Technical Precision: The Power of Bordereaux Management and Credit Control
Within delegated authority, bordereaux data remains the richest dataset that is available to the business but in most cases, it is still the most underutilised dataset within most firms.
Over the last 5-10 years the way we receive, process and even manage our bordereaux has totally transformed moving from PDF bordereaux to large excel workbooks and, in some cases, direct data feed transfer (I’ve seen it, it’s real!). But it isn’t just the way we receive the Bordereaux that has transformed, we have seen the teams that look after bordereaux move from a purely administrative data process role to true bordereaux SMEs who pro-actively manage the quality of the data that is received by our third party Coverholders, brokers & TPAs. The role of inhouse teams in 2025 is now so much more than just processing the bordereaux.
It is important to remember that although we have come a long way in the last 10 years there are still a lot of limitations with the data that is received. In many cases the bordereaux data is still produced with substantial human input and often passes through multiple hands before being received by the bordereaux processing team. This manual data handling, or lack of upfront data validations in policy administration systems is why the Bordereaux Management team are so important. The subject matter expertise in insurance, bordereaux and data quality supports them to be able to spot key errors that systems cannot (American vs British dates being my favourite). Whilst some of the tasks can and should be absorbed by specialist outsourcers, an experienced in-house team must be in place to support the business to achieve the good quality data they need to run and oversee the delegated authority business.
As the role of the Bordereaux Management function has changed, alongside increased regulatory scrutiny, we have seen a much greater appetite for high quality delegated authority data. Whether this data is used to helping firms to improve their monitoring of EPIs, assist in key underwriting decisions, provide them with the ability to manage the risk that the binder agreements represent or to produce the required FCA regulatory reports, the desire and need for delegated data cannot be ignored.
This appetite for good quality data has resulted in a change of framework for the bordereaux management function. The team are no longer focused on ensuring bordereaux data is processed fast but ensuring that the data that is held post processing is good quality, consistent, accurate and usable across all business functions. By properly managing the framework around the bordereaux processing firms can get a clearer indication of binder breaches, properly assess claim validity to ensure that we are only paying claims that are valid under the binder as well as utilise the data for underwriting decision making to drive enhanced profitability.
Within Delegated Authorities it is always a challenge to ensure that credit control is managed effectively, making sure the correct taxes are paid and that there are no discrepancies between written and paid risks. Previous clients that we have worked with have large unallocated cash reserves which are received from coverholders that they simply are unable to attribute to a risk and/or bordereaux correctly. This often results in large projects with bordereaux data experts on hand to complete detailed analysis and reconciliation activities to identify where the money should be allocated. We have seen examples of how improvements to develop well-managed bordereaux functions which consider risk and premium bordereaux processing in equal measure can benefit downstream processes and inevitably reduce the overall costs of in processing and manging discrepancies.
In summary, although we have seen a significant shift in bordereaux management capabilities across the last 5 years at GreenKite there is still a long way to go. Firms can no longer wait to be told what data is needed by Lloyd’s or the regulator, they need to be on the front foot ensuring that the data that is needed for their organisation is included within the datasets and processed in a clear and concise manner. I personally am looking forward to a world where we no longer send and receive excel spreadsheets and as an industry we have moved to a place where data is automatically transferred and has no human interaction in the chain. With the use of AI, improvement in bordereaux management tools and the improved data cultures across firms we will see some major shifts in capability. However, for true change to happen all parties in the distribution chain need to pull together in the same direction and ensure accurate data is at the heart of all process design. To be able to maximise the benefits we need to continue to invest in data quality and data capability within the bordereaux management function to drive forwards profitability and regulatory compliance for the delegated authority market as a whole.
