Boosting customers’ confidence through Instant Claim Settlement
L-R: Mrs. Shola Osho, Head, Business Development, FBN General Insurance; a ClaimsAlert Service agent; Mr. Bode Opadokun, MD/CEO, FBN General Insurance; another ClaimsAlert Service agent and Mrs. Elizabeth Agugoh, Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, FBNInsurance during the launch of the ClaimsAlert Service in Lagos
In Nigeria, the issue of prompt claim settlement has always toped discourse in insurance circle as it lies at the heart of the sector. EDET UDOH takes a look at the innovation of operators in addressing the thorny issue.
Insurance business globally, prompt claim settlement is one of the ingredients that make the business thick, enviable and acceptable.
No policyholder wants his/her claim payment delayed, no matter how much is involved.
In Nigeria, the issue of prompt claim payment has always been on the front burner whenever insurance or insurance related issue is being discussed.
To this end, insurance operators in the country, over the years have continued to grapple with this problem and how to proffer solution and boost customers’ confidence and attract more investors especially now that the industry is recapitalizing. As a result of this, some insurance underwriters have introduced various innovative ways of ensuring prompt and timely settlement of genuine claims. Some have even gone a step further to introduce claim settlement solutions that allow instant claim settlement.
Poised to meet insurance need of their policyholders promptly, the FBN General Insurance recently launched ‘ClaimAlert’ while in the same vein; LASACO Assurance introduced ‘LASSACO Blue Response’.
Allianz Nigeria Insurance plc just few days ago launched “The 60 minutes Revolution” aimed ensuring faster and timely settlement of claim.
These products are targeted at ensuring that the insurance need of the affected insured is met either instantly or in a very short time possible.
FBN General Insurance ClaimsAlert Service is designed to provide a responsive service to all her Comprehensive Auto Insurance policyholders who have been involved in an accident within the Lagos Metropolis where the service is currently active:
The area of focus are Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Surulere, Kosofe, Shomolu and Ikeja.
The FBN General Insurance ClaimsAlert Service is a value-added service to all her Comprehensive Auto Insurance Policyholders only and this comes at no extra cost.
FBN General Insurance has a dedicated team of Claims Agents, Customer Support Staff and Auto Garages for prompt and quality repairs of customers’ vehicles while customers will get claims to the value of N50,000 and below resolved at the scene of the accident.
Speaking at the unveiling of the service at the FBN General Insurance office, Ikorodu Road, Lagos, the Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Bode Opadokun, said FBN General Insurance ClaimsAlert Service is designed to provide a responsive service to all her Comprehensive Auto Insurance policyholders.
He said this phase of the service will take care of the company’s policyholders with Comprehensive Auto Insurance who have been involved in an accident within the Lagos Metropolis where the service is currently active.
According to him, “The FBN General Insurance ClaimsAlert Service is a value-added service to all her Comprehensive Auto Insurance Policyholders only and this comes at no extra cost.
“FBN General Insurance has a dedicated team of Claims Agents, Customer Support Staff and Auto Garages for prompt and quality repairs of your vehicles. Customers will get claims to the value of N50,000 and below resolved at the scene of the accident,” he said.
The service, according to Mr. Opadokun is of no additional charge.
As special benefits, the service will provide instant resolution to minor claims; peace of mind to policyholder with FBNGI claims representative right there to provide support and Easy of starting Claims Process for quick resolution of claims at scene of incidence.
The unique features of the service include dedicated claims representatives, dedicated bikes, dedicated customer support staff and dedicated auto garages for prompt and quality repairs.
LASACO Assurance said they introduced a speedy and more responsive claim settlement solution that will make policyholders get compensation under their motor insurance policies faster as a strategy of boosting its customer satisfaction drive.
The company also said that it had launched an instant rescue solution, which would provide free tow service for vehicles with severe damage, particularly for vehicles owners insured by LASACO and generally for motorists operating within major parts of Lagos State.
“The claim settlement solution, tagged ‘LASACO Blue Response’, which is targeted at automobile insurance operations, would enable the company to solve the most critical aspect of claim assessment and settle minor automobile insurance claims immediately upon notification,” it stated.
LASACO noted that the solution, first in the industry in Nigeria, would reduce the time frame between an accident and claim settlement and encourage more interaction between insurance operators and their clients.
Covering minor accidents, it added, the solution would only be available to policyholders in Lagos (excluding Epe, Imota and Badagry for now) who, in the event of an accident, would be required to call the company and its trained claim assessor would reach the location of accident within 30 minutes.
It is said to operate with fully kitted and ‘ready-to-go’ motorbike riders who will always ‘swing into action’ whenever there is instant notification of a claim.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Segun Balogun, stated that the riders would inspect the accident vehicle at the scene of the accident, adjust the claim and offer an on-the-spot settlement.
This novel solution, he said, would promote efficient claim settlement response and elicit a more enduring relationship between insurance underwriters and their clients, as many people would, through it, have more confidence in insurance, especially automobile insurance operations.
Minor accident, the MD explained, was one affecting either the front, back, or the two sides of a vehicle “but is not severe enough to render the vehicle immovable.”
For major accidents, the LASACO Blue Rescue would offer help to vehicles requiring towing services from the scene of the accident to ‘the nearest safe location’ so as to decongest the ever busy Lagos roads, he added.
Allianz Nigeria Insurance plc’s “The 60 minutes Revolution” launched recently ensures that customers experience faster claims resolution within 60 minutes.
The firm said with this initiative, claims payment will no longer be business as usual as customers will now have their motor claims settled within 60 minutes given that they send all the required documents.
Commenting on the initiative, Executive Director, Allianz Nigeria, Owolabi Salami, said : ”We understand that complete customer satisfaction is not solely about giving competitive rates or swift delivery of policy documents but also how quickly we can have claims resolved; how quickly we can help our customers get back on track”.
According to him, with the Allianz claims payment initiative, customers no longer have to worry about how long a claim will take or when they will get paid, it will only take us 60minutes to have your claim resolved, what we require to enable us achieve this is a filled claim form, picture showing full view of vehicle and estimate of repair.
Explaining further the rationale behind this initiative, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer for Allianz Nigeria, Walter Bossman, noted that in a society such as Nigeria which things with at fast pace and where every aspect of life seems to be competing for attention, a delayed motor claim should not be on the list.
This according to him, informed Allianz Nigeria’s resolve to revolutionise the industry by making sure that customers are not inconvenienced any further by paying their claims within 60 minutes”.
The Allianz Group is one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers with more than 92 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance.
