1st Edition
Insuring QualityHow to Improve Quality, Compliance, Customer Service, and Ethics in the Insurance Industry
How can insurance providers boost their image and increase business? Hedy and Les Abromovitz's Insuring Quality takes a hard look at the insurance industry and suggests innovative new ways of improving customer satisfaction, turbo-charging sales and polishing the tarnished image of the industry.
The insurance industry has an image problem. From Woody Allen movies to greeting cards, insurance agents are ridiculed as boring, overbearing pests out to make a quick buck at someone's expense. Recent criminal investigations into some of the nation's largest insurance providers have only made the situation worse. And that's bad news for insurance professionals - for more than any other business, the insurance industry is built on trust.
This book was written by insurance professionals for insurance professionals - so every example in the book is based on a real-life situation. There's no ivory tower philosophizing or impenetrable jargon; just practical advice from two veterans who have examined the true relationship between quality, ethics, and customer service. As the authors say, "Insuring Quality will help your organization solve real-life problems. It's for the people in the trenches..."
Quality and the Media
Perceptions of Quality and Customer Service
Image and Marketing
Replacement of One Policy With Another
Quality and Selling Can Mix
Selling and Customer Service
What Complaints to Insurance Regulators Tell Us About Customer Service
Quality and the Regulators
Customer Service When the Customer's a Crook
Less Than Sympathetic Customers
It's a Small World After All
Rate Hikes and Customer Satisfaction
Difficult Customers and Customer Service
World Class Quality
Mission Accomplished?
Customer Disservice: A Tongue-in-Cheek Guide to Alienating Customers
What Do Customers Want?
Stupid Service Tricks
Burn-Out
Swearing Off Customer Service
Consistency in Claim Handling
Worker's Compensation Best Practices
Best Practices for Agents
Timeliness & Customer Service
Accessibility & Customer Service
Waiting for Service
Customer Expectations
Expectations of Bad Service
Fair and Equal Treatment of All Customers
Fair Warnings & Quality
Consistent Coverage Decisions
Customer Feedback and Complaint Handling
Quality Initiatives
Suggestion Boxes
Management Support
Limping the Talk
Barriers to Quality Improvement
This Company Isn't What It Used to Be (and It Wasn't That Great Before)
Recognition of Employees
Employee Satisfaction
Downsizing and Employee Dissatisfaction
Bad Employees
Bad to the Bone Employees and Agents
Proactive Customer Service
Quality Meetings on Quality
Quality Surveys
Quality Relationships
Keeping Internal Customers Satisfied
Quality Versus the Competition
Index
