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Marketing A noble undertaking Travelers invests heavily in improving claims service and ease of access for agents By Dennis H. Pillsbury “We’re good at what we do but cannot become complacent.” That’s how Ron Patterson of Ronald Patterson Insurance in Richardson, Texas, describes the attitude of the management team at Travelers. “That’s the attitude that makes Travelers the company in personal lines. It only will get better,” he adds. Ron continues: “The company has made a $50 million long-term investment in its new Claim University. That should speak volumes to policyholders and potential policyholders. There is no better way to train claims personnel.” Greg Ahbe of The Ahbe Group in Centennial, Colorado, adds: “Travelers definitely didn’t skimp on anything. The company now has 13,000 claims adjusters who get to see what can happen in a claim situation. The Claim University is a state-of-the-art, cutting-edge solution that will help the insurer in the long run. They have brought the HPR concept to the personal lines and small commercial lines arena. This separates them from the pack.” Brian MacLean, chief operating officer for Travelers, says Claim University and other initiatives represent “a journey of more than three years, creating a breadth of capabilities that improve access for our independent agents and help us better deliver our service. It is built on a very simple mindset—we’re underwriters. Basically, a promise is all we deliver so we must have excellent claims service. We also must be an easy company with which to do business.” Claim University Joseph P. Lacher Jr., executive vice president of personal & select insurance, continues: “Our scale and capacity as a national insurance company is a key differentiator in the marketplace, but only if we can deliver to our agents and their customers on a local basis. “The investment we have made in Claim University is unmatched in the industry,” Joe adds. “We expect to have about 9,000 people go through the facility in Windsor, Connecticut, each year. Claim University is inside a warehouse that contains several sections, including an auto lab and a heavy equipment lab. We have actual houses constructed with different materials so they can see the differences. There’s a fully stocked convenience store set up within Claim University. The adjusters and other claims people, including a number of our agents, who come to the university actually get to see what happens to a house during a fire or flood. “When you think about our job,” Joe continues, “it’s really to be the first responders when people are experiencing one of their worst days. We have to show up and deliver on a promise that was pre-negotiated. We want to do that job as effectively as possible so that there is little additional disruption to those lives that have already been disrupted by whatever event caused the claim in the first place.” Brian adds: “We also want to respond before claims occur and help our agents and their customers effectively mitigate or eliminate losses. What we learn at Claim University will undoubtedly help in this endeavor.” Only part of the story While Claim University may be one of the most visible indicators of Travelers’ investment in the future, it is hardly the only initiative. “We are looking at everything we do at every touch point,” says Kathleen Preston, executive vice president of enterprise development. “We have come to recognize that we need to execute locally if we are going to deliver the expertise we have in-house to our customers—the independent agents who represent us. We have a significant commitment to get automation out to the local teams so that they have access to everything. When agents deal with Travelers, the experience should be as seamless as possible and as easy as possible. “This is all about building our brand in the marketplace,” Kate continues. “We recognize that the brand is earned every day and defined by the experience of our agents and their customers. Our advertising is part of the effort to bring greater public recognition of our brand. But equally important is our effort to enhance the brand image by providing the best service to our agents and their customers.” Joe adds: “The overriding theme is that we are committed to the property/casualty industry and the independent agency system. We are looking to grow organically in partnership with independent agents and believe that if we continue to use our capital strength and sophisticated underwriting for the benefit of our agents and their customers, that will happen. “We are continually looking for ways we can use our scale and effectiveness to place solution-based products and our insurance expertise into the hands of local agents,” Joe continues. “We want to redefine the customer experience, to redefine standard and customary service. That is the best way to stay ahead of the competition. We have the capacity to do that.” Independent agent Greg Ahbe says: “We’re a lead agent with Travelers and have grown with them because of their service. As far as I’m concerned, it is one of the top insurance carriers in the country. Claim University only serves to separate them further from the pack. I was fortunate to be one of the agents to go through the claims facility and I was so excited at the meeting that day. It’s unique. It gives insurance professionals the opportunity to touch, feel and see the results of an incident that could give rise to a claim. But unlike the situation at a real claim site, they have time to analyze what has happened and determine how best to handle the situation both pre- and post-claim. I have to believe that this will improve claims service enormously.” Ron Patterson concludes: “Travelers is family. Working with the company is like doing business with friends. The Travelers people really helped us grow our personal lines business. They put Skip Daigle out there to help agents. He doesn’t bang the Travelers drum. He truly spends time with agents trying to help the agents. Travelers provides him with the freedom to do what needs to be done. This is a company that has spent more money helping agents grow in personal lines than any other. (More about Skip Daigle appears in the December 2005 Rough Notes article, “Stayin’ on Main Street.”) “I guess you can tell that I’m passionate about this,” Ron adds. “Travelers has been a tremendous partner for us and we’re in synch with what the future holds. I’m convinced that the best is yet to come.” * |
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