Putting the customer back in customer service.The use of so-called aftermarket Aftermarket See: Secondary market. aftermarket See secondary market. automobile parts in settling collision damage claims, routing the same customers to direct repair shops and offering to replace lost or damaged personal property rather than pay a claim are all ways to gain more control over claim costs in an industry where costs just keep on growing. Yet customers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. are reticent to accept goods instead of cash at the time of a claim ("Cash vs. Replacement," Best's Review, November 2005). How could that be? One view is that this is a subtle form of bait-and-switch. The customer purchased what appeared to be valuable protection in the event of adverse events, but then the insurer steps in and says, "Certain restrictions apply." For the insurer this is just a cost control measure, but for the insured customer it's changing the offer at a time when many are not in a position to argue. This almost gives a renewed meaning to the legal concept of a disparity of bargaining positions bargaining position n to be in a strong/weak bargaining position → estar/no estar en una posición de fuerza para negociar bargaining position n . Fortune 500 companies measure success by high levels of customer satisfaction and have focused resources on delivering goods and/or services in a way that meets and hopefully exceeds customer expectations. Yet the insurance industry seems to be moored moor 1 v. moored, moor·ing, moors v.tr. 1. To make fast (a vessel, for example) by means of cables, anchors, or lines: somewhere in the dark ages of best practices when it comes to how to satisfy any given customer. From one person's viewpoint, instead of attempting to change customer perceptions and honor our commitments at the time of a claim, we merely continue to rearrange re·ar·range tr.v. re·ar·ranged, re·ar·rang·ing, re·ar·rang·es To change the arrangement of. re the deck chairs on the Titanic Titanic (tītăn`ĭk), British liner that sank on the night of Apr. 14–15, 1912, after crashing into an iceberg in the N Atlantic S of Newfoundland. More than 1,500 lives were lost. . This would appear to be a challenge and an opportunity, but as philosopher George Santayana George Santayana (December 16, 1863, Madrid – September 26, 1952, Rome), was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. A lifelong Spanish citizen, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States, invariably wrote in English, and is considered an American man noted: Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. How could a whole industry have such a negative self image? Maybe we should outsource claims to consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, or even General Electric. My guess is their first step would be to stop calling policyholders "insureds" and start referring to them as customers, or insured customers. E. Bernard McGlynn, Jr. Director--Claims & Surety Services LewisChester Associates Inc. |
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