Case Studies
Cost Containment and efficient claim management
With one of our clients we held fortnightly conference calls to review all claims with hotel stays over 21 nights. For each claim we sought to understand the progress of building repairs to evaluate if other accommodation options might be suitable, or if a better hotel rate could be negotiated for a longer term stay. We effectively reduced average hotel lifecycle from over 40 nights down to 31 nights, saving around £1000 per claim.
Our weekly All Live Claims report enables us to see at a glance when multiple bookings are being made on any single claim. Generally the more bookings on a claim the less efficient the claim management AND/OR the more problems with building repairs. This holistic view and approach facilitates specific discussions with financial owners to reduce the number of bookings and/or extensions, increasing efficiency, reducing uncertainty for the customer and eliminating avoidable fees.
Creative Solutions
For occasions where accommodation may be at a premium due to a sporting or entertainment event we look to creatively control indemnity spend. On numerous occasions we’ve suggested options for the customer to go further afield to visit family or friends or just spend a weekend away. On one occasions we sent a family of four to Alton Towers for the weekend when there was no availability of accessible accommodation near their home – they loved it so much they stayed an extra two days!
We’re fortunate to have exclusive access to “Great Little Breaks”, through one of our main suppliers, which offers amazing value 2/3 night stays at UK hotels – all with added value extras like theatre tickets, afternoon tea or visits to historic attractions. Such breaks can be really useful where a customer is only needed to vacate their property for a few days for building works to be completed.
We can also provide flights anywhere in the world for customers who perhaps have second homes overseas, or indeed organise holidays worldwide where we can provide our clients with exclusive access to our competitive rates. For example, during a period of surge we sent one London couple to Singapore for three weeks to stay with their daughter – this was a lot cheaper than available alternative accommodation options close to their home in Hampstead!
Innovative Solutions
We understand what an upheaval and stress it is to have to temporarily relocate from home whilst trying to maintain daily routines for work, school, family and hobbies. We always consider solutions that enable customers to remain at home if at all feasible with the restoration works required.
Once example is where we received instruction to provide an immediate alternative accommodation for a family of four in Clacton for three weeks. There’d been a leak in the shower which required its complete removal for repair. The family needed access to bathing facilities as there wasn’t an alternative bathroom in the house, but were reluctant to move out of their home.
We gained assurance that the damage to the property had not rendered it unsafe so were able to consider stay at home options, rather than relocation to hotel or self-catering accommodation. Our first thought was for an internal pop up shower, however there was no available inside space for this. Similarly there was no driveway to the front of the property to locate an external bathroom pod. However there was a large garden to the rear. Although access was only available through the property. We discussed the option of a pop up shower inside a modular pod that could be bought in through the property in pieces and assembled in the garden. The customer welcomed this solution.
A swift call to our suppliers followed and a pop up shower inside a modular pod was booked within 3 hours of the initial AA instruction, with delivery agreed for the next day. Unfortunately the repair and redecoration didn’t go according to plan so the pop up shower stayed on site for a total period of nearly 10 weeks (68 nights).
Despite the extension, the family were happy that they’d been able to continue their daily routines with minimal inconvenience and the Insurer saved in the region of £4000 compared with costs for Hotel or self-catering accommodation for the same period.
Surge Tested
Do you remember the “Beast from the East” in 2018? The “Beast” broke all records since the 1970s for household claims with the need for emergency and alternative accommodation. Over the 16 weeks that followed our volume of instructions, booking enquiries, emails, phone calls and subsequent workload increased by 600%. While this stress tested our team, systems and processes, it really helped us to adapt and innovate – ultimately shaping our ways of working for the years to come.
Our average call answer time increased from <10 seconds to, a still acceptable 29 second average. We adapted to increased volumes by using our phone menu to differentiate customer calls from suppliers, allowing us to prioritise our customers. We also encouraged our clients and supply chain to contact us via email or live chat to maximise line availability for customers. Our cloud based systems allowed us to extend our office hours while the team worked overtime from home.
All of our major suppliers instigated surge responses that were able to cope with the additional demands we placed on them, so we were able to maintain our exceptional service levels. We maintained our high level of customer service and also compliance with all contracted SLAs and KPIs.
Our innovative management information (MI) suite allowed our clients to track in real time the status and details of accommodation bookings for their customers. Client feedback revealed our MI reports were superior to those from their own management information suites. Using our MI we constantly analysed durations of stay relative to accommodation type to make decisions as to what type of future accommodation would be most cost effective – containing costs for our clients.
Ultimately, the “Beast from the East” drove us to redefine how we work to deliver exceptional service in the most testing of times.
