After countless natural disasters beset Canada in 2013, leaders at Guarantee Gold realized that no matter how many employees are stationed on the ground to help clients during times of extreme weather, many questions remain about how to protect property and either prevent damage or mitigate it.
“We spent time as a division thinking about the best way to get in touch with customers to give them that information, and in doing so, we surveyed our brokers and spent time talking with them about what they would want out of technology or a mobile app to reach them,” said Marilyn Horrick, National Vice President, Guarantee Gold.
The result is the GUARANTEE GOLD mobile app, now available for Google Play, Blackberry World, and iTunes App Store users. It has several features, the primary of which is to facilitate these valuable exchanges of information.
“We thought the best thing to do was develop something that would be co-branded to bring the broker into the tool and give them presence and accessibility to the customer,” said Horrick.
One of the app’s main functions is its severe weather warnings. It has the ability to access Environment Canada weather feeds and send alert notifications to users regarding any inclement weather that may be on the horizon in their current location or any other specified areas.
It also provides useful tips for protecting lives and property.
“Imagine if a customer has a cottage in Northern Ontario and forecasters are expecting more than a foot of snow there, but the owner is hundreds of kilometers away,” said Horrick. “They can get the notification and contact a service provider up there to say, ‘Can you clear the snow off of our roof because I just received notice that it’s necessary to safely clear snow from roofs to prevent them from collapsing or bearing any snow load damage.”
The app is also available in the United States, and has other features including claims reporting and management tools. But while it was designed with the customer and end-user in mind, the insurer also wanted it to be a meaningful investment in brokers and its broker distribution channel.
“This was an important design element, not just in terms of co-branding, but making sure every aspect of the app circles back to the broker,” Horrick said.
