In our Property & Casualty Insurance Monitor service, we study actual home and auto claims in real time from a diverse group of panelists. One such claim recently featured an adverse customer experience regarding a routine windshield replacement. The insured filed a claim through the standard toll-free number for a windshield replacement after debris hit her window while driving, causing a nick that was starting to crack. The carrier indicated that the windshield was going to be fixed while the insured was at work.
The glass vendor dutifully showed up with a van that had all the materials needed for the install, but the mechanic instead went into the insured’s place of employment and disrupted her workday, claiming that she “needed to invest” in new windshield wipers to properly protect her “investment” in her car—a significant violation of the “no-upsell” clause between the insurance carrier and the glass company. He persisted despite the insured’s repeated declines and insistence that the wipers were only a month old. The insured ended the discussion and went back to her work day, irritated at the whole ordeal.
Since the insured is a panelist for Corporate Insight, she quickly alerted us, and we followed up with an in-depth interview before she spoke to her carrier. Ultimately, she blamed her carrier as the party responsible for her insurance needs.
Since the carrier was already suspicious of its glass vendor’s adherence to their contract, the head of claims was grateful and used our research to discuss next steps with the vendor.
Our Property & Casualty Insurance Claims Monitor service reported this claim story, along with others, to our clients. The insurance carrier in question happened to be a client, so we ensured the company got an advanced copy of the research, which quickly went to the head of the claims department. Since the carrier was already suspicious of its glass vendor’s adherence to their contract, the head of claims was grateful and used our research to discuss next steps with the vendor.