Some interesting news today from the CII. The cost of cost-of-living crisis is causing consumers to want claims paid faster and to feel more in control during the claims process, according to the findings of the latest Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Public Trust Index. The quarterly index, which gathers insight from consumers and SMEs about their experience of buying, renewing and claiming on insurance products, revealed the speed of claims rose from the seventh highest priority for consumers in July 2021 to the third highest priority in July 2022.
Control over the claims process has moved from ninth priority to the sixth highest priority over the same period, says the CII.
Matthew Connell, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for the Chartered Insurance Institute, said: “We launched the Public Trust Index to help measure trust in the insurance profession, and our findings today reveal the desire for faster claims processes – for example – comes during times of stress and uncertainty. The last time consumers felt this strongly was during lockdown in May 2020. Consumers do rate the value of the premiums they are paying as important, but quality of complaints handling, and the clarity on policy wording is rated higher.
“With the FCA’s measures on renewal premiums in place for less than a year, the Public Trust Index shows this is an area of greatest dissatisfaction. It’s likely consumers feel that they should be rewarded for their loyalty, not penalised, and put at a financial disadvantage.”
IE COMMENT: THE DIGITAL TOOLKIT IS READY, IT JUST NEEDS THE HUMAN TOUCH
So how can the industry meet this consumer demand, plus remain compliant with the FCA guidance on settling claims promptly and not rejecting them on unreasonable grounds?
In short, every insurance broker, MGA or major player is now using various software platforms to carry out admin on MTAs, claims, settlements processing and more. Companies like Genasys Tech, Guidewire, EIS, Acturis, SAS, OutSystems and many more are all busy creating customisable solutions for insurance brands. That could mean a niche broker, or a huge multi-national insurer, but the principles remain the same: Deliver the data needed to process and settle a claim quickly, meeting compliance regs and customer expectations.
But in the rush towards an AI-driven future, where automated decisions are made on the available data, it is worth remembering that we are dealing with upset people. The human touch should be part of the process in all communications surrounding claims too. The fiasco over Covid19 business claims is an object lesson in how turning a deaf ear and quoting T&Cs does not cut it. Digital toolkits need to be deployed with sympathy, fairness and efficiency.
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