The Home & Property Claims Conference 2024 featured an engaging session led by CET UK’s Chief Revenue Officer Toby Mitchell and Distribution & Product Development Director Stephen Hague.
The session explored CET’s climate-driven surge planning strategies in home emergency insurance, highlighting the importance of innovation, technology, and operations.
Toby introduced the session by emphasising the growing impact of extreme weather events on UK households, recalling the 12 named storms that occurred last winter and the operational pressure on insurers and suppliers which resulted.
He said, “The last few years have seen intense weather patterns—subsidence, flash floods, dramatic swings in temperatures and nationwide escape of water claims—putting tremendous strain on our industry.”
Stephen then outlined CET’s approach to operating to maximum efficiency during surges, supported by their bespoke claims management platform SIMPLIFi. The platform streamlines real-time claim tracking, communication, and automated updates between insurers, customers, and contractors to provide a seamless claims journey.
He said, “Our tech-first approach allows us to resolve claims faster while delivering an exceptional customer experience.”
The integration extends to CET’s Home Assistance Robotic Interface an AI-driven voice bot that automates claim triage and routing.
Stephen added, “By reducing call handling times, the robotic interface ensures claims reach the correct department and resolution quickly and efficiently.”
The session then went on to discuss how home emergencies can be highly stressful and emotive situations and ongoing training and development for frontline agents is critical, especially in preparation for times of surge.
CET’s training framework focuses on equipping agents with the skills to support policyholders in home emergency scenarios adhering to Consumer Duty compliance, with Stephen stressing that skilled personnel ensure every customer receives precise and empathetic service throughout the seasons.
Meanwhile, with a robust multi-trade contractor network and over 1,600 engineers providing nationwide coverage, CET ensures rapid response through technology-driven auto-deployment within seconds of claim approval.
“We’ve revamped supplier agreements, improved communication channels, and implemented clearer and more stringent KPIs to align performance with customer expectations,” Toby concluded.