Dealing with major incidents

In 2008, an estimated 220,000 people died in natural disasters including cyclones, earthquakes and flooding.

As a global business we are experienced in dealing with major incidents. For example, in 2008, we responded to localised flooding across the UK, a volcanic eruption in Chile, severe weather in Canada and the Sichuan earthquake in China. Our aim is to be there for our customers and help them get their lives back to normal as quickly as possible.

In the UK, our Loss Adjusting Service Emergency Team leads our response to major incidents. The team, made up of household and claims specialists, is on permanent standby and can be deployed around the UK at short notice, meaning we are often the first insurance company on site. They are supported by mobile emergency response centres that help ensure we provide the best service for our customers during often traumatic events. Similar teams such as our Mobile Claims Response Vehicle in Canada operate in other markets, often ensuring we are the first insurance company on site in the event of an emergency.

In 2008, the UK team attended workshops where they reviewed their response to localised flooding in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England, including the earthquake that affected parts of Northern and Central England. They considered some of the wider technical issues surrounding flood responses and how RSA can use that to help plan for future events.

The floods that hit England in the summer of 2007 were unprecedented in their scale. The widespread flooding affected approximately 49,000 households and nearly 7,000 businesses, along with causing major disruption to infrastructure such as transport, schools, power and water supplies. The Association of British Insurers estimates the total bill for the insurance industry will be £3 billion.

We continued to help affected policy holders during 2008. By the beginning of 2008, 84% of claims had been resolved. We put in place a plan to manage the outstanding claims as quickly as possible. The number dropped to 87 by the floods’ first anniversary while all cases were closed by October 2008. An internal customer survey showed that 27% awarded our service 10 out of 10, and 67% scored our service 8 out of 10.

In addition to handling claims from our own customers, our Loss Adjusting Service and supply chain teams were able to deal with claims on behalf of other insurers.

Claims response in Canada

In June 2008, a large hailstorm hit the town of Chatham, Canada, causing widespread damage. We set up a portable ‘drive in’ appraisal centre close to one of our preferred vehicle repair suppliers to help over 650 customers whose cars had been damaged.

Claims specialists were on-hand to assess the damage and issue cheques to pay for repairs and organise car rentals. A claims specialist also visited the homes of customers who could not make it to the drive in centre.

Any additional damage that was spotted by the repair shop was photographed and emailed to our specialists to speed the review and approval process. This included extending the time in which customers could have repairs completed to reflect the high volume of work that needed to be done.