By: Lindsey Digangi, Corporate Marketing Manager
As you may have read in the last edition of the Producer Update, we recently rolled out AskNicely, our net promoter score survey. This is how we check in with our customers and brokers periodically about their experience with PLM. While we talk to our brokers and insureds regularly, we feel that checking in directly has been an invaluable experience for us as we learn of ways to improve our service.
Insurance is a personal experience. Each client has a unique set of risks and concerns that we seek to address. As a mutual insurance company that was founded to solve a unique problem for a set of local lumber dealers, our focus today remains the same. We continuously seek ways to stay ahead of risk affecting our clients’ businesses, which is why it is so important that we hear directly from them.
With over four months of survey responses received to date, we have enough customer feedback to make a few observations. More than observe, we are making change. Some changes will come sooner, and some may take time to enact, but we are committed to acting upon the feedback we receive.
- Customers’ claims experience is a key driver of their overall experience with PLM.
This is no surprise to PLM, nor is it a surprise to any insurance carrier. When customers purchase a policy, they receive a promise from the carrier to respond promptly and settle claims fairly when they occur. None of us can make promises about the outcomes of claims, but we can promise to ensure our customers receive excellent service. We have heard a full range of comments regarding our claims process, with some experiences dating back decades. While claims likely do not occur often, the moment sticks and we understand that.
Our claims department has made many changes and improvements over the last couple of years. Under the new leadership of John Kennealy, and his appointed managers, we are making changes small and large to positively impact the claims process for customers. You have read about many of these changes in our Producer Update series, but in this edition, you will hear directly from Casualty Claims Manager, Steve Kern, who will discuss improvements in the fast track claims area.
- Billing can make or break ease of doing business
We have long heard feedback about our billing process. We’ve made changes, but the billing process is still an area that is ripe for improvement. Customer feedback has helped to push changes to the billing process up as a priority in our 2021 corporate plans. While the changes will not be immediate, stay tuned. We will be redesigning our invoices to be clearer and to better match customers’ accounting needs.
If your customers come to you with questions or concerns about billing, please remind them that we have multiple billing options available, including electronic funds transfer (EFT) that will ease the payment process. They can address any questions or concerns to the billing experts on our customer service team: custserv@plmins.com or 800-752-1895.
- Above all else, we continue to confirm that relationships matter most
While insurance itself may come in the form of a contract, the customer’s experience depends on their insurance partners. We see daily responses that demonstrate our customers have built relationships with the PLM team and we are encouraged by the results, and you probably get feedback about the relationships you have built with customers, too. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. We commit ourselves daily to serving and supporting customers, and that service and support will evolve as their needs change.
Not only are we with our clients every step of the way, but we are with you. With the expertise of our staff, coupled with our long history serving solely your industry, we have many materials and resources available to support our mutual insured.
We will continue checking in periodically to give you some insight into the survey feedback we are receiving and the actions that we are taking. The customer experience PLM offers is grounded in the commitment of 165 PLM employees. We are with you today and tomorrow, just as we have been with you since 1895.
