Just days on from publishing its gender pay gap figures, which it described as a “great step forward”, it appears that Zurich is making ground with customers too.
The insurance giant has been recognised as one of the best brands in the UK for customer satisfaction – soaring from 188th to 12th in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index. That was the highest annual rise for any UK company.
In addition, the firm came out in top spot in the insurance sector for ethical business behaviours and connecting with consumers, while ranking fifth and seventh respectively across all companies.
The achievement was marked as part of last night’s UK Customer Satisfaction Awards led by the Institute of Customer Service. Overall, Zurich achieved a score of 83.2 – placing it above the 77.7 national average at a time when the overall index showed declines.
“We are delighted with our improvement in this year’s survey which tells us that the work we have done over the last few years is having a real impact on how customers perceive us,” said chief executive Tulsi Naidu. “We want to be known as the quality option for customers and our ongoing transformation is about creating a simpler, more innovative business that is highly customer focused.
“It is particularly gratifying to be ranked as the number one insurer for ethical standards and connecting with consumers. Whether it’s investing in our charity partnerships, our employees using paid volunteer days to share their skills in challenged schools and communities or our approach to the customer and paying claims, corporate responsibility is a fundamental part of Zurich’s culture. It’s a key driver for why people want to work for us, and it clearly matters to our customers too.”
So, what’s behind the increase that saw Zurich climb 176 places overall?
The firm pointed to five notable initiatives that have helped drive the change – a revamped complaints handling process including close loop calls with senior leaders ringing customers to discuss their feedback; a number of initiatives to improve customer service communications such as using technology to improve routine claims handling; vulnerable customer training for frontline staff; employee fundraising with more than £1.5 million donated to UK and overseas charities in 2018; and the fact that it paid out 99% of all claims during 2017 with payments worth £1.7 billion.
