Customer communication is key to navigate the global supply chain impact
02/03/2022
Following the events of last year, there are many factors affecting our economy right now. One of which is showing few signs of abating - the global supply chain challenge.
Produced in partnership with Insurance Post.
The pandemic, Brexit, extreme weather, shipping disruption and freight delays, the shortage of qualified HGV drivers, a booming construction industry and increased road usage are all contributing factors. This has far reaching implications for every sector and every business across the globe, the insurance sector is no exception. The domino effect of this means we’re being impacted in a way you would never consider.
For the motor sector this ranges from parts delays, windscreen shortages not to mention a lack of mechanics. Property has similar challenges when sourcing certain types of building materials such as steel, wood and chipboard. Lead times for common building materials continue to increase. Roof tiles and batons can be several months to source. This also means that if a customer has to leave their property while repairs take place, they may be displaced for longer.
What can we do to help our customers?
Communication is key to navigate our way through this. We have increased the number of people in in our call centres by 20%. These additional employees will focus on ‘outbound calling’ to keep customers informed and engaged around all challenges faced during the claims process. Overall, we’ve doubled our level of customer contact which is the right thing to do as all these delays are completely out of our hands but we’re still responsible.
As an industry, keeping our customers informed of progress and key dates is more important now than ever. For inbound enquires, we have invested a great deal into our digital channels to ensure customers aren’t subject to long waiting times and we can get to their claims quickly. To reinforce customer transparency, we also share details of the types of claims and materials we are facing delays with to manage expectations from the outset.
This level of transparency will not only abate frustrations, it will also enable customers to make more informed decisions. In recent months, we’ve seen around a third of customers making claims for home repairs opt for cash settlements. This is often because our customers have a relationship with a preferred supplier and in some cases can get the works completed in a shorter time frame.
It’s also crucial that insurance providers also keep a strong and open dialogue with brokers. They are a fundamental linchpin in the communications process as can ensure our customers fully understand the bigger picture. At Zurich, we’ve focused on providing Brokers with a view of the challenges and created videos and content to support our customers.
Supply chain communications with suppliers is also paramount. Regular updates and discussions will give insurers a clear understanding of the issues they are facing. This means we can work together to find solutions.
Whilst there is no silver bullet to fix these global economic issues, we have worked tirelessly to implement adjustments to our claims process. For example, our ‘repair not replace’ initiative not only offers our customers a more sustainable solution but also helps to avoid some of the delays we’re experiencing in sourcing new items. Green parts is also a sustainable way of repairing vehicles using reconditioned parts which again can help ease pressures on the supply chain.
The ‘waterbed effect’ associated with property repairs can sometimes lead to a knock-on cost consideration in terms of claims inflation. This derives from the fact we’ll be slower to repair some properties if either the materials are delayed, or the skills aren’t available when we need them.
Looking to the future, we’ve also launched several initiatives to help our customers future proof their homes. This includes the launch of the Flood Resilience Toolkit in November 2021. This could include, for example, the implementation of property flood resilience (PFR) measures, such as self-closing air bricks, non-return valves and flood doors or barriers.
With this, we aim to utilise the property repair process in the incident of a flood to ensure buildings are more resilient. In the long term, we hope to reduce both the cost and impact of future flooding.
As ever, we all need to keep talking.
