-entered by brokers and underwriters. We will also be working with Kinnect to broaden the usability of the platform.”
Together with Kinnect and other users of the platform, Markel International will work to identify other classes of business that can best benefit from the efficiencies that Kinnect offers the market.
Toby Davies, Chief Executive of Kinnect said: “I am delighted to welcome Markel to Kinnect. Our shared challenge is to achieve faster, more accurate transfer of risk data to support the placement process with locked down contractual terms. Markel’s commitment to Kinnect will create additional momentum towards that goal.”
Gerry Albanese added: “Reducing administration in the insurance process increases its efficiency and is a fundamental way to improve underwriting performance. This is good for Markel and for the market as a whole. Kinnect offers us and its other users real benefits now and these will multiply as more and more market players start to use the platform”
