Groupama has appointed Craig Allen as household underwriting manager as it enhances its household policies. The insurer is adding a range of new cover to its home and bedrooms policies, incorporating increased cover on bedrooms of up to £50,000.
Additional benefits include £250 for shopping in transit, £5,000 for trace and access (to find the source of a water leak) and cover for plants and shrubs in containers as part of the contents in the garden extension.
Allan has joined Groupama from More Th>n, where he was product manager for home policies. In his new role he will work supporting Groupama's acquisition and profitable growth programmes.
Cathie Bruce, Groupama's distribution and customer service director, said: "The household sector is strategically very important to our business. These developments follow some significant progress in 2006 as we have begun to reap the benefits of scheme opportunities and our ongoing investment in household EDI. The recruitment of Craig Allen is another important step. He will play a key role in driving forward our household underwriting strategy and build on the firm foundations that have been laid."
She added: "The new covers are designed to broaden the appeal of our home insurance range to provide brokers and intermediaries with a strong household proposition for their customers.
"Part of this process was recognising that the length of time between claim notification and settlement has a direct impact on customer satisfaction. We have therefore made significant changes to our claims handling to speed up and enhance the process.
"We have moved highly experienced claims handlers into the front line to manage calls and deal with claims as they are reported. By directing claims to such an experienced team, we can ensure that we provide policy holders with a speedy service and decision making when they need it most.
"This change, together with swift access to competitive quotes and wider cover via full cycle EDI will really put Groupama's household products at the front of the shop window for our brokers."
