At the Cotality™ INTRConnect™ Europe 2026 event, leaders and innovators from across the UK’s property ecosystem discovered Intelligence beyond bounds® with a day of insightful discussion and cross-sector collaboration.
Hundreds of attendees from the claims, restoration, retrofit, and housing sectors gathered at The Vox in Birmingham for an inspiring programme of keynotes and panel sessions to explore our industry’s biggest talking points.
With three streams of content, a busy exhibition hall filled with property industry innovators, and lively networking opportunities from breakfast and lunch to the after party, delegates enjoyed plenty of opportunities to connect and explore new ideas.
The result? A shared resolve among the industry’s most progressive organisations to set a new benchmark for property claims and show how technology backed ecosystems can safeguard customer fairness, remove friction, and deliver consistently defensible outcomes.
Throughout an energetic day of collaboration and debate, one central message emerged: technology only creates lasting impact when underpinned by human expertise and transparent collaboration.
A human-centric approach to Consumer Duty
A key topic of discussion during the day was how to continuously refine the customer journey in light of evolving industry standards.
A dedicated panel explored how the market can support transparent options and well-balanced choices for policyholders.
The panel highlighted how personalised understanding of each claimant’s situation is key to ensuring positive outcomes. Speakers touched on the gentle art of clear, plain-language communication and documentation, making sure that cash settlement options are carefully positioned as one of several supportive, flexible paths available to suit a policyholder’s unique situation.
Paul Lofkin, President, UK & Ireland at Crawford & Company, said that technology should support human interaction: “Consumer Duty has moved the focus onto ensuring that customers understand their options. Insurance is a people business, and our role is to provide the tools and skills to great people so that they can have those conversations.”
Eddie Bremner, Zurich’s Head of Attritional Property Claims, echoed this sentiment, stressing that fair outcomes cannot be reduced to a simple financial calculation. “It’s about understanding what’s right for that customer in that situation,” he explained.
Tim Hogg, Director of Fairer Finance, highlighted how the stress of a claim can affect decision-making, making “plain language and clear cost breakdowns” particularly important. For Ian Marsh, Saga’s Head of Property Claims, demonstrating good practice and evidencing outcomes for vulnerable customers is key. He noted that close collaboration with the supply chain is vital: “without them on board, we will fail.”
The discussion highlighted how delivering on Consumer Duty is often viewed as a collaborative journey - one that is naturally supported by smooth documentation, empathetic customer communication, and close coordination across supplier networks.
Connecting the ecosystem from strategy to site
That emphasis on collaboration continued in a session exploring AXA UK’s new Building Repair Network, where representatives from across the Network examined how greater technological connectivity improves policyholder outcomes and operational performance.
By bringing desktop teams, loss adjusters, and restoration specialists together through a shared Cotality architecture, AXA is creating greater visibility across the claim journey.
Steve Knight, AXA’s Building Repair & Surveyor Network Manager, described the benefit simply: “Everybody has one view, which eliminates lengthy handoffs and stops supplier silos.”
For contractors, the benefits extend beyond visibility. Matt Clarke of Westone Housing described upfront payment and interim financial support as “a game changer.”
Jack Robinson of 7ReGen added that eliminating double-keying of data means his teams have “more time to invest into the customer.” Elliot Ferris of Ferris Ltd agreed, describing the new Network as providing “complete transparency,” adding that it “suits us down to the ground.”
Together, these perspectives demonstrated how connected infrastructure resolves systemic friction across the supply chain while keeping customer outcomes at the centre.
AI that empowers expertise
Discussions on technology and AI showed how digital tools can support and elevate human capability.
Speakers explored how smart automation can handle routine administration, freeing up claims professionals and field experts to concentrate on the complex, empathetic aspects of their roles where personal judgment and human touch matter most.
Sue Stansfield, Hastings Direct’s Home Claims Director, highlighted the importance of being able to demonstrate the information behind decisions. She explained that AI needs to make processes easier while maintaining the evidence required by regulators and ensuring people remain available when customers need human support.
Mollie Brentnall, UK Director of IT at Crawford & Company, pointed to the administrative value of AI. “Where we are actually seeing the benefits is in back-office activity,” she explained, while “people remain at the heart of everything we do.”
Hein Hemke, Managing Director of Belfor UK, highlighted the importance of robust governance and human oversight, saying that “you have to challenge the technology and ensure sense checks are in place,” and emphasising that AI cannot replace human contact or critical thinking.
Removing friction across restoration and contracting
The practical realities of claims delivery were covered by Tony Derbyshire, Crawford & Company’s Head of Contractor Connection, and Adrian Jolly, Executive Chair of the BDMA. Their discussion examined how to further improve communication and create even stronger connections across the property claims and restoration supply chain.
The panelists explored how connected technology can act as a translation layer between these different parts of the ecosystem to improve collaboration and help data move more smoothly between the field and head office.
Digital transformation was examined from the perspective of restoration businesses, with Paul Brandis of Cotality, Laura Butcher of TruBuild, and Gary Briggs of East2East Claims Solutions discussing how technology can generate commercial value while preparing for the future of claims fulfilment.
Housing, retrofit and the wider property ecosystem
INTRConnect Europe 2026 expanded the conversation beyond traditional property claims, bringing social housing providers, local authorities and retrofit coordinators into the discussion.
With landlords facing requirements such as PAS 2035 alongside rising expectations from residents, panelists delved into how place-based property data and streamlined scoping workflows can support major decarbonisation programmes.
The discussion centred on connecting asset intelligence with collaborative contractor networks to target funding, maintain transparent audit records and ensure energy improvements deliver lasting comfort for residents.
Intelligence beyond bounds: giving experts more capacity
These themes came together in the keynote Intelligence Beyond Bounds, which illustrated how combining insights, data, and digital workflows can transform the entire property ecosystem.
Michael Porter, Cotality’s Senior Vice President of International Insurance Solutions, summed up the role of AI: “The biggest opportunity with AI is helping experts spend more time being experts.”
Garret Gray, President of Insurance Solutions at Cotality, focused on the value of unifying data and intelligence. “When you have this intelligence, you can see things you've never been able to see before - illuminating hidden insights, creating clarity, and bringing transparency into focus.”
That captures the central message of INTRConnect Europe 2026. The leaders gathered at The Vox showed that true progress isn't about technology for its own sake. It’s about progressive organisations stepping forward to champion transparency, fairness, and genuine customer care.
By connecting people, data, and purpose, the community at INTRConnect demonstrated that doing what’s right for the customer and delivering operational excellence go hand in hand.
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