Interpersonal communication in the motor insurance sector during the claims stage
Acta Commercii
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Interpersonal communication in the motor insurance sector during the claims stage | |
| Creator | Smit, Lise-Mari Sutton, Lucinda B. Bezuidenhout, Louise | |
| Description | Orientation: The South African short-term motor insurance industry is highly competitive, offering clients many choices. Therefore, the long-term retention of clients is crucial for an insurance company’s sustainability.Research purpose: The study aims to report on the context-specific communication challenges during the claims stage and to propose recommendations to mitigate them from an interpersonal communication perspective.Motivation for the study: Studies on client retention have been conducted from a marketing or corporate communication perspective, but it is not known how interpersonal communication during the claims phase could impact long-term relationships.Research design, approach and method: We followed a qualitative approach, with a single case study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior management and claims administrators in the motor insurance department of a large South African insurer. The data were inductively analysed through qualitative content analysis from which the challenges were identified.Main findings: A lack of mutual understanding, ineffective conflict management, a lack of trust and one-way communication were identified as the main challenges experienced by claims administrators in their communication with clients during the claims stage.Practical/managerial implications: Practical principles such as sympathy and empathy, listening, feedback, respect, providing and clarifying information and providing access to resources, together with ethical and transparent communication, two-way symmetrical communication and dialogue should be included in claims administrators’ training to enable them to understand and adapt to the client’s needs.Contribution/value-add: A framework for training claims administrators operating in this context is presented, offering a theoretical and practical contribution. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2024-10-14 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ac.v24i1.1315 | |
| Source | Acta Commercii; Vol 24, No 1 (2024); 12 pages 1684-1999 2413-1903 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://actacommercii.co.za/index.php/acta/article/view/1315/2393
https://actacommercii.co.za/index.php/acta/article/view/1315/2394
https://actacommercii.co.za/index.php/acta/article/view/1315/2395
https://actacommercii.co.za/index.php/acta/article/view/1315/2396
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