Now is the winter of our… actually quite contented, thank you very much.

As anyone in the insurance industry knows, claims service can be the hardest thing to get right but great service can often go unappreciated. Winters are inevitably tricky for home emergency claims, which come in waves on the back of bad weather, leaving customers distressed and anxious. So, we’ve been particularly pleased with some of the positive feedback our claims handlers have been getting, as winter arrives.

“Lovely”, “Thrilled” and “Fantastic” are not words often used in the insurance claims process, but all are among the many plaudits offered by ARAG Home Emergency policyholders as we helped them through some of the stressful events that the recent storms brought with them.   

“A lot of our Home Emergency business is in the High Net Worth sector,” comments Head of Sales, Andy Talbot “so, customer expectations are understandably high. But that makes feedback like this all the more gratifying.”

It’s no secret that the key to delivering any service is setting clear expectations and meeting or surpassing them. Customers are generally understanding, even at the worst of times, but they need to feel that someone has a plan and the expertise to put things right, as quickly as possible.

“We don’t try to pretend that we never fall short of our own, very high standards and there are always surprises that old properties and a British winter can throw at you,” continues Andy, “But we’re the first to put our hands up if something doesn’t go according to plan, and the claims teams are brilliant at keeping customers informed and helping them through what are always really stressful times.”

“Quality of service has always been one of the key things that ARAG has differentiated on. So, we really have to deliver on that. As we head into another winter, I’m really pleased that we’re living up to the high standards that partners and policyholders have come to expect of us.”

At ARAG, clear and concise messaging at the point of sale takes priority

The FCA's concern regarding the sale of add-on products and how customer behaviours at the point of sale can be affected by the method of sale is well documented. Home emergency was one of the products selected by the FCA for inclusion in its Market Study of add-on products and we have concerns that generally speaking Home emergency assistance products are not always correctly understood by consumers. Managing expectations can be difficult.

Although the proportion of complaints reported to ARAG is very much below the market average, we strive to do better. Every single expression of customer dissatisfaction we receive whether justified or not, is an opportunity to learn more about our products. 

Some of the complaints we receive about Home emergency arise from customers reporting a problem that is not actually a "Home emergency". They have a fault which may be inconvenient but it doesn't cause damage or compromise the safety or security of their home. 
We can always help by making arrangements for an approved contractor from our networks to attend the insured's home, however contractor's costs will not be covered under such circumstances.

We value the assistance we receive from our brokers and business partners to minimise misunderstandings that can lead to disappointment for customers if their policy does not perform as envisaged. We don't need to convince you that messaging at the point of sale is key to avoiding customer expectation gaps. You can down-load suggested customer demands and needs statements for all of our products from our new-look website by clicking through the "BTE Products" tab. The statement for Home emergency is longer than for most other products and probably longer than we would like it to be however it has been drafted in consultation with our Customer Relations Team with the aim of getting across the information that we consider critical to consumers. We hope you find this helpful.