Customer Service Provider of the Year - Caravan Guard

Customer service is a key element to every business, as maintaining a good reputation often means the difference between success and failure. The customer service provider winner has been a consistent performer in this field, and one that is continually developing its focus on service. Caravan Guard impressed the judges with its enjoyable working environment, which is balanced with client focus and team capability, prompting them to note: "The high staff retention is linked to how well they work with clients."

Caravan Guard is a family owned caravan and motorhome insurance intermediary, operating from a contact centre in the Pennine town of Halifax in West Yorkshire. Its self-proclaimed company belief is that good customer service is directly linked to well-trained, experienced and motivated insurance advisers, efficient working procedures and the correct use of technology. By setting high standards of customer service and making sure it delivers those standards through regular monitoring, the company has experienced healthy growth and now insures 45,000 customers.

Investing in staff

Staffing is the most important factor in Caravan Guard's customer service, and it shows in its recruitment process. The firm ensures all staff undergo an intense six-week training programme, while its team leaders monitor calls on a weekly basis either live or via the call recording system.

This focus on staff training paid dividends when the broker became an Investor in People company - the first insurance broker in Yorkshire to be given this award. This has manifested itself in some impressive staff turnover figures - just 9% in 2007. This is less than half the national call centre average of 20% quoted by the Call Centre Association.

While its staff evidently come first, Caravan Guard also sees the benefit of using the latest phone technology to assist in giving great service and using in-depth management reports so it can plan staffing levels accordingly. However, it also aims to ensure that everybody gets through to a human voice first time. The phone system uses skills-based routing by identifying the specific number the customer has dialled, and then channelling the call to the first available adviser most likely to be able to deal with their enquiry.

The high service standards are mirrored by its insurer's 24-hour claims team - having trained the insurer's team to ensure they are knowledgeable about the specialist markets. The firm also has a claims liaison team to monitor progress of customer claims via the insurer and step in whenever hold-ups occur to speed up settlement. For example, most caravans are purchased at weekends and on Bank Holidays. Therefore, the call centre is available seven days a week, with late night opening midweek.

In addition, rather than using the insurer's loss adjuster, Caravan Guard insists on using a specialist caravan loss adjuster, SPI, to ensure that customers get expert service and that claims can progress as quickly as possible.

Through continuous use of technology, Caravan Guard aims to make it easier for caravanners to conduct business with it. The broker's online facility is an extension of the call centre, continuing great service online. A customer taking a quote online is given detailed advice throughout the process and offline phone support is readily available for web users.

The success of its customer service initiatives is proven by the large number of its customer referrals, a high level of customer claims satisfaction, praise through independent reviews of its services and, ultimately, a high renewal retention rate. According to the judges, Caravan Guard's great staff retention numbers, alongside its focus on service, made it the winner of this category by some way.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

- Medibroker

Sponsored by: MSL.