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What's new in Lifestyle claims?
Here’s what you need to know about new conveniences and policy features that will make your customers’ lives easier. (Plus, one reminder for all RV lovers.)
The Aviva Lifestyle Claims team is always looking for ways to simplify processes and be more flexible for brokers and their customers. Here are some new developments you should know about as the summer season gets started!
Introducing Electronic First Notice of Loss
If they’re like many Canadians, your customers probably prefer to do almost everything digitally. Now they can start a claims process on their own directly on the Aviva website.
“We’ve recently introduced a feature which allows customers to enter their initial claim information online. It goes straight to a Lifestyle adjuster who will be in touch within our standard four business hours,” said Shawn McKone, Senior Manager, Technical Lead, Lifestyle Department.
“Customers may still report their claims by phone or through a broker. This just adds some flexibility to the process.”
You can direct your customers to www.aviva.ca. After selecting their province, they can start a claims process by clicking on Make a Claim from the header at the top of the page.
100% cash settlements
For many Lifestyle products, Aviva is now offering 100% cash settlements to the customer on approved repair estimates.
For example, if a customer’s recreational vehicle was in an accident and it was determined there was $4,000 in damage, the customer would have the option to take the complete amount, including taxes, instead of going through a repair facility to get it repaired.
“The reason for this option is that we want to give customers an option to do what’s best for them. If they want to get their damaged product repaired on their own, they can use the money to arrange for that. If they want to take a cash settlement and sell it or repair it themselves, that’s fine too,” said McKone.
Another benefit of a cash settlement option is that it speeds up the claims process. “Once we’ve determined the amount, they can get back to doing what they want to do rather than waiting for an ongoing claim.”
That way a customer has the flexibility to manage the timing of the repairs on their own terms, such as a damaged RV awning. This helps avoid any lengthy missed in-season opportunities to enjoy their Lifestyle product while it is in the shop for repairs.
Although 100% cash settlement is not yet available on every Lifestyle product or policy, McKone says there are plans to expand this option.
Cherished salvage endorsement
Collector car owners are known for their attachment to their vehicles, even after there’s been a total loss. That’s why Aviva offers a salvage endorsement that allows insureds to keep what’s left of their vehicle.
“People like keeping salvage even after significant damage. They may want the parts to sell or rebuild another vehicle. One customer retained all burnt salvage after a fire and has plans to build a museum!” said McKone.
“When we looked at the number of people with this endorsement who ended up keeping salvage it was over 70%. And the ones that weren’t keeping parts were cases where the vehicle was completely destroyed or stolen. For people who have it, it’s extremely popular.”
The cherished salvage endorsement is available in Ontario, BC and Alberta and it was recently expanded to Saskatchewan. The Lifestyle team is considering bringing it to other areas and products, too.
“We recommend that brokers offer it to customers if it’s available. The endorsement is a really good opportunity to provide the value of a collector car policy as opposed to a regular auto policy,” said McKone.
Customers who are sight- or hearing-impaired have a new way to be served
Do you have customers who are sight or hearing impaired? Aviva now offers enhanced services to make communicating with us easier.
“If a customer requires Braille or large-print writing, we can process that request and send physical documents in those formats,” said McKone.
“For those who have hearing impairments, we now have a message relay service through which a relay agent can take verbal information from Aviva to the customer (and vice versa) and put it into a text format.”
Customers simply need to indicate that they would like additional communications services and Aviva will tailor the right format for them.
Temporary Primary Residence endorsement for Trailers
Here’s a friendly reminder to brokers to be clear with their trailer customers that Aviva does not offer a permanent residence endorsement for trailers.
“This is something we run into in the claims department every year: a claim is reported and, once we start looking into it, we confirm that the insureds are living full-time in a recreational towed trailer or park model trailer,” said McKone.
“Under our guidelines, we don’t allow people to live in these full-time and we don’t extend coverage for year-round living.”
The temporary primary residence endorsement is a new name to a product that’s been around for awhile. “The key difference is that it’s temporary. Someone can stay in it for defined period of time but can’t live in it for 12-month periods.”
If you have any questions about these or any other claims matters, please reach out to Jaclyn Webster, Assistant Vice President Lifestyle Claims (jaclyn.webster@aviva.com).
The content in this article is for information purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as professional or expert advice. For specific information about a product, or exact terms, conditions, coverage definitions, exclusions and limitations, please refer to the customer’s insurance policy wording or the latest underwriting manual on avivapartner.ca Aviva and the Aviva logo are trademarks used under licence by the licensor.