Dutch ICMIF member Achmea has announced that it will be able to halve the number of physical appointments made to customers’ homes for the handling of damage claims in the coming period.

Currently, property repair companies visit tens of thousands of homes and businesses which have suffered damage every year on behalf of Achmea. They generally make two visits as part of the claims process: once to assess the damage and then a second visit to repair it. Where possible, the damage will now be recorded digitally. This benefits the speed of the handling of the claim and also reduces CO2 emissions as the repair company does not need to make two trips. The cooperative insurer says that customers responded positively to a trial of the new system earlier this year.

Achmea has tested the new method with construction company Kleijngeld from Waalwijk. This testing happened even before the outbreak of the coronavirus. Erik Welling, Senior Purchasing Manager from Achmea explains how digital processing will continue in the future: “After receiving a damage claim, the construction company sends a secure link to our customer. He then only has to click on the link and be present at the site of the damage. Opening the link can be done via any smartphone or tablet. When that has happened, the insured and the employee of the construction company look at the damage without having to actually meet at the insured person’s home. The insured does not have to do anything after the interview. Achmea then has a complete file.”

Welling closes with a nice practical example of water damage. “When we were able to watch from a distance, there appeared to be no leakage. Only the receptacle of the drain overflow was found to be skewed. The customer could put it right himself. And the claim was resolved.”

Achmea assists customers with innovative services that provide insight into the risks they run. With this the insurer helps customers to prevent or limit damage as much as possible.