Two‑thirds of brokers say communication technology is underused in claims – Direct Commercial

Two-thirds (68%) of brokers say many providers are not fully utilising technology to streamline claims, directly leading to drags on communication effectiveness.

This is according to Direct Comercial Limited’s (DCL) latest Broker Barometer, which also revealed that while a majority of brokers still reported rising claims costs, only 78% said costs were up this quarter, in comparison to 91% at the same time last year. 

Despite this drop in reports of increased claims costs, challenges remain in technology adoption across the sector and perceptions about the effectiveness of carrier communications have been negatively impacted. 

Across the market at large, the barometer revealed that 85% of brokers are most frustrated with communication. This was followed by 69% of brokers most frustrated by delays to settlement and nearly half (46%) by limited data transparency. 

The brokers’ feedback highlighted that communication suffers when technology is underused or fragmented and, as a result, updates are slow, information gaps appear and settlements take longer.

‘Unambigious’ data 

The DCL Broker Barometer was carried out by Context Skythorn and polled 60 UK brokers involved in the commercial motor markets between two tranches – from 21 October 2024 to 6 January 2025 and from 6 June 2025 to 25 July 2025.

Carl Cripps, claims director at DCL, said: “The numbers are unambiguous and market-wide – 85% cite communication as the biggest frustration and 68% point to poor tech utilisation behind it.

”Our focus at DCL is joining the dots – straightforward, face to face communication underpinned by the right tools. Through our broker portal and quarterly in-person claims review meetings with brokers and policyholders, we make progress easy to track, expectations clear and escalation simple.

“We’ve focused on raising the day-to-day experience for years and it remains a core priority, regardless of where cost trends sit.”