Protecting customers against the worst happening…and putting it right if it does!

James Guthrie, Head of Distribution, Commercial and High Net Worth explains the core purpose of Covéa Insurance and how its a constant in the midst of an ever-changing industry;

"Providing relevant and effective insurance protection in the new Millennium is becoming an ever more complicated business. Changing technology, the advent of driverless cars, increasing regulation, Brexit uncertainty, the Ogden rate, extreme weather patterns, constant market competition and cyber fraud are just a few of the challenges we face. They may even seem overwhelming at times, especially if you consider that how we deal with these challenges now can mean the difference between our success and failure in the future.

As a business Covéa Insurance is embracing these challenges. Understanding the importance of new industry developments, we’ve adapted the way we work and started to consider how we can implement new technology across our product range whilst keeping our customers’ best interests at the heart of everything we do.

One of the biggest industry impacts of recent years is the increase in the frequency and severity of escape of water claims, where it has been identified that almost 20% of homes have a leak which is undetected. The concept of Connected Homes has resulted in the development of various potential solutions to help tackle this issue and we have decided to trial a potential risk management solution using LeakBot connected technology to aid the detection and early prevention of escape of water losses across our mid and high net worth client base. We are clearly embracing future technology but we also recognise the importance of great customer service, relationship management, solid underwriting – the fundamentals of insurance.

Whilst Connected Home technology brings many benefits and new opportunities for insurers, so it also presents potential challenges in terms of increased claims costs. Recently we saw a claim reach a reserve of £120,000 as a result of a lightning strike which caused considerable damage to an extensive list of connected electrical equipment throughout the property. So whilst it is important that we continue to embrace the benefits connected technology presents to us we must also understand the challenges it gives us in regard to claims costs.

Providing exceptional service to customers and brokers is at the heart of Covéa Insurance. Nowhere is this more important than at the point of Claim, where 99%* of our HNW customers told us they were satisfied with their overall claims service. It is also hugely gratifying that we were ranked highly in the Insurance Times e-trading survey 2017.

In summary we are fortunate to have a wealth of resourceful and talented individuals, with the passion, creativity and drive to face up to challenges and to find the focus necessary to deal with the complexities the industry throws at us. For most, that passion comes from working towards something we really care about; something that inspires us to want to improve and succeed. And for everyone at Covéa Insurance, that inspiration comes from a desire to do something we can be proud of, and to deliver for our customers when it really matters."

* Claim survey data sourced from all customer respondents between 1st April and 31st December 2016.

** Article originally appeared in Bluefin Network conference newsletter 14th September 2017

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