Insurance companies focusing on better customer service amid Covid-19

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The second wave of Covid-19 has exposed the gaps in our healthcare infrastructure. The sudden surge in numbers left people running from pillar to post for hospital beds. Then there were also insurance-related hassles ranging from delays in cashless services to the partial settlement of hospital bills.

Insurance companies rising to the challenge have started several initiatives to provide a seamless customer experience. Consider this, Liberty General Insurance has now introduced 365 days claims service including on weekends and holidays. In one of the kind customer-focused initiatives, the insurer will process claims on all days of the week.

For motor insurance customers, this service is available for vehicle inspections and cashless repair approvals upon filing a claim as well as for post-repair approvals for timely delivery of the vehicle at the participating workshops for claims up to Rs50,000- for private cars, and up to Rs10,000 for two-wheelers.

Roopam Asthana, CEO & Whole Time Director, Liberty General Insurance said, “Customer centricity is at the heart of all endeavours that Liberty General Insurance undertakes. We care for our customers and want them to live safer and more secure lives. At the same time, we want to ensure that we are accessible to our customers when they need us – any day of the week. This initiative is a strong reaffirmation of our long-term commitment to our customers and to the growing general insurance industry in India.”

Similarly, post-pandemic all insurers have started settling claim settlement services online. Given the focus the insurers have been registering a significant increase in online claim settlements. Through digitally enabling processes policyholders do not need to visit an office for making a claim at this unprecedented pandemic time. Consider this: Edelweiss General Insurance processed 55% of claims in FY21 through its video-based remote survey app, BOLT. Similarly, ACKO processes 77% of its bike claims and 33% of car claims instantly using the app or website.

Increasing Reach

Not only customer service, but the focus has also been on reaching out to the last mile customers for increasing the insurance penetration in the country. For example, InsuranceDekho is further expanding its reach in Tier 3 and beyond cities. For this, the company is partnering with micro-entrepreneurs to create awareness about insurance and source and support its customers in these cities. These micro-entrepreneurs are engaged as Point of Sales Persons (PoSPs) of InsuranceDekho. The move is a part of the organization’s initiative called InsuranceDekho Saathi under which users would be able to evaluate and buy insurance products from their trusted local offline stores.

Ankit Agrawal, CEO and co-founder, InsuranceDekho, said, “Insurance penetration in India is 4% currently, and this number further dwindles as we move to Tier 3 and beyond cities. We believe that there is an imminent need for us to create awareness about and expand the distribution of insurance products in the country. Backed with this vision, we launched the InsuranceDekho Saathi program earlier this year and have observed high traction from both partners and customers. The initiative is a true win-win for the ecosystem as it helps our Saathi partners to find social standing and increase their income opportunities while at the same time enabling customers to buy an insurance product from their trusted local retail partner”.