In this new episode of ‘CX Armatis & Vous’, Armatis’s video series featuring insights from customer experience experts, Pierre Lurin, Head of Customer Relations for property and liability insurance policies at Société Générale Assurances, discusses the partnership with Armatis. In an interview with Salomon, he shares his views on the current challenges facing the customer experience.
A scope of work entrusted to Armatis: the ‘contract line’
Armatis acts on behalf of Société Générale Assurances as a management contractor for the ‘contract line’, a dedicated service for policyholders to manage all aspects of their policy’s lifecycle: amendments following a change in family circumstances, cancellation requests, and changes to cover or excess levels. Many of these policyholders are also banking customers within the Société Générale network.
High standards, trust and mutual understanding
For Pierre Lurin, three words sum up his relationship with Armatis: high standards, trust and mutual understanding.
“When an institution like ours entrusts its customer relationships to a third party, it is, in a sense, entrusting its most valuable asset. This is extremely important to us. We expect Armatis’s customer advisers to deliver the same standard of service as we demand of Société Générale’s insurance customer advisers.”
Regarded as true brand ambassadors, Armatis advisers must ensure that customers experience consistent high standards and quality of service:
“For the customer, it must be completely transparent. In other words, we must maintain the same standard of service and the same level of quality. Ultimately, this is about our customers’ satisfaction, which is our main priority.”
Responsiveness, advice and empathy: the three pillars of today’s customer experience
When asked about the key issues in today’s customer experience, Pierre Lurin identifies three priorities.
Firstly, responsiveness – and even proactivity – to anticipate customers’ needs. Secondly, advice:
“When a customer calls someone on the phone, they expect a response that addresses their needs, not a standardised reply.”
Finally, empathy, which he regards as a key differentiating factor:
“Calling someone, even in a long-distance relationship, is in a way about seeking that extra bit of soul. It’s about looking for someone who will comfort and reassure us. And I think that, when it comes right down to it, that’s also what makes the difference between a good customer relationship and a run-of-the-mill one.”
Key takeaways
According to Pierre Lurin, there are three priorities for the customer experience: responsiveness and proactivity, personalised (non-standardised) advice, and empathy.
Armatis manages the ‘policy-level’ service for Société Générale Assurances, which is dedicated to life events relating to property and liability insurance policies.
A relationship based on three pillars: high standards, trust and mutual understanding.
Armatis advisers, who are regarded as ambassadors, must deliver the same standard of service as in-house teams.
