From tea lady to claims titan - Ecclesiastical's Sandra Cooper

Specialist claims consultant for Ecclesiastical, Sandra Cooper has seen a modern-day revolution within the claims space.

“We were running on paper files when the company moved from London to Gloucester in 1976. The offices would be full of filing cabinets stuffed with records and claims forms and it could take over a week to process payments.”

But after the introduction of computers and the internet, among other technological advances, she said: “It is instant, a customer can get payments that same day.”

From tea lady to titan

Cooper joined Ecclesiastical in 1976 as an assistant to the claims team, she worked her way up from the bottom, to eventually be heavily involved in the response to the devastating Cumbria floods in 2015.

”We had quite a lot of customers in that area, so we spent a few days going around and seeing as many of them as we could.

”When an event like that happens, it is great that you can dedicate a period of time to go around and see your customers, rather than in a single event of a fire or something like that.”

Cooper also explained how the company went above and beyond, even bringing a company from the other side of the country to help.

“We went to a supplier we use down in Cornwall and asked them to set up a base in Cumbria because we knew the ones we use up north would be at capacity. That meant we had them as a service provider for all our customers, without any competition.

“So while our customers are getting seen to and their property is being stripped and dried straight away, their next-door neighbours may be waiting a week to be seen in the first place.”

But the floods led to a charitable cause that helped one of the biggest tragedies of recent times.

“We found firemen who were working for nothing, and we asked them if they could help us out and we would pay them. But they wanted the money to go to charity. So we ended up raising £25,000 for Tunnels2Towers.

“That money was used to buy a H-Bot (Hyperbaric oxygen) machine, which helps people out if they have been in a fire damaged building and could have suffered smoke inhalation.

“So move on to last year, we had firefighters from Grenfell in our machine.”

The claims machine

Having spent 42 years in claims, Cooper has seen where companies are going wrong, as she believes Ecclesiastical is the “model” at which others should aspire to.

“I think others can take a lot from looking at us and the way we do things. We make a plan, we have the service providers, we know them, we know what capacity they have.

“But, we also do a lot of surveys to find out exactly what the customer needs, which I don’t think a lot of companies do. Well, they certainly don’t do enough.

“We make the process very personal, our claims handlers talk to customers at a very personal level. That claims handler will handle your claim from that first date, you will have direct dial numbers, we don’t really do the numerous emails back and forth. It is all about building up relationships. We call it customer service with a hug.

“We don’t just suggest what we think should be done because we are an apparent expert, we always see what the customer wants first.”

Humble beginnings

“I decided early on that I wanted to start from the bottom and work my way up rather than get qualifications.”

Shortly after arriving at the company, Cooper went back down to London for two weeks of training. And as she knew she was going to be in the claims team, she got stuck in.

“It was a small team, about 12-15 staff which is quite small compared to what it has grown to now.

“Some people didn’t want the move out of London, so they left the company, and obviously, there were new people coming in. So in those first months, there were a lot of company events and building relationships.”

After taking six months out to have a child, Cooper found it surprisingly easy to get back to work, and was quickly promoted after returning.

“I knew my son was going to be well looked after, with nursery and his grandparents. And I was very career-minded at the time. While It was tough leaving him, I didn’t want to lose my career, and Ecclesiastical was amazing, and I feel very lucky to be given the opportunity for promotion.

Retirement

Now, as she prepares to retire at the end of this year, Cooper reflects on a great career that has seen her become one of the standout figures in claims.

“I love my job, I love the people I work with. There is no better feeling than helping the customer through a tough time and delivering on a promise.”

She even teased a desire to teach companies about customer service.

“I am so passionate about it. I think Ecclesiastical gets it right and I think some companies don’t.

“A lot of companies I have done business with, their customer service is pretty poor, and I feel I could talk to them and give them so much guidance. I would say to them “this is how you could have handled it. You could have done this better.”

But after taking a well-earned break, Cooper still says she will keep an eye on how things are going at her beloved Ecclesiastical.

“It will be hard not to. I am friends with the people on my team and we will keep in contact. But also, I think I will struggle with it at first. I’ll probably go abroad for a month to make it easier, so we can relax and decide what to do for the rest of our lives.

But I am going to really miss the people and that problem-solving.”