By Vainess Banda – Claims Manager
Good Customer service; A Must Have for Reinsurance Firms
A few days ago, a friend working for some prominent insurance company in Zambia shared a work frustration with me.
She said, “I keep explaining the same things to this client, but they don’t seem to get it. I’m tired and ready to stop responding.”
That conversation made me reflect deeply on customer service in reinsurance.
In reinsurance, customer service doesn’t start when a claim is paid.
It starts the moment a treaty is discussed, continues through placement, documentation, bordereaux, premium adjustments, claims notifications, and only truly ends when the relationship ends.
Reinsurance is complex by nature. Terms, clauses, limits, and recoveries are not always intuitive. What may feel to be repetitive to us professionals in the sector may actually be a client trying to fully understand their risk protection.
Why is customer service so important in reinsurance?
The fact that reinsurance is built on trust, clarity and long-term partnerships, it deserves highly customer service. A cedant who understands their cover makes better decisions, gives timely notifications, submits cleaner data, and avoids disputes.
The last one you want is a clear spewing some bad experience about your firm all because of unclear understanding of the terms and conditions of the contract with your firm.
Good service reduces friction, delays and unnecessary escalations. Key in customer service is empathy, as it is a cornerstone of building trust and loyalty with customers.
The consequences of poor customer service are immense and may include but not limited to the following;
• Misunderstood treaty terms
• Late or defective claim notifications
• Disputed recoveries
• Strained broker and reinsurer relationships which effectively means ineffective communication between the parties to the reinsurance contract
• Loss of confidence and eventually, loss of business
In reinsurance, patience is not optional, it’s not a by the way thing, but is part of the job. If you carry an ‘I don’t care attitude’ or you feel like providing information to a client whom you consider ‘afunsa maningi’ (asks too much) then you should probably find another profession away from reinsurance.
Sometimes explaining “one more time” is the difference between a smooth recovery and a costly dispute.
A reminder to myself and fellow professionals: “Customer service in reinsurance is not a soft skill. It is a risk management tool.”