Why are insurance companies impacting translators?
Over our 35 years in the translation business, we’ve built up great relationships with many legal clients (it’s where we began), and financial services clients, including insurance companies.
One thing we’ve noticed lately (post-Brexit) is how much changes in the way legal cases work between the UK and EU countries are affecting the need for translation.
We talked a bit about this last month, looking at how the business of translating legal documents has changed.
But have you also noticed how much control insurance companies have over legal cases these days?
There’s always been a lot of crossover between the legal and insurance sectors, for obvious reasons, but insurers are increasingly governing a lot of translation in the legal sector.
Insurers cover everything from holidays to personal injury, property purchases, claims for lost equipment, accidents and other legal disputes.
They also have an impacts on the purchase and operation of yachts and other water-craft, and the subsequent marine insurance.
Pre-Brexit, if one of our legal clients was dealing with a case involving (or based in) an EU country, they were in control of the translation process, and would brief us early, often giving us two to three months to deal with translating legal documents.
Now, though, an insurance company usually has to cover the cost of any translation for legal cases. This often means that, by the time an insurer has agreed to it, our window has narrowed to two to three weeks. This delay puts pressure on us, to ensure that we meet the deadline whilst providing the same high standards on which our reputation rests.
Such is life!
But it goes beyond us, because we are now seeing instances of cases being delayed so long by wrangles with the insurers that statutes of limitations take effect.
It’s a challenge that we’ll continue to monitor.
In the meantime, our focus is on meeting the needs of our clients, providing a rapid, high-quality legal and insurance translation service, and making sure that we don’t become part of the problem!
With 35 years’ experience in the industry, over 5,000 translators native in over 200 languages and dialects, and industry-specific expertise across numerous sectors including finance, insurance, law, technology, and medicine, we’re your go-to service for translation, interpreting, and transcription services.