As other insurers close down product lines and shy away from specialisation, our appetite for prestige risk continues to grow. That’s why we’re delighted to announce the launch of a new claims service that’s built especially for your prestige clients – from sportspeople and celebrities to supercar lovers – to provide a faster, more efficient experience at the moments they need us the most.
The new service will ensure you get access to prestige experts at every touchpoint, courtesy of a newly established team based out of ERS’ offices in Swansea, and complemented by our specialist underwriters in London. The team will guarantee that every claimant receives a dedicated claims handler skilled in the specifics of dealing with prestige cases and able to hand-hold your customers through the claims process with speed, care and attention.
As Annie Ward, our prestige product manager, notes: “Prestige customers know that our underwriting expertise is second to none. As our book has grown, we’ve spotted an opportunity to further ramp up the end-to-end claims support we provide to brokers and their customers. Whilst we hope that our clients will never have to make a claim, inevitably for those who do, we want to be sure that we are there for our customers in their time of need to guide them through the process. This investment will ensure continuity of service and, critically, make sure that customers’ prized vehicles are repaired to the highest standard and returned to their rightful owners as quickly as possible.”
A dedicated prestige claims team
Since we expanded our specialist prestige business two and a half years ago, we’ve been on an amazing journey with our brokers, getting to the heart of their customers’ passions, while understanding their pain points around all motoring matters.
Through the 1,000s of prestige vehicle policies we’ve underwritten and the subsequent experience of the claims journeys with our brokers, we’ve seen first-hand just how important these vehicles are to their customers. This has allowed us to build a claims process that gives them absolute confidence from the outset that everything will be done to restore their vehicle to working order, with minimal disruption caused to their busy lives.
Confidence begins with efficient service. That’s why we’ve reduced our guaranteed response times by two thirds; it’s why when you call us to report a claim, we promise to take the call in under a minute. It’s why we’ve employed dedicated claims handlers – a single point of contact for the entire claims process who is fully fluent in the language of high-end automobiles and thus understands what matters most to your customers.
Your choice of repairer
Furthermore, we have expanded our network of approved repairers across the UK, meaning no unnecessary delays for your customers as their vehicle is being assessed and repaired. If your customers have a preferred garage outside of our network, then we can work with these repairers too – perfect for rare or modified vehicles.
Thomas Jones, one of the new claims team members at ERS, explains why this is so important: “The prestige market is broad, complex and filled with all manner of unique vehicles. While some repairs can be carried out by any of the trusted repairers within our existing network, other vehicles may be so bespoke that the choice of repairer could be the difference between a five day or a five week fix. For our dedicated prestige claims team, the goal is to get these calls right every time and ensure each vehicle is restored to the very highest standard.”
We will make it our business to give you an update every three days regarding the status of ongoing repairs or restorative work, even if the work is being undertaken outside of our approved repairer network. And we’ll get you an estimated completion date from the outset so that you can give customers a clear sense of when their vehicle is likely to be returned to them.
Sharing the news across the UK
Over the course of the spring we’ll be hosting a series of exclusive events across the UK for our key prestige brokers, designed to give you the inside track on our new offering and share a sense of our ambition and risk appetite for the year ahead. From supercar meet-ups to behind-the-scenes prestige auto manufacturer tours, watch this space!
And, if you’re unable to attend, we’ll also be hosting a couple of Lunch n Learns / Product Training sessions to brief your teams on our prestige offering and how it can benefit your customers. We’ll also be sharing a range of supportive marketing literature, updating our website and circulating our new dedicated claims hotline, so that you have everything you need to communicate the news to your customers.
How to make a prestige claim
- Brokers or customers can report their claim directly using our new dedicated prestige claims number: 03300 945 326
- Once we’ve given you your claim number, you can also e-mail any correspondence to claims@ers.com; just make sure you quote the claim number in the subject field so that your dedicated claims handler will be able to pick it up as quickly as possible
- If you’re not in a position to make a call, you can also e-mail any new claims reports to prestigeclaims@ers.com
- Once you’ve shared your claim to us, we will contact you to confirm the details of the claims process, as well as giving you details of your dedicated claims handler, who you’ll be able to contact whenever you need to for the duration of the claim
