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Our Customers
It's all about you

We need to act promptly, effectively and justly in the face of adversity to help our customers when they need us most – at claim time. We also need to develop the right products and act in a far-sighted manner for the benefit of our customers, our communities and the environment in which we operate.

Customers since the 1940s. State helped Frank and Doris Prior when their home was damaged in the Feilding floods.


“We didn’t toast the marshmallows”

This was the headline one of our customers ran in a full-page newspaper advertisement just seven days after a devastating fire ripped through its 3,350-square-metre distribution warehouse, devouring plant and stock to the value of $3 million.

Through the advertisement they assured customers they were still up and running, supplying stock and keeping their employees busy.

Within a day of the fire we credited a first payment of $1 million into their bank, having established that all aspects of their policy were in place and up to date, and the circumstances of the claim were clear and in order. Within 21 days a second $1 million payment had been made.

Reflecting on the fire 12 months on, Brandlines’ managing director Philip Crawshaw acknowledges that for Brandlines and its 150 employees the fire “could well have been curtains.”
“We remain very grateful to NZI and our broker Crombie Lockwood, together with their loss adjusters, for the way our claim was handled and we appreciate the hard work put in by so many in dealing with what were complex assessments of our loss.”

Loss adjuster Aaron Clegg, from McLarens Young International, says the speed of response from NZI was remarkable. "The claim was accepted in record time which in turn gave us time to help ensure the progress payment was made speedily."

Aaron’s colleague, Roger Howell, whose focus was business interruption, says NZI’s response enabled them to work confidently with Brandlines and assured that there would be no cash flow issues, which was vital for the business’ quick recovery.

Brandlines’ brokers, Crombie Lockwood, were equally impressed with NZI’s response. General manager claims Myles Noble says it gave them a great deal of satisfaction to deliver on the policies they put in place. “It’s always good to see the theory work in reality. Our priority is to position our clients so they can financially survive any insurable event. This was a very large fire by New Zealand standards and the prompt action and professionalism of NZI and McLarens Young were a major factor in our ability to deliver.”

Joining us in change

Recognising the importance of issues like climate change, we incentivise our customers to reduce energy consumption, drive fuel- efficient vehicles and incorporate more environmentally-friendly features in their homes.

We are the first insurer in New Zealand to offer environmental incentives to customers. Whether it's replacing customers’ appliances with more energy efficient ones, building sustainable features into homes, or giving discounts for driving less, it not only makes good environmental sense, but saves customers money on their power and fuel bills too.

Makes sense
 
For our personal customers:
  • We give NZI customers who drive less than 5,000 kilometres in a year a 10% discount on their vehicle insurance premiums,
  • Customers who drive a hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicle and drive less than 5,000 kilometres in a year receive a discount of 15% on their vehicle insurance premiums,
  • With NZI contents insurance, we give customers the opportunity to replace whiteware items with energy-efficient equivalents where an item needs to be replaced, and,
  • We give NZI home insurance customers $15,000 to $20,000 extra to add sustainable features.

For our commercial customers:

  • Lower premiums on vehicle insurance for commercial customers with approved hybrid or fuel efficient vehicles;
  • A ‘Green office’ product that rewards customers for replacing their office equipment, such as desktop or laptop computers, printers and refrigerators, with more energy-efficient models in material damage claims;
  • An additional $5,000 per unit (up to a maximum of $25,000 per policy) to incorporate environmentally sustainable features such as solar water heating or improved levels of insulation, for Body Corporate customers having to rebuild multi-dwelling residential buildings following a total loss to one or more unit; and,
  • A ‘Green building’ product in which, for total loss claims, NZI will pay up to $250,000 to customers who choose to rebuild their commercial building with sustainable products and features. A standard replacement insurance policy would not allow for this extra cost.
Just how happy

Customer satisfaction is a valuable gauge of how happy our customers are with us. We regularly survey our customers to find out how they rate their experience with us. Their feedback allows us to monitor and improve our service performance.

Over the last year, we achieved customer satisfaction of 87% in sales and service and also in claims.

We also measured our customer renewal rate because this tells us how many customers have chosen to renew policies with us. Last year 85% of customers renewed insurance with us.

We put these strong results down to empowering frontline staff to use good judgement and make the right calls when our customers need it most, whether it’s on the end of a phone or in the eye of a storm. ‘I’ll come back to you on that’ is not a response when the answer is obvious.
   
   
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