LV= weather initiative improves customer satisfaction

LV=’s adverse weather response initiative has improved customer satisfaction and retention levels at the insurer.

General insurance chief operating officer Peter Horton told Insurance Times that the initiative had been welcomed by customers and benefited the business.

“We have a very high level of customer satisfaction, and we can demonstrate a higher renewal rate where we have really looked after the customer,” Horton said. “[Customers] have been amazed that we’ve been so proactive in looking after them.”

The initiative ensures a proactive response to any severe weather incidents, with customers being advised how best to minimise damage if they are in a region with a severe weather warning. Customers are also contacted following an event to see if a claim is going to be made and to assess how best to handle the situation.

LV= also forecasts weather-related events so it can deploy specialists, such as drainage experts, to a region quickly to help reduce the overall impact of a severe weather event. Increased cross-training of staff has also ensured LV= can handle the increased level of calls during a severe weather event with resources across different areas of the business trained to handle a weather-related claim.

Horton said that the new process not only improves the claims handling for customers, it is also of benefit to the insurer.

“When you’ve had something that’s really affected you and your family, and people really go out of their way to look after you, you don’t forget about it,” he said. “And the recommendations to other potential customers are so much higher.”

Horton added: “The quicker you get to a customer, the less a claim will cost. You can help the customer out faster, and that will ultimately reduce the cost of the claim and help protect the premium for the customer and keep [rates] competitive.”

Following the launch of the initiative, customer satisfaction scores for LV= have improved by 5% across the claims department. In addition, 95% of customers who have had to make a severe weather claim have said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the claims service they received.

The insurer has also experienced a 61% renewal rate for customers whose policy has come up for renewal at an increased price.