|
At Vero we are continuing our focus on making sure we are providing good customer outcomes across the business. This important update includes a reminder of the difference between a premium waiver and a premium deferral, and provides resources to help you support customers who may be experiencing vulnerability.
Hardship assistance options in Covid-19
This follows the Inside Word sent to you on 26 May, which outlined the range of assistance options Vero is providing during Covid-19.
We want to ensure customers clearly understand the relief options available to them, so we have included a reminder about commonly-used terms and what these mean for your clients:
Premium deferral - if a client is experiencing financial hardship and is eligible for a premium deferral, their insurance premiums are deferred for up to two months and they only need to start making these payments at the end of the premium deferral period. The total premium that would have been due over the premium deferral period can be paid at the end of the period or can be spread across the remainder of the payments due during the period of insurance. Their cover remains unaffected during the premium deferral period and they can still claim during this time. The term “premium holiday” can mean different things across the insurance industry. To help avoid misunderstanding, Vero no longer uses this phrase.
Premium waiver – If a client is experiencing financial hardship and is eligible for a premium waiver, their premiums may be waived for up to three months. The premium for this period does not have to be paid later, their cover remains unaffected and they can still claim during this time.
Supporting customers experiencing vulnerability
This year we have focussed on supporting customers experiencing vulnerability. It can be difficult to recognise when a customer is experiencing vulnerability and needs some extra help, and it can be even more difficult to know how to have that conversation with them. With a large number of people being impacted by Covid-19, we are sharing resources to help you and your business support customers experiencing vulnerability.
Vulnerability can mean different things and affect people in different ways. At Vero, we define vulnerability as: When a customer's personal circumstances and characteristics mean they need special support, care or protection to ensure they receive the best possible experiences and outcome.
Earlier this year we introduced training modules on identifying customer vulnerability which were compulsory for all employees, along with specialist training modules for our frontline teams. Throughout the business, we implemented a vulnerability framework which helps our employees to recognise the varying degrees of vulnerability customers can experience at different times and how to provide additional support. These resources might be helpful when you’re talking to a customer who may be experiencing vulnerability.
Vulnerability profiles – People from all walks of life can experience vulnerability, and it could be a temporary situation or more permanent. To help recognise indicators of customers who may need help, we've put together Vulnerability profiles. However, it's important to remember that these are only potential indicators, and that not everyone in these circumstances will be vulnerable.
The ‘4 Rs approach’ – To better recognise where there is a vulnerability and tailor an approach, we have developed ‘The 4 Rs approach’ to recognise, review, respond and refer – using the vulnerability scale to shape your response back to the customer. If you identify a customer as experiencing vulnerability, please let us know so we can adapt to meet their needs and help tailor a solution for them.
In the coming months we will have additional resources and training materials to share, so we can help you and your business support customers who may be experiencing vulnerability.
Additional support
We encourage you to get in touch on behalf of your clients experiencing hardship, and we will discuss their unique situation with you.
The team at Vero is here to help.
|
