The brokers’ guide to when a client has a terrible claims experience

Although he or she isn’t responsible for fixing a client’s roof, a broker’s response when a claim situation goes awry can make or break a client’s insurance experience. 

Customers feel stress and anxiety when a claim occurs, and lengthy repairs tend to exacerbate those negative feelings. But when a client takes it out on their broker, the key is to not pass the blame onto the insurer. 

“You are a part of the ecosystem, and they bought the policy from you. So as far as they’re concerned, you’re the frontline individual for them,” said Warren Weeks, principal of Weeks Media at the Young Brokers Conference in Niagara Falls last week. 

“[One] of the instincts for people would be to…just throw the insurance company under the bus,” Weeks said. “Play that out five, six moves down the board; where does that go?” 

Essentially it goes to a place where everyone blames each other for the claims process going sideways.

The claims experience should be a prime time for brokers to prove they’re trusted advisors, Weeks says. This means taking proactive steps to manage your clients’ complaints and effectively support their concerns. 

As Weeks puts it: “I really do believe if you don’t own the situation, from a business standpoint, ultimately…the situation is going to own you.” 

He shared an example of when the athletic clothing retailer Gymshark had a technology catastrophe a few years back. Their e-commerce platform went down for hours during its annual Black Friday sale. 

“It wasn’t their problem, it was their provider,” said Weeks. “They could have totally thrown them under the bus and deflected and blamed them. But they didn’t do that.” 

Instead, the company swapped its e-commerce platform. The founder also issued a video apology to address the myriad complaints it was getting on social media. Then, he wrote 2,500 hand-written apology letters with discount codes to the company’s customers. 

“That which could have been an existential crisis and the end of that company, was a huge boost,” said Weeks. “He actually ended up turning it into a marketing opportunity.” 

Lastly, Weeks said, don’t take it personally.  

“Even though they’re talking to you, and they might be angry and irritated, it’s not really about you. It’s about the situation you just happened to…be in the middle of.” 

Feature image by iStock.com/fizkes