While nobody ever looks forward to claiming on an insurance policy (chiefly because people only have their hand forced to do this in the aftermath of being involved in something particularly unpleasant/painful/potentially life-changing), it is more often than not a necessary evil; and moreover, a means to a (financially-restorative) end after being out of pocket.
So it’s with this very much in mind that it’s hoped that the process of claiming compensation is smooth and seemingly painless compared to the accident/injury which befell you and subsequently led to the procedure being instigated.
Unfortunately a recent study suggests that this ideal scenario doesn’t pan out as much as it should…
Marketing experts www.consumerintelligence.com conducted their own research recently, and the results highlighted that a figure of more than 2 in 5 motor and home insurance policyholders had experienced a range of problems during the claims process.
These included delays in the procedure (acknowledged by 17% of the responders to Consumer Intelligence’s study), requirement to furnish the insurance provider with additional information whilst the claim was on-going (14%), reports of unhelpful insurance employees (11%) along with setbacks in pay-out timeframes (10%) and the assessor originally coming out (7%).
On the flip side – and representing a far more palatable statistic as far as the UK’s household and car insurance providers are concerned – is confirmation that 84% of policyholders (6.9 out of 10) believed that their claims were handled in a fair and prompt manner, with a total of a mere 12% citing dissatisfaction with their insurer on any subject matter.
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Painting an insightful picture into customer loyalty, the research also figuratively emphasised that just 30% of Brits made the switch to a new provider in the event of a claim been rejected, which is strengthened when further encouraging reading points to 69% of those experiencing positive claim outcomes choosing to remain with their existing insurers going forward.
Addressing fundamental reasons as to why some policyholder do opt to jump ship and seek insurance products elsewhere and 18% blamed premium price hikes, whilst 12% admitted that the manner in which the claim was handled proved the deciding factor.
As ever the experts advise insured parties to not settle for second best or rely on your current provider to be as loyal in exchange, as many tend to remain complacent when it comes to renewing policies and not fighting to get you the best deal on the market at the time; instead often chasing and enticing new customers with better introductory deals.
It’s imperative to peruse ALL the small print, which aside from anything else will also alert you to the provider’s claims procedures and protocol too; so as to afford you the heads up if and when the situation necessitates action.
Consumer Intelligence’s Chief Executive, Ian Hughes when pressed on the findings of his company’s report went on record as saying; “Customers tend to only see the value of insurance when they make a claim, and firms clearly need to do more to ensure the experience is better. However, they can take comfort from the fact that the vast majority of customers believe their claims are handled fairly and that satisfaction is generally high considering the criticism companies routinely face.”
Hughes concluded; “Even when claims are turned down, customers do not instantly leave their insurer, as the research shows.”
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