Interpersonal communication in the motor insurance sector during the claims stage

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.