the heart of insurance caring about delivering excellence
TRANSCRIPT
THE HEART OF INSURANCE
Caring about delivering excellence
CATHERINE BELL
HELLO LIVERPOOL
• MGAA• CHAIRMAN OF INET3• MOTHER OF 5• DAUGHTER• SISTER• FRIEND• (A HUMAN BEING)
• Employing the right people for client facing roles• Using a strong moral compass and humanity by
realising that this is what builds your reputation with client’s.
• Policy wording and compliance cannot replace good judgement and wisdom.
• Understanding the clients concerns and fears.
I hope that after this briefing you will reconsider the way you view several things………
• Is your business really welcoming your clients with a friendly “can do” approach?
• Do you and your team really excel at treating clients at last fairly but brilliantly?
• What can you do differently to make a real difference?
Objectives
INSURANCE
INDUSTRY?
• Does the insurance industry already have a heart?
• If not, why not?• If yes, where is it evident?
• I believe YES & NO!
• YES some businesses & people already have a
• NO many businesses are missing the opportunity to prove they have a
• COMMUNITY BROKING can set the caring standard for others to follow
THE ANSWER IS….
• Brokers are making the difference
• Brokers take years getting to know & understand their clients needs
• Clients often stay with the same broker for life
• It is a close relationship of trust & respect
BROKERShave a
CONCERNSME & MY SHADOW
• Is Regulation & Compliance currently proportionate?
• Has the increasingly legislative nature of the Insurance industry put pressure on the Client - Broker relationship?
• Are Brokers anxious of saying or doing the wrong thing?
• Are we too focused on the prescriptive nature of meeting all the legal requirements – are we losing the ?
• We agree that customers should be treated fairly – but shouldn’t our standard be to treat them brilliantly?
• Is it counter productive if we interpret literal regulation rather than putting it into context – It needs to be proportional…
• We need to be able to empathise with the customer
BRILLIANTLY
CUSTOMER SERVICE
REPUDIATEDLIMITATIONS
PROXIMATE CAUSE
ENDORSEMENTS
EXCLUSIONS
SUBROGATION
ARBITRATION
LIABILIT
YWARRANTY
• Today I feel vulnerable
• Why?
• When is the last time you felt out of your depth?
• Do you remember how uncomfortable you were?
• This is our starting point in understanding how it feels to be a customer
VULNERABLITY
• Would any of us treat a person differently if it was our mother or our grandmother who was trying to make a claim?
• Offering preferential treatment?
• Surely our attitude should be to treat everyone brilliantly and as if they were our mother or grandmother!
MY MOTHER THE TEST
• The claims process can be stressful and confusing
• We need to take people by the hand and treat them kindly… This is the key to success!
• A brands reputation takes a lifetime to build and seconds to destroy
• Employ people who empower and deliver your brand values
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
BE TRUTHFUL
BUILD A GREAT REPUTATION
DEMONSTRATE UNDERSTANDING
SUPPORT CLIENTS & THEIR NEEDS
THANKFUL FOR THEIR BUSINESS
• Each business needs to start as it means to go on with expected levels of care for customers.
• Employ people who demonstrate they have a caring and kind personality.
• Richard Branson and the Virgin Brand have trust at their core.
• He advocates to choose your team for their personality first and their CV second. You can train someone technically but you cannot train people to genuinely care.
THE STARTING POINTBRAND BUILDING
• With your team of client facing caring individuals you can now climb mountains.
• For those who are easily irritated, impatient and find the phone ringing an annoyance a back room role is where they fit.
• We employ a three ring policy. Everyone in the business has bought into that expectation.
• A cheerful and welcoming “nothing is too much trouble” attitude will impress and delight your clients.
NEXT STEP
MEASURE THE SERVICE
• How do you monitor this in your business?
• Do you audit phone calls and listen to how your clients react?
• Can you hear them sigh in frustration or respond with relief?
• Let your team know that you as a business owner or manager are engaged and attentive.
• Reward those who give a great service.
• Let others know – I email to all when I hear a super phone call in progress or someone is cheerful friendly and representing the business with their
DELIVER
What should you do with those who are short or brusque with your clients and who do not demonstrate that they are engaged?
• Arrange training and let them listen to their own calls.
• I listen to my own calls sometimes so that I can make sure I am following this principle.
• Demonstrate by example – a strong leader uses their own ability to set the bar high.
HEART IN INSURANCE
• THE BOILERMrs Brown
• THE BEESMr Forbes
• THE WATER BUTTMr Sexton
• Insurance companies are already on the back foot
• We may behave defensively when customers question us– We may feel vulnerable, will we get it wrong?
• Customers want an honest, kind and straightforward response– More importantly to be listened to
• Quoting jargon– Irritating at best, patronising at worst
• Listen to your own call recordings– Is your voice giving away how you really feel?
Being successful and attracting clients means making sure that you STAND
OUT from the rest.
The most successful companies exude something which keeps their clients
happy.
My own business inet3 has some standards which we all
follow• We welcome our clients with their name on a board
when they visit us
• Coffee and tea are offered quickly if visiting in person
• A smile!
• Polite friendly welcome from the whole team– It can be embarrassing to go to a new place
• Walking clients to the door when they leave as you would at home– This is a must as far as I’m concerned!
• Clients calling by phone……3 ring policy
• Phone is picked up above all other work
All need to help raise the bar and support our message of putting the heart back into insurance.
CONCLUSION…
If every one of us here today can persuade just one more person that
putting the heart back into insurance is essential to our industry surviving and thriving then 400 people more
than this morning will begin to spread this valuable message.
TODAY IS WHERE IT ALL BEGINS…
Learning Objectives…• How and whether You employ the right people for
client facing roles? Do they have the right attributes and qualities?
• How to evaluate situations by using a strong moral compass and humanity by realising that this is what builds your reputation with client’s.
• How policy wording and compliance are there to support and guide you and your business but cannot replace good judgement and wisdom.
• Understanding the clients concerns and fears. Putting ourselves in their shoes and treating client’s as we would a much loved family member.
