Sam Barrett
With a background in financial services and protection magazines, Sam Barrett started writing for Post in 2003. She writes for a range of publications including Moneywise, Money Observer and Health Insurance Daily and has won many awards including ABI Freelance Financial Journalist of the Year.
She lives in Dorset and when she's not writing about insurance, you can find her at the gym or out enjoying the countryside.
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Articles by Sam Barrett
Managing underinsurance risks and valuations
Analysis: As inflation continues to be an issue across all lines of insurance, Sam Barrett explores how brokers can use AI to manage underinsurance risk and valuations.
Could motor insurers face further financial potholes?
With less than a week to go until Insurance Post's Motor & Mobility Conference, Sam Barrett examines the bumps in the road that motor insurers face and considers whether providers will see a smoother journey ahead.
How artificial intelligence affects the art insurance industry
With artificial intelligence increasingly being used to verify the authenticity of works of art, Sam Barrett examines what owners and insurers should do when analysis and expert opinion differ on who painted a picture.
Insuring the new working world
Sam Barrett explores how the insurance industry is adapting employers’ liability insurance to reflect the risks associated with new ways of working post-Covid.
Why property insurers are struggling to control claims costs
Analysis: Sam Barrett explores how inflation, increased labour costs plus material shortages are pushing up property insurance claims costs and why working with loss adjusters to remove frictional cost is essential.
Intelligence: Keeping over-50s in the workplace
Alongside the ‘great resignation’, there are also concerns over a ‘brain drain’, with so many people over the age of 50 leaving full-time employment. Sam Barrett looks at what the insurance sector is doing to keep these people on – and attract some back…
Intelligence: Protecting customer-facing staff
With rising energy bills, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis all hitting consumers in the pocket tensions are running high and customers service departments are facing more hostility. Sam Barrett investigates what insurers are doing to protect their…
Intelligence: Is the government doing enough to drive out distraction on the roads?
The government recently closed a loophole in the legislation on driving with mobile phones. Sam Barrett finds that while the changes are welcome, there are concerns that the law does not go far enough, and legislation needs to be tougher still
Intelligence: Post's complaints matrix shows the products that let consumers down during the pandemic
Complaints data from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service helps to create greater transparency and accountability for insurance firms. As Post brings together the most comprehensive set of complaints data from 2014 onwards,…
Intelligence: Brave new world of travel insurance
World travel and its insurance counterpart travel insurance have experienced significant changes over the last 18 months. With all travel cancelled then forced through a traffic light system and now facing a new ‘simplified’ system, Post asks how travel…
Best Insurance Employer 2021: Employers handled the Covid-19 challenges well
Fifteen months on from the 2020 Best Insurance Employer survey Post revisits the topic asking what employees rate when it comes to choosing their employer and what value staff see in perks and benefits. In addition for 2021 we asked which firms looked…
Spotlight on open banking and SME: Open banking will play an important part in meeting customers’ needs
Despite slow progress to date there are signs that some in the insurance sector are starting to get a handle on the value of open banking. On the back of a survey, in conjunction with Crif Decision Solutions, Post highlights some of the benefits that…
Spotlight on digital claims: Where next for digital claims?
A recent survey carried out by Post, in association with 360Globalnet, found that the straight through processing of personal lines claims is still not a reality for most insurance customers. However, as Sam Barrett discovers, that number is increasing,…
Spotlight: Technology – Working with human experts to empower D&I in insurance
Improving diversity and inclusion is a key objective across the insurance industry with initiatives such as the Women in Finance Charter, the Gender Inclusion Network and the Race at Work Charter helping to drive equality for employees and customers…
Spotlight: Technology – Embracing evergreen technology
Outdated legacy systems have haunted the insurance space for years, stifling innovation and pushing up development costs. Now, with pressures coming from new entrants and customer expectations increasing, Post looks at why insurers are looking to…
Intelligence: World of work - how brokers are adapting to the new normal
The longer the pandemic goes on the more profound and permanent the changes in the world of work are likely to be. The broking market has responded well, especially since it once prided itself on the importance of face-to-face deals. Post asks what this…
Spotlight: Technology - Moving towards digital learning in insurance
When lockdown was announced in March 2020, the scale of the adjustment required for remote working may have warranted insurance businesses pressing pause on recruitment and development. But, with lockdown accelerating the use of technology, it’s been…
Intelligence: Procurement - making two-way partnerships work
Procurement in the 1980s and 1990s was all about who you knew. Tender processes then took over but today the market relies on a rolling review system to ensure customer service levels remain high and partners are delivering as they should on a day-to-day…
Spotlight: Cyber - How have cyber risks changed since the Covid-19 pandemic started?
With millions of UK employees forced to work from home during the Covid-19 lockdowns, organisations are more aware than ever of the cyber risks they face. But, while many expect this to push up demand for cyber insurance, the new landscape could also…
Analysis: Managing and insuring business travel in a pandemic
With planes grounded across the globe and staff working from home, more often than not business travel numbers have dropped off severely. Post investigates how the market has been impacted and what this sector might look like in the future
Spotlight: Product development: The need for speed
Lockdown has been a challenge for businesses across the country but the change in working has led to insurers developing in many positive ways that will benefit the customer in the long run
Spotlight: Lloyd's and the London market: Adapting to the needs of the modern insurance customer
With the launch of Blueprint One last September, Lloyd’s has demonstrated its commitment to an ambitious programme of modernisation for the London Market. But, as research conducted by Post with WNS found, opinion is split on the success of the proposed…
Spotlight: The evolution of mobility post-loss
Keeping policyholders on the road after an accident or the theft of a vehicle has driven a number of mobility solutions. But, with consumer sentiment shifting and more options becoming available to insurers, the post-loss mobility market is set to evolve
Best Insurance Employer: What makes the best insurance employer?
Post invited insurance employees, through emails, social media and via the brand’s print and online channels, to nominate and rate their employers on a variety of aspects including their management, diversity, work/life balance and whether they would…