Modern Insurance Magazine recently sat down with Alistair Steward, Director at QuestGates, to welcome him (and the wider team!) to the esteemed Editorial Board of industry experts.

Q. Tell us about your role at your firm. What do you do, and what do you find most interesting about it?

A. I’m a Director at QuestGates, with responsibility for business development. Essentially, I lead our business development and client relationship teams and oversee our growth strategy. My key focus is on how we maintain close and transparent existing client relationships, uncovering new clients and markets while also helping to identify new services to keep us future proofed, all without straying too far from our core offering. Of course, as a main board director I also contribute to the wider aspects of running a loss adjusting and claims solutions business.

I joined the main board of QuestGates in 2007, having started with the business the year before. Until then, I hadn’t stayed in the same role for more than three years – a mixture of ambition and impatience probably getting in the way – yet here I am now, having just celebrated 18 years in the same role!

The thing is, my role is so varied; there’s always something new to get involved with, and there has never been time for stagnation to set in. Crucially for me, the role is very people focused and I think that’s what I’m (and loss adjusters in general) are all about!

Q. What are the challenges facing your business right now, and how are you working to overcome them?

A. QuestGates has achieved so much since entering the market just over 20 years ago, yet we know there is more we can do to improve the service we provide. By maintaining regular dialogue with our clients, we have the opportunity to continually review our understanding of what ‘good’ looks like in their eyes, and one of their key recurring themes remains the need to reduce the time it takes to settle a claim. By achieving this, we are likely to improve customer satisfaction alongside a lower indemnity spend – nirvana.

QuestGates is known for working in the more complex and higher value arena where claims can naturally take months and, in some cases, years to conclude – but that doesn’t mean we are absolved from looking to improve our settlement times. Quite the opposite. Technology, AI, machine learning and robotics are probably some of the most used words in insurance conference sessions during 2024, and so they should be. While I will always advocate for human interaction in the claims process, using the latest in technology as an enabler to improve efficiency and ultimately reduce settlement times is a key focus for us in 2025.

Some of the robotics-based process improvement initiatives we are testing currently will significantly improve our settlement times – and in the real world, of course this means getting families back in their homes quicker and businesses remaining closed for a shorter period following a major claim.

Like most businesses, we currently operate in an environment where costs are increasing and regular price rises are not guaranteed. As such, a focus on reduced settlement times, process efficiency and improved productivity has to be high on the agenda in 2025.

Q. If you could go back to the start of your professional career, knowing what you know now, what piece of advice would you give to yourself?

A. Believe in yourself, yet welcome criticism. Stay positive – keep clear of the negative crowd. Work hard but make time for fun!

Q. What would be your key prediction/s for the industry in 2025 and beyond?

A. Many have rightly said claims are the shop window of insurance, and with work being done to improve the customer journey, we have a great opportunity to enhance our collective reputation. But will we grasp it?

2025 is likely to bring further consolidation through insurer merger/acquisition activity, and this will inevitably put pressure on service delivery as culture, systems and management structures change. At the same time, climate change is bringing more regular significant weather events to the UK, so there is also a real risk that, despite the improved use of technology and process efficiencies by many, the industry may actually take a step backwards in service before it can move forward…

Q. What made you want to work in this sector?

A. That’s simple – the company car, and what looked from the outside as a life of freedom without being chained to a desk! Looking back though, that freedom comes at a price. In my experience, successful loss adjusters accept they will work long and unsociable hours; they must be able to display empathy and positivity with a business owner, policyholder or claimant who has just experienced a very bad day, and then retain that positivity upon arriving home in the evening!

It’s not a life for everyone, but those of us who have lived it know we’ve met many interesting people on the way, and we’ve done our best to make the claims process a positive one for the insuring customer.

Q. What has been your most significant or proudest achievement in your current role so far?

A. That’s an easy one as it only happened this year! Many will know that in September 2024 we concluded a process to take on a minority investment from the private equity firm, Equistone. The arrangement helps place QuestGates in an ideal position for the next phase of our development, but two things really stood out that filled the existing directors with immense pride. Firstly, hearing just how highly regarded our business is from feedback provided by clients during the referencing process was incredibly gratifying. Secondly, witnessing the reaction of shareholders (who are all employees of QuestGates) on hearing the financial benefit they were to receive because of the investment, bearing in mind some purchased shares many years ago with little expectation of a return. Their positivity and support throughout serves as yet another reminder to me of what a privilege it is to work alongside a very special group of people.

Find out more about QuestGates by visiting their website.