What is insurance if it’s not a promise to pay? Promises are the foundation of insurance. Promises are about mutual trust between an insurer and its customers. But we are working in an industry where there are concerning levels of mistrust at times. Insurers might be guilty of suspecting clients’ motives when it comes to making a claim and clients may question whether their insurer is putting their needs first when settling them.
I believe the whole industry is damaged by each single poorly-handled claim. Everyone involved in claims needs to work as efficiently as they can and in their customers’ best interests.
At Hiscox, we want our clients to feel like they are in control of things during a claim. We now have an in-house team that handles major and complex claims. This means we don’t have to rely purely on external loss adjusters. We want to reduce the hassle involved for our clients when it comes to making a claim; we want them to know our mission is to ensure that we will make good their loss.
By owning the process we can also accept liability very quickly. In property claims for instance, we settle over a fifth of claims on the day we are notified of them, and over half within the first month*.
Insurance is a heavily regulated industry. But we’ve worked hard to empower our team to ensure they always put the customer first when handling claims. Our rulebook for staff is clear about what they must do, thus giving them the space and confidence to judge what they can do to go the extra mile for our customers.
A one-size-fits-all approach to claims doesn’t work because each customer and claim is different. Every customer wants the confidence that their insurer will stand up and do right for them, and not just because it is legally bound to do so. It’s important for clients to trust their insurers to get the best outcome for them, whether that means a quick settlement, help to get them back on their feet after a loss, or some TLC during the process.
Figures correct for January – March 2015.
Caroline Langridge, Hiscox’s Head of UK Property Claims.
