“There is more to being a TPA than handling claims,”
says Francine Lagna-Fietta, Crawford’s recently appointed Head of Strategic Client Management for Crawford TPA; calling on claims handlers to “shout from the rooftops” about the wide range of solutions on offer through the Crawford network.
Francine joined Crawford in June 2021 having spent nearly 20 years in the TPA business with Gallagher Bassett – most recently managing relationships with a variety of large and complex clients as Gallagher’s client services director.
She now oversees the strategic direction for Crawford’s TPA client relationships with carriers, MGAs, brokers, and corporates – a vital role given the rapid pace of change in the market, from the adoption of new technology to the continued evolution of customer needs.
“My focus is not simply to keep our clients happy right now, but to ensure we are continuously evolving our service in order to create solid long-lasting partnerships,” Francine says.
One of her first objectives has been to gather data on clients to identify how Crawford currently serves them and where opportunities may exist to leverage other solutions from across Crawford.
“We can offer clients so much more than just the TPA service,” she says. “We need to showcase any Crawford solutions clients may not be aware of and explore where there are untapped opportunities to strengthen our partnerships over the long term. That includes working in collaboration with other business units from across the global network – not just the UK – to design and deliver holistic solutions,” she adds. “When a global client joins Crawford, they should feel like they're talking to one global Crawford.”
As well as managing relationships, Francine’s expertise also lies in management information and data visualisation; harnessing the data from insurers and claimants to help clients predict future claims trends and better understand and mitigate their exposures.
“Our ability to capture accurate data, visualise current performance and predict future patterns is vital and something we at Crawford are continuously investing in,”
she explains.
From helping optimise solution design to streamlining and bringing more efficiency to customer journeys, data analytics and tools such as AI and machine learning are playing an ever-growing role in the TPA offering. Francine insists, however, that human expertise remains a vital component as good claims management demands an omni-channel approach.
“There are so many ways to deliver successful outcomes,” she says. “Our focus remains on supporting our clients with an expert claims handling service delivered by experienced claim adjusters. I don’t believe that will ever change.”
Despite spending nearly two decades at Gallagher Bassett, Francine says the decision to leave to join Crawford was an easy one as she could see the business had a clearly defined direction and strong leadership.
“I met so many people along the recruitment process that gave me confidence this is a great place to work and that I could contribute to the company’s growth,” she says. “ In my role, every day is different. That’s why I love it. We have great clients, many of whom are disrupting the market. It’s exciting to be on this journey with them.”
You can meet Francine at the forthcoming Airmic Conference and Exhibition, to arrange a meeting just email Francine.Fietta@broadspiretpa.co.uk
