The Intermediary – July 2025 - Flipbook - Page 57
Q&A
What was it like supporting the
family during a complex and
emotional claim?
While I am empathic, I don’t get emotionally
involved in cases because the clients don’t need
that from me. They need me to stay strong, be
efficient and work on their behalf. I obviously do
feel it, but the best self I can be is by being strong
and proactive in supporting them.
However, this case was emotionally draining.
We did form a friendship in certain ways. The
claimant’s wife has stayed in contact and every so
often I get an update on how the kids are.
What does winning this award
mean to you?
It means awareness. I speak at lots of events,
spreading awareness so that as many people as
possible are protected correctly.
We hear a lot of people saying, ‘Oh, I don’t need
this cover, I don’t need this policy, because I’m too
young and fit and healthy’. You just do not know
what’s around the corner, so if I can utilise any
forum to spread that word then I will.
It’s lovely to be recognised for doing that,
because I do work hard and I do take my job very,
very seriously. The fact that I’ve been given an
award is lovely, it really is.
How did your previous experience
prepare you to take on this case?
When I first took on this job, as a hybrid role, I
dealt half the week doing complaints and then
some days doing claims.
Then, when I was quite new in the role, Covid-19
hit. My children have grown up, so I didn’t have to
do home schooling like a lot of my colleagues did.
During Covid-19, we were getting a lot of claims
in where other members of the team were home
schooling, and they couldn’t really speak to people.
Generally, I do what I need to do on each case,
and I look at each case in its entirety. If I’m unsure
of something, I listen to the advice calls and all
that takes time.
It was quite apparent that the customer didn’t
know that he had cancer prior to doing the
application. When I listened to the application call,
he was singing and making jokes for the children
– he and his wife were having banter, and the
adviser was involved.
There was no doubt in my mind that this was not
a man that had been given some sort of diagnosis
that was going to be life-changing for him and
his family.
It was one of those where my experience and
perseverance, I suppose, came into play. I dealt
very closely with L&G, and that brought me closer
to the claim.
What is the protection industry
getting right at the moment, and
where is there room to improve?
They’re getting many things right – because there’s
a lot changing in the claims world – but there’s still
a lot of work to be done. It would be very nice if
insurers looked at the claims process in the same
way as they do at the front end of business.
If you have an underwriting question or query
about the application, it takes two to three days to
come back with an outcome.
If you have a claim query, some of them are on it,
but the average wait is about seven to 10 working
days. I’ve got some insurers that are on 15 to 18
working days. That’s a long time to assess people’s
information.
There’s lots of reasons why. It’s more complex
with things like income protection because you’re
not only looking at medical assessment, but you’re
also looking at financial assessment. If it’s a critical
illness or a terminal illness, then you’re in the
hands of a GP, or a consultant, and you’re waiting
for their information to come back.
I know there’s a lot being done in between to try
and open up NHS records and try and streamline
the process. The more we talk about it and try and
influence it, the more that will be done.
Positively, there’s so much that has been done
recently and everyone is interested in the claim
process at the moment. It is progressing, but
there’s always more to be done.
What advice would you give to
others based on this case?
Treat people how you would like to be treated, and
treat each case on an individual basis.
I volunteer for Marie Curie on a weekly basis
where I am speaking to and dealing with people
with terminal illness so I can get an understanding
of what they’re going through, and how they are
coping with it. I also participate in all the Marie
Curie training courses. A few weeks ago, I did one
on dementia.
It’s important to look at customers as reallife people and listen to them. I’ve got an online
qualification in counselling so that I know how to
talk to people, and I utilise my experiences with
other cases quite significantly.
If there’s anything that I can do support – I make
sure that I make time to do it. ●
July 2025 | The Intermediary
57
