Buyers Just Want Insurers To Stick By Them
Commercial insurers wondering what they need to do to attract and hang onto their customers got an earful from the 411 buyers responding to open-ended questions about what they want from their carriers, as part of the first Risk Manager Choice Awards survey, conducted by the Flaspöhler Research Group in partnership with National Underwriter.
Forty-five percent of risk managers surveyed said their relationships with insurers are “improving,” but many had a lot to say when asked: “In what way, specifically, are relationships improving, and why?”
Poor claims-handling was a particular sore point for buyers. One risk manager emphasized the importance of having a carrier that “doesn’t panic in the face of a significant claim.”
“When an insured has a loss, the carrier should treat the insured as a long-term partner rather than an adversary,” suggested one risk manager.
“Most insurers bail off large risks after a significant loss,” wrote one buyer, echoing the complaints of many respondents. “They need to be able to underwrite someone who has gone through a difficult situation. The mentality is they could lose their job, but after all, why are they in business?”
“We need acceptance of claims for things that are truly covered, versus some insurers who question and beat you up even when it’s obvious the loss is covered,” complained another respondent.
“The only reason anyone buys insurance is so that valid claims and losses are paid,” reported one buyer. “It has been so disappointing to see claims adjusted in a vacuum without underwriting being involved. Items that were clearly intended to be covered by the underwriters and client are continually second-guessed by claim adjusters angling to avoid paying anything.”
To get a lot more advice “straight from the horse’s mouth,” so to speak, on how to keep your customers satisfed, check out the rest of the article I did on the feedback to this survey at http://bit.ly/1la0Nj.
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Some of these buyer comments are almost funny, such as: “‘When an insured has a loss, the carrier should treat the insured as a long-term partner rather than an adversary,’ suggested one risk manager.”
In a perfect universe, maybe. In the real world, most risk managers that might otherwise agree with this statement will also be very likely to move their insurance in a New York minute if another broker comes dancing in with a cheaper deal, outstanding claim or not.
Nothing wrong with any of that; it’s the naïveté of the statement I find so funny.
In years gone by–perhaps all too many years for some of us “ancient ones”–insureds stayed with carriers and vice-versa for years. One of my former employers was a specialty carrier with many 50-year policyholders and even more 25-year poliyholders. In numerous cases, we had the grandchildren of the original client now at the helm of the companies.
There was a long-term relationship that was fostered by having account executives and loss control in the field act as a team, to help assure proper coverages and a good loss control plan.
We worked closely with underwriting to assure coverages reflected true values on the properties, that new additions and equipment were properly valued when added, and that stock reporting was based on the true value of not only finished goods, but goods in process and unfinished materials in storage.
If a loss occurred, it wasn’t just the claims departments’ responsibility to assure that things went right–it was the entire team that moved forth getting things back to normal for the policyholder. We looked at not only the cause but what could we learn and pass along from the loss to other policyholders.
One of our executives, an engineer, designed and had built a complete portable can-refurbishing line for the food processing industry to salvage canned goods following a loss, so an insured’s annual visibility on the shelves, as well as their profits, had a better chance of survival.
As a result, our business grew and prospered for many years, and much of the growth was due simply to word-of-mouth referrals. Unfortunately, the company took off in other directions, becoming engaged in casualty lines that were unprofitable, was eventually purchased and closed. But for 75 years we had a reputation second to none in the food and related industry.
It’s a concerted effort. No one department makes or breaks a company. Executives give the power to the rest of the departments, and it’s up to them to run with it. Or fumble the ball and try and figure out what happened on Monday morning….