Alex Guillamont, Kennedys Alex Guillamont, head of Latin America and the Caribbean for Kennedys (Photo: Tolga Kavut)

Kennedys, which specializes in insurance and liability claims, has expanded its KLAiM virtual lawyer platform in Latin America.

KLAiM is a tool created by the firm that allows clients to carry out the initial stages of litigation themselves and help them to independently handle low-value cases that are likely to settle quickly.

The firm says the rollout in Latin America came in response to significant client interest. The web-based platform has built-in templates and guidance notes that navigate the user through the litigation process, without lawyers. It has an automated diary and traffic light system and generates all the relevant court documentation.

In January, the firm began adapting KLAiM across its international network, including in the U.S., Bermuda, Hong Kong and Australia. This requires different processes, but the firm says the essence of KLAiM remains the same.

Kennedys says its clients are settling more than 80% of their claims inside the system without the need for a lawyer. It projects $6.4 million (£5 million) of savings in indemnity spend and legal fees for U.K. clients using KLAiM over the next 12 months.

The KLAiM expansion in Latin America coincides with the establishment of a research and development role for the region, led by commercial lawyer Tom Gummer, who has relocated to Mexico City from London.

The R&D team models insurance and legal claim workflows, then replicates these digitally to handle different claim-type volumes at a scale not possible with traditional approaches.

Gummer has been instrumental in the firm's rollout of innovative online products in the U.K., U.S., Hong Kong and Australia.

"I've seen firsthand the way in which our innovations can be tailored to transform the claims process for insurers across the globe," he said.

Alex Guillamont, head of the Kennedys Latin America and Caribbean practice, said Gummer and other members of the firm have already held a string of client meetings to discuss Kennedys' innovation capabilities in more detail and that the feedback from those clients "has been incredibly encouraging."

Kennedys has been actively expanding in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region rife with environmental risk, ranging from landslides to hurricanes to volcanic eruptions. The insurance market is growing in Latin America, the firm says, although the region is still vastly underinsured compared to more developed markets.

The firm established a presence this year in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Panama through associations with local firms. Those deals brought its coverage to 11 markets in the region, including Puerto Rico. Kennedys opened a regional hub in 2010 in Miami, where Guillamont is based.

The 2019 Gracechurch London Market Insurance Law Report ranked Kennedys as the most-used insurance law firm in Latin America. Clients turn to the firm especially for energy, casualty/non-marine, property and marine needs.