When Insurance is concerned, one has to be sincere in dealing with your customer!

This morning, I was called by one of my agents to meet her customer to resolve certain issue which had met in a logger head situation. Her customer had insured a fleet of vehicles with our company for quite sometime, due to some oversight, certain new information was not obtained from the insured for approval consideration as the fleet is consider to be of high risk category. However based on our recommendation, the underwriting department accepted with condition that the insured supply us their Risk Management profile. This technical term had created some miscommunication between my executive and the customers executive. The customer had a wrong perception that we were trying to find fault on them by asking their "trade secrets". They were unwilling to provide for fear of breach of contract.

This stalemate has been going on for about a week now and finally the agent concerned set up a meeting for me to meet the owner to resolve the matter. The initial part of the meeting was tense as the director was having a perception that I have something to hide by covering up for the miscommunication of my executive. She was very defensive and un-trusting to what I said.. Knowing this customer for quite sometime through my agent, I knew that they are genuine business person, who is honest and sincere in business dealing. It took more than an hour to reassure with full sincerity that we were there to help and not finding fault to reject their risk, definitely not to reject their claim in future on the information they provided. It turned out that we ask this information at the most sensitive time as they were required by their supplier to conduct such an exercise. They related that by we asking this information and they review the information would jeopardize they contract.

Having finally getting them to supply the information based on what they are doing currently rather than what would required by their supplier imposed on them to complied to avoid "breach of Contract". Actually many of the questions is required by regulatory body that they must complied for their type of trade. Anyway, it ended with a cordial and friendly manner.

What surprised me after that had reaffirms my believe and practice as I was told when I first started my career in insurance industry which I will share later. The director after agreed to provide the information based on our discussion with touching on the "sensitive" issue governed by their contract suddenly change topic of discussion to small talk. She ask question ranging from education, employment pension fund to housing loan etc etc. And out of a blue she said to me, "Now I can trust you! You are the only person who told me this should not be done this way."

I was a little surprise as I answer her inquiries with my usual self without pretending to please her. The small talk turn out to be a test of character for me. And I am glad that I am my usual self, bluntly saying what is in my heart then from my head. And this remind me of the very first advice I received when I was a young apprentice about 25 years ago by one of our customer. She said, " In insurance, you have to be sincere in dealing with your customer!" and this had impacted me till now when dealing with my customer.

I may have lost many customers with my sincerity (read bluntness). :) but in the long term, it is the value that we gave and the trust and respect that we received that count as Henry Ward Beecher said," In this world it is not what we take up but waht we give up that makes us rich."

Life Is Great, BE YOUR OWN SELF, Live Your fullest and Leave a Legacy!