The Belgian insurer Argenta Assurances, a subsidiary of the Argenta Bank and Insurance Group, will outsource the claims management of its Motor Vehicles, Fire and Third-Party Insurance portfolio to Van Ameyde Belgium. After having signed the Letter of Intent in March, the final agreement was signed on 15 July 2010.

The Claims Department will be incorporated in Van Ameyde Services Belgium in Q4 of 2010.The transfer will not have any consequences for employment levels within the department. The project involves 25 employees.

background information Argenta
Argenta is a bank and insurance Group, providing its services in Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. Its clients are families and self-employed, to whom Argenta offers savings and investment products, credit and Insurance. Argenta’s branches are predominantly independent and Argenta fosters the lifelong relationship with the branch proprietors – some of which date back to the second or third generation. Argenta boasts a clientèle of approx. 1.2 million.

motivation
John Heller, Chairman of the Board of Argenta Assuranties, summarises the reasons for cooperation, “Argenta’s operations have long been lean and efficient, which is beneficial to its clients. In the area of claims management related to its insurance activities, Argenta wishes to achieve structural operational improvements. We will accede to the RDR convention – this is the agreement between Belgian insurers regarding the direct payment of damages to victims of traffic accidents – before the end of the year. RDR ensures faster settlement of claims. Our independent branch proprietors will also benefit from these improvements as their administrive burden will be reduced considerably thanks to the superb ICT support of the entire claims management process. If a partner such as Van Ameyde can organise the process better, we opt for outsourcing. Every insurer knows that a claim is the moment of truth in the relationship with the insured and Argenta intends to be a winner in this field.”

Jan Van Rooy, Managing Director of Van Ameyde Belgium, says, “We are very pleased to be supporting Argenta in the expansion of its insurance activities. We at Van Ameyde embrace efficiency and quality, placing our unrivalled IT platform ECHO at the disposal of our clients to provide customer-friendly claims management. Van Ameyde Services Belgium’s main objectives are reducing the claims cycle time, offering quality services to Argenta’s clients, intensive communication with and provision of information to Argenta’s branch managers. We are convinced that Argenta and Van Ameyde can jointly introduce an innovative approach of claims management to the Belgian market.”

photograph: Argenta and Van Ameyde Belgium put their backs into claims management, symbolised by Corry Ammerlaan-van Niekerk's 'getting it off the ground' in glass and bronze