Resolving poor insurer service

An insurer's purpose is to provide peace of mind for our brokers and their customers, so we will always want to know if the way we provide service calls that into question.

Insurers should demonstrate passion for dealing with poor service and offer a commitment to resolving the issues as quickly as possible. There should be established and clear ways for you to raise your concerns and a track record of listening and dealing with them.

To find the best way of having your service issues resolved, there are a few key things to think through before you make contact:

• Do you know the right route to raise the issue?

• Do you have the right level of detail, including specific examples?

• Do you have any feedback so we can ensure this does not happen again?

Prior to contact, think about how you can give us the right level of insight to rectify your poor experience. Most insurers will have given you a range of contacts within the business with specific skills in underwriting, accounts and claims as well as someone with the primary responsibility of looking after their relationship with you - normally an account manager. Investing in this relationship and seeing it as a real partnership will always pay dividends: a good account manager who understands you and your business will make it easy for you to pick up the phone and "call it out", or to meet if a more detailed discussion is required.

You can always speak to colleagues elsewhere in the broker community to discover if they are having similar issues or have had them in the past. If there is an issue common to a number of you, ask for a broker forum to explore experiences and tackle them head on.

Give us specifics. Being as explicit as you can be about what happened when, as well as what the impact on you and customers was, is important. Doing this allows us to find the root cause of the problem accurately and prioritise it accordingly. We understand that it can be difficult if it involves people you have known for a long time and generally work well with but insurers shouldn't take it personally; in any partnership there will always be ups and downs and we are all working towards the same goal. Most insurers operate a call-recording system so, if your service failure involved a call to us, with the provision of a date, time and name, insurers should be able to trace the call. Many also have central scanning and mailbox facilities that mean your postal, fax and e-mail correspondence can be found quickly.

During your contact with the insurer, agree what outcomes you need and make sure you are clear on the next steps and timescales. We are always looking for ways to improve service so it may be helpful to let your account manager know if you'd be willing to work with them on changes and pilots over a longer period.

Finally, make sure that you know what the escalation process is should things not improve. If you have exhausted all avenues then contact the Financial Ombudsman Service to raise your concerns - the service will then contact the insurer to resolve your issue on your behalf.