Reading reserve movement without drowning in the ledger

Ledgers are good at showing that a reserve changed. They are poor at showing whether anyone had new papers. In a claims book review we line up reserve history against the dates of surveys, medical reports, and court stamps. A rise the day a survey arrives is ordinary. A rise with no new paper is a question for the handler, not a chart decoration.

Georgian motor bodily injury files are where this bites. A first reserve is often little more than a habit. Six months later the medical notes still have not arrived, and the number has been nudged to look less embarrassing for a monthly pack. That nudge is visible if you print the history. It is invisible if you only chart the latest outstanding.

We do not replace your reserving committee. We will write when a file’s papers and its number have drifted apart, and we will leave the booking decision where it belongs. If your listing has no reserve-history field, say so before we quote — otherwise the briefing will be honest about the gap and thinner than you hoped.