Expert Help at Insurance Claims Time Most Valued

People want and need expert help when dealing with insurance claims, according to a new assessment conducted by a claims advocacy firm.

The assessment, conducted by AFRM Claim Advocacy, drew on the company’s own experience in helping client with claims, as well as research conducted by students in The University of Melbourne Creating Innovative Engineering program.

Explaining the approach, AFRM Claim Advocacy chief executive, Bruno Muraca said the aim of the program was to complement the firm’s current industry insights by interviewing a variety of industry stakeholders.

“Specifically, it was to help validate two AFRM Claims Advocacy business hypothesis around the insurance and claims market,” he said.

Muraca said the first hypothesis tested with industry stakeholders was, “educating customers about insurance and claims could result in a better customer experience” and the second was that “Claimants would value an advocacy service to support them during the claims process”.

He said a key outcome was confirmation that claimants wanted a helping hand when going through a claim.

“They see two things, advocacy - someone who represents them with insurers and answers their questions about the claim (and what is involved),” Muraca said.

“The second was education and administrative support, helping them with what to do next, keep them informed during the process, and helping them with the paperwork.”

“Interestingly, whilst getting an outcome (financial benefit) was mentioned by claimants (considered a given), the insights highlighted that supporting claimants through the process, the administration, and overall understanding of the claim process was top of mind,” he said.

Muraca said claimants continued to be of sceptical of insurers.

“Therefore, increasing the awareness and education around the importance and value of insurance and providing claimants a helping hand during the process seems to be more important than ever,” he said.