Empathy on the line when assisting vulnerable customers

As a response to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 General Insurance Code of Practice (2020 Code) included new sections designed to provide increased protection for consumers experiencing vulnerability and financial hardship. Following significant consultation with the insurance industry, the new standards came into effect on 1 January 2021.

The standards require insurers to make sure that staff are appropriately trained to identify and support customers who may be vulnerable across a range of circumstances. 

Insurers must now provide information on their websites that details the support that is available to vulnerable clients, as well as publish policies around family violence and mental health. 

What is a vulnerable client?

The new standards state that vulnerability may arise from a range of factors, including age, disability, mental health conditions, family violence, language barriers and socio economic disadvantage.

Many call centre workers, especially in claims departments, know how to deal with obviously distressed clients, but it’s not always easy to identify vulnerability. 

“That's probably the hardest part, to be honest,” says Kara McInnes, national claims service manager, CHU Underwriting Agencies, and member of ANZIIF’s General Insurance Faculty Advisory Board.

“It's not black and white. Just because someone's 80 years old doesn't mean they're vulnerable. This is where, especially in the claims environment, the consultants will heavily rely on their loss adjusters or their builders who are out on site to be their eyes and ears, because sometimes it's not something you can pick up over the phone.

“But I do find lately people are a lot more open with their vulnerabilities than they have been in the past.”

McInnes cites the case of somebody making a claim who did not appear vulnerable during their phone consultation, but a later site visit revealed that the claimant was going through cancer treatment.

Using emotional intelligence

While it's difficult to ask outright if a caller may be vulnerable, workers need to be attuned to the details of a call and try to pick up on tone and nuance.

“Something that's been on my radar for a couple of years now, especially within my team, is the emotional intelligence aspect of it," McInnes says.

"Sometimes you might hear a shaking in their voice, which could indicate a number of things, but just picking up on those little cues that might prompt you to ask some more questions.” 

This also means learning from any mistakes, as these can be important steps to identifying and understanding what a customer is going through.

“You might occasionally learn of someone's vulnerability through a mistake. You might arrange some temporary accommodation, or take a certain approach to a claim, and the claimant might get angry and say, ‘No, that doesn't work for me, because I need to be closer to the hospital for treatment’ and that's when you realise, ‘We've got a vulnerable customer here, we need to change the entire approach to this claim’,” says McInnes.

It's important for call centre workers not to get discouraged at this point. It's always okay to make mistakes if something can be learned from them.

“You have the ability to make things right, and you can really work with them. And sometimes it's not about what you've done, it's about how you fix it,” says McInnes.

The best way to respond

Essentially, call-centre workers should be dealing with vulnerable clients the same way they deal with all customers —̦ and that is to be as responsive and helpful as possible.

McInnes says they should be listening to their clients. They should be doing what they say they're going to do. They should be providing regular follow-ups. They should be working with the client to do something that aligns with their needs. And as soon as somebody is categorised as vulnerable, these things become non-negotiables.

“There are no ifs, buts or maybes about it, but I'd love to see that go through the entire claims phase because everyone should be treated with that respect,” she says.

Looking after yourself

Working within the call centre environment, where vulnerable clients are dealt with regularly, can be very traumatic for those taking the call.

Good team leaders and managers will make space for workers to take the necessary time they need after difficult calls and will also be checking in with their workers and making them aware of relevant employee programs.

“I don't think people should ever be afraid to just take five minutes if they're coming off a call that's been quite confronting,” says McInnes. 

“It's OK to be upset. And have a good understanding of what resources are available within your organisation, such as employee assistance programs [EAPs] or any mental health wellbeing platforms that your company may have, and be fully aware of the resources available to you to help you in those situations.”

Emotional wellbeing should be a priority for both the call centre worker and their employer if they want to continue to provide vulnerable clients with the best possible service they can.

Check out ANZIIF's Empathetic Claims Management short course