“Kennedys, without the lawyers” – revolutionary technology platform launched

Our strategy of helping clients use lawyers less has taken a huge leap forward with the launch of Kennedys IQ, a separate technology driven company whose purpose is to be “Kennedys, without the lawyers”.

Combining human and machine intelligence, Kennedys IQ has been set up to focus on product development targeted at the needs of clients, rather than our internal operating efficiency, and recognises that the future of legal services is not just about legal advice.

It offers organisations managing claims a revolutionary blend of strategic and operational support, building on our award-winning suite of software tools that are already in use with multiple clients around the world.

Kennedys IQ is the new home for these cutting-edge developments, which run off its new bespoke IQ Platform, supported by lawyers, technologists and claims experts. The goal is to help clients manage claims in less time, at a lower cost and with better outcomes.

The Kennedys IQ Platform does this by pulling together multiple data points from within Kennedys, our clients and external sources and then using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to uncover claims trends and best practice, as well as insight into how our client’s business is performing, what its competitors are doing, and what trends are emerging in the industry.

The IQ Platform features six smart tools that clients can switch on and off to automate or manage the day-to-day claims process: Incident Manager, Fraud Detector (formerly Ki), Portal Manager, Defence Lawyer (powered by the award-winning KLAiM system), Settlement Negotiator (formerly Cybersettle) and Recovery Manager.
IQ Platform also performs AI functions, such as predicting medical damages and making automatic settlement recommendations.

These tools are now powered by the new IQ Platform, meaning they are intelligent, always learning and optimising, and finding the most efficient and effective ways to get to the outcomes clients need.

Offering clients true, proven alternatives to traditional legal services, Kennedys IQ can also provide bespoke solutions for clients with a particular challenge, such as a workflow issues or reporting needs.

Richard West, partner and head of our innovations group, is a Board Director of Kennedys IQ alongside senior partner Nick Thomas. The new company also has a governance group, which comprises managing partner Suzanne Liversidge, Richard West, Mike Gilpin, Karim Derrick, and Rosie LeGros and Jo Woods, our Directors of Business Development and Finance, respectively. Mike Gilpin, formerly Director of IT, has moved over to become Kennedys IQ’s Commercial Director, with Karim Derrick moving from Head of R&D to Product and Innovation Director.

Karim Derrick says: “Kennedys IQ delivers on the promise of technology to help our global claims clients run better and more effective businesses, turning to Kennedys’ lawyers only when expert legal advice is needed.

“We know claims and we know the law. And we believe that data and technology has the potential to achieve those results, by automating day-to-day processes and unlocking powerful claims insights. The collective legal expertise we have globally underpins all of our tools and leads to better solutions for our clients, and their customers, with tools that can be adapted in every jurisdiction.

“This combination makes Kennedys IQ by far the most sophisticated system to hit the global claims market and shows we are committed to helping our clients use lawyers less, while still benefiting from our expertise.”

Richard West adds: “This is yet another example of how we think ahead at Kennedys. The creation of Kennedys IQ reflects our commitment to true innovation in the insurance and legal services market, and builds upon our proven ability to deliver client-facing software solutions – which we have been doing for the last ten years.

“We are setting up the right modern structures to keep Kennedys at the forefront of client-facing innovation. We can see that the future of legal services is not just about legal advice; rather, we are expert strategic advisors who work with clients to optimise their businesses.

“IQ Platform offers huge potential for development, and Kennedys IQ will help us create an agile environment suited to the incubation of software product-based businesses and consultancy services.”

Our people will continue to play a vital role in generating new tools and market propositions through our Ideas Lab, the second instalment of which was launched last month. This global initiative invites any member of the firm to come forward with innovative ideas about how to advance technological and intellectual innovation. New ideas that are taken forward from the latest initiative will become part of the Kennedys IQ offering and added to those tools already in the pipeline.

Last year, we won the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers award for Innovation in the Business of Law: New products and services, in recognition of our ability to model insurance/legal claim workflows and replicate them digitally and globally.