This innovative service was established after a number of US law firms approached Besso to help them collect large amounts of outstanding fees and facilitate prompt settlement of invoices. After in-depth research on requirements, we launched Besso Advanced Fee Services in 2005 as a unit within our claims department.
There are two primary service levels, described below.
The first service helps collect third-party receivables on other broker accounts, where the original broker has failed or will no longer be pursuing the collection of old or current fees. We are flexible on rates and can negotiate on size and invoice age.
The service is not limited to the Lloyd’s market, and we have been successful in collecting outstanding receivables from company and domestic markets. For sums owed by domestic insurers, we offer the option of an agreed quarterly retainer/fixed fee, rather than our standard commission rate. We provide this service by working closely with our clients’ accounts teams, helping them to chase outstanding balances on invoices. All recovered money is paid direct to the client rather than through Besso, thus reducing the workload for both parties.
The second primary service is where Besso Advance Fee Services helps to secure the collection of third-party, adjuster and attorney fees, on current Besso accounts, within 30 days of receiving a billing advice.
Since early 2005, we have been able to eradicate issues surrounding outstanding accounts and have successfully taken on the collection of various third-party billings on other broker accounts, resulting in prompt payment.
The long-standing debt of several well-respected law firms has also been dramatically reduced as a result of Besso Advance Fee Services. We are happy to work on one bill at a time but have found that it is more cost-effective for all parties if we work on a number of different bills concurrently. We can work on part-payment or 100 per cent bills, and the service is available beyond Lloyd’s and has been successful in the company and domestic markets.