Insurance Consultants
Prepare and check documentation associated with a variety of insurance products.
Calls after the storm
You are an insurance consultant answering calls from customers after a storm, helping them with questions about their cover and claims. It is Monday morning after a big weekend storm. The call queue is long, and each call involves someone who is worried about their home.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
My neighbour's cover paid for her roof, so mine must be the same, right? I just need you to tell me yes so I can start repairs and stop worrying. Please.
Say yes, because most roofs are covered and he sounds worried
He starts repairs, then finds his policy excludes the type of damage. He feels let down. A kind guess can cost a customer a great deal.
Check his policy and tell him what it says about roofs
His roof is covered, with one condition about how it is repaired. He is glad he asked. Looking at his own policy gives him the true answer.
Tell him you cannot say anything until an assessor visits
That is cautious, and he waits two days with a leaking roof. You could have read him the wording and explained what the assessor would check.
I forgot to add my new laptop to the policy before it was stolen last week. Can you just put it in with last week's date? Nobody will know. It is only a change on paper.
Explain kindly that dates cannot be changed, and check what her policy does cover
She is disappointed, and you find the laptop is partly covered under another section. Honest answers can still help.
Back-date the change as she asked, since it is only paperwork
That would be false information on her policy, and she could lose her claim and her cover. It is not a favour, and you would be in trouble too.
Tell her you cannot change the date, explain what is covered and start the claim as it stands
She is upset, but she understands. The claim goes ahead on the existing cover and she knows what to do next time. It was the right answer, though a longer one.
I have just given a customer the wrong excess amount. I read it off the wrong policy. They are going to find out when they get the paperwork. What should I do?
Call the customer back, say what happened and give the correct figure
She is surprised and thanks you for ringing. The correction is recorded. A prompt apology is better than letting a mistake grow.
Hope the customer does not notice and quietly fix it in the system later
The customer notices and feels misled. Hiding it makes it worse and breaks the trust of the team.
Tell the team leader after your shift, since the queue is busy
The customer is not told for hours, and by then she has made plans on the wrong figure. A busy queue does not make the problem wait.
How it went
The queue finally thins out and you realise you have spoken to forty people on one of the worst days of their year. Insurance consulting is about accuracy, patience and plain explaining. Would you be able to deliver an answer a worried person might not want?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The storm week
A fictional case set in the customer service team of an insurance company, answering calls and online enquiries.
The situation
After a big storm, the phones at Ironbark Insurance rang without stopping. Zainab, an insurance consultant, took a call from a woman whose fence and shed roof had been damaged. The woman was distressed and wanted to know straight away whether she was covered for both. Zainab had a screen of other callers waiting and a script that said to read out a general summary.
What they did
Zainab slowed the call down. She asked for the policy number and read the actual wording for the shed and fence, instead of the general summary. The fence was covered, but the shed was only covered if it was listed. She told the customer honestly what was in and out, started the claim for the fence and explained how to ask for a review on the shed. She told her what the next step would be and when she should hear back.
How it turned out
The customer was disappointed about the shed but thanked Zainab for the straight answer. The review found the shed had been listed after all, and it was added to the claim. Zainab's call-back was recorded in the notes, so a colleague could follow it up.
What would you do?
- Why did Zainab read the policy wording instead of the general summary?
- How would you tell someone that something is not covered without making it worse?
- What would help a busy team stay accurate during a storm week?