Paul Gravatt on Turning Claims Friction Into £400k Client Impact

Paul Gravatt on Turning Claims Friction Into £400k Client Impact

Key highlights

• Delivered ~£400,000 cash inflow within 3 months through improved claims processes
• Achieved ~£50,000 (6%) cost savings despite contract limitations
• Implemented new claims reporting systems and risk technology across vehicle fleet

Paul Gravatt joined ERA Group during the height of lockdown in 2020 and is based in Essex, UK. His work focuses on helping organisations understand and improve the way they manage insurance, risk, and claims processes, often by looking far beyond headline premiums.

One of his key client engagements involved a long-established 100-year-old builders’ merchant that was experiencing growing frustration with its insurance arrangements. Although the business was well established, it was not seeing satisfactory outcomes when it came to claims handling and risk management.

Paul was first introduced to the client just 48 hours before their insurance renewal deadline. With very limited time, he quickly assessed the situation and proposed a strategy. While the client did not implement it immediately due to timing constraints, they agreed to revisit the discussion.

Nine months later, when Paul returned, it became clear that the underlying issues were even more significant than initially understood. A major incident involving fire damage had exposed serious weaknesses in how claims were being managed, including delays and a lack of effective recovery from insurers.

As Paul explains, “they weren’t getting a penny back because the claims process simply wasn’t working in their favour.”

To address this, he first focused on understanding the business in depth—how it operated, how risk was managed, and where operational weaknesses were creating financial exposure. Only then did he begin restructuring the claims and insurance process.

A key change involved redesigning how claims were reported and handled, including moving to a broker-led in-house claims management system with a rapid response turnaround. In parallel, the team introduced a claims reporting app and trialled new risk technology across the client’s vehicle fleet to improve driver behaviour and reduce future exposure.

These changes quickly delivered results. Within three months, previously uncollected claims generated approximately £400,000 in recovered value for the client.

As Paul puts it, “the biggest value wasn’t just savings—it was getting claims paid that hadn’t been paid before.”

Although contractual constraints limited immediate premium reductions, the improvements in process and claims performance delivered both tangible financial impact and a stronger foundation for future savings at renewal.

Over time, the engagement also delivered additional cost savings of around £50,000, with further improvements expected at the next renewal cycle as the enhanced processes take full effect.

For Paul, the work reflects the core value of ERA Group’s model: focusing not just on cost, but on outcomes, accountability, and real-world impact.

As he summarises, “we live or die by the outcomes—we only succeed when the client succeeds.”

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