Press Release
Paymentshield hits 'call waiting' targets...but reveals unacceptable industry call-handling delays
A new survey by Paymentshield, the largest independent supplier of mortgage-related general insurance products to the intermediary sector, reveals that despite continuing advances in technology intermediaries still experience unacceptably long delays on the phone, holding to speak to general insurance providers.
The survey, which polled over 400 intermediaries, highlights that well over half (57%) routinely wait over four minutes to speak to a provider, while 14% generally wait longer than seven minutes to have their calls answered. Only 13% of intermediaries said their calls are usually answered within the first minute of calling.
When asked about the longest they've ever spent hanging on the phone, a whopping one in three intermediaries (29%) have experienced waiting times of over 20 minutes.
Richard Dixon, Customer Services Director at Paymentshield, said: "It's worrying to see that providers are taking so long to answer intermediaries' calls. Most of the time intermediaries need a quick answer to an urgent question on behalf of their clients and waiting for over seven minutes for a provider to pick up is neither acceptable nor time efficient".
As part of its commitment to intermediary service, Paymentshield set itself 'call waiting' targets earlier this year and launched a new call-handling system, including restructuring the team overall and introducing a dedicated broker call handling unit.
"Technology can only do so much" says Dixon. "It's also about making the issue a business priority. We have worked hard to ensure that intermediaries calling our team are dealt with in the quickest way and we are currently well on target, with 87% of calls being answered within the first 20 seconds and over 99.5% answered within the first two minutes of calling."
"We continuously try to improve the help we offer intermediaries an
implementing an efficient call handling system is key. We think it's in every provider's interest to ensure they assist intermediaries in every aspect of the advice process."
For further enquiries call 08450 615 100
-ENDS-
Full survey results
| Average call waiting time |
% of intermediaries |
| Less than 1 minute |
4.5% |
| 1 minute |
8.2% |
| 2 minutes |
13.9% |
| 3 minutes |
16.4% |
| 4 minutes |
10.7% |
| 5 minutes |
18.9% |
| 5 - 7 minutes |
12.9% |
| 7 - 10 minutes |
8% |
| 10 - 15 minutes |
4.2% |
| 15 - 20 minutes |
1.7% |
| Over 20 minutes |
0.5% |
Notes to Editor:
Paymentshield Limited is the largest independent supplier of general insurance products to the mortgage intermediary sector with current new business levels consistently exceeding 30,000 policies a month. Paymentshield only sells through intermediaries and over 27,000 intermediaries have chosen Paymentshield.
For all further enquiries, please contact:
Fiona Kitchin
Head of Marketing
Tel - 0870 351 5878
Mobile - 07989 960 166
E-mail - fiona.kitchin@paymentshield.co.uk
Inez de Koning / Anna Schirmer
Lansons Communications
Tel - 0207 294 3623 / 0207 294 3605
E-mail - inezd@lansons.com / annas@lansons.com