Don’t Just Deal With Complaints...Prevent Them

In 2005, a total 199,639 consumer complaints were made against insurance companies. More than 34% were specifically aimed at health and accident providers, according to data collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Denied claims…unsatisfactory settlement offers…There’s only so much you can do to help settle a claim that keeps both your customer and your company happy.

Calming The Angry Customer

Remember, you know how insurers handle claims. Your client probably doesn’t have the foggiest idea. That’s why they called YOU first. Even if you can’t solve their problem over the phone, you can reassure them, calm them down and offer to explain the situation.

Your customer feels wronged and they’re on the defensive, even if they don’t have anything against you personally. The sad thing is they get crummy, impersonal customer service all the time. Any advice you can offer to help fix the problem will not only surprise them, it will strengthen your relationship.

Some tips for handling a customer complaint:

• Apologize. Your customer’s problem might be entirely out of your hands. Or you could have made an error in their paperwork that’s got them ticked off. Either way, offering an apology helps bring down their defenses. Try saying:

“I’m truly sorry for the trouble, Mr. Robertson. I know you want to get this straightened out right away. Let me figure out what I can do to solve this quickly.”

Once you’ve calmed them down you can get to the bottom of their issue.

• Remind them that you care. Whether you’re responsible for the complaint or not, be aware any bad experience could lead to resentment – and lost business. Do something unexpected and send a frustrated customer a little apology gift and a handwritten note. You could do something as simple as give them a pair of movie tickets, but it’s the personal touch that shows you care about them.



• Give them options. If a customer has a particularly nasty problem with their company, let them know you can help them switch carriers. While you may not want to flip them to another company, it’s better than losing them entirely to another agent.
  
  
• Whatever you do, DON’T ARGUE. You can never win an argument with an angry customer. But you can help them. Don’t tell them what they did wrong. Tell them what you’re going to do to make it right. Solve their problem promptly and with courtesy. When they cool down, they’ll appreciate it.

Avoid Complaints – Keep The Client Happy

"I think that agents may want to look at (the NAIC) data by company to help them decide what companies they want to place a particular customer with," Robert Hartwig, senior vice president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute recently told IA Magazine.

A company that has numerous complaints for one line may have few in another, "So you have to be careful not to paint with a single stroke," says Hartwig.

You can try preventing customer complaints by keeping an eye on companies’ complaint records for lines of insurance, and steering your clients clear of them when reasonable.

And make your clients feel appreciated. Don’t wait until they’ve got a problem to do something special for them. Anything you can do to build goodwill with your clients is good business. Many people will angrily call up their insurance agent to complain. But people will think twice about hollering into the phone at a trusted colleague.

Make Time For Great Customer Service

Finding new clients might feel like your top priority. But don’t lose sight of how important keeping your current clients is. Satisfied clients won’t just turn to you with their insurance needs – they’ll also recommend you to their friends and co-workers.

Offering good customer service means taking time out of your busy day to help your clients – no matter how obvious or trivial their problem seems to you. If you follow that simple principle, you’ll go miles in creating loyal customers.

The top five types of complaints in 2005:

Delays: 43,840 (21.96%)
Denial of claim: 37,346 (18.71%)
Unsatisfactory settlement/offer: 28,414 (14.23%)
Cancellation: 12,865 (6.44%)
Premium & rating: 12,259 (6.14%)

The top five complaints by type of coverage in 2005:

Auto: 80,867 (40.51%)
Accident and health: 67,992 (34.06%)
Homeowners: 23,446 (11.74%)
Life and annuity: 17,208 (8.62%)
Commercial multi-peril: 3,580 (1.79%)

Source: NAIC

To access company-specific complaint data, visit www.naic.org and click on “Consumer Information Source.”