Convenience at Your Fingertips: How Union Mutual Transformed the Claims Experience with Texting

Recognizing that texting is often the preferred, faster and more convenient way to communicate, Union Mutual of Vermont adopted Hi Marley, the intelligent conversational platform built for P&C insurance to facilitate quick and easy conversations with policyholders via text message.

By offering text messaging as a communication option, Union Mutual is meeting policyholders where they are—resulting in an easier, more streamlined adjustment process.

Streamlining the Claims Process

A Pew Research Center survey revealed that 80 percent of US adults will not pick up a phone call from a number they do not recognize.

“When we called policyholders using our old phone system, it wouldn’t show up as ‘Union Mutual;’ it would appear as ‘potential spam,’ so people just ignored our calls,” said Wendy Benway, Claim Staff Examiner at Union Mutual. “We’d end up leaving a voicemail. By the time the policyholder called back, we were already working on another claim, which resulted in a lot of unnecessary back and forth. We can avoid the phone tag with Hi Marley. Texting works well; people respond quickly, and it’s just nice to have that option for our policyholders.”

“Hi Marley’s texting capabilities make it easier to communicate throughout the claim and eliminate a lot of phone calls regarding rentals, repair dates, extensions and more,” added Angie Lawrence, Auto Physical Damage Adjuster at Union Mutual.

She continued, “Hi Marley also streamlines all the communications related to payments, from providing status updates to touching base on payment options and answering questions. We can also text the customer a link with the estimate and appraisal versus printing it and putting it in the mail or emailing it; it makes everything much smoother.”

Offering Customers More Communication Options

As more customers shift away from phone calls, Union Mutual’s auto adjusters have found that Hi Marley enables them to easily stay connected and move claims along faster.

Enhancing Responsiveness at Every Stage

Texting helps Union Mutual be responsive to policyholders as the claim moves through each stage of the process.

“We can give quick, easy answers to our policyholders without them having to call us, which allows us to minimize interruptions while ensuring our policyholders feel heard and supported,” said Lex Quickel, Auto Physical Damage Adjuster at Union Mutual.  “It’s also easy for our customers to text over photos or documents. Having that single point of contact makes the overall correspondence so much easier.”

He continued, “We’ve received a lot of positive feedback. Our customers have commented on how convenient texting is—they appreciate that they just need to pull out their phone and can get a response right away.”

Whether it’s quickly answering questions, sharing documents, or eliminating phone tag, Hi Marley’s platform provides Union Mutual with the tools needed to deliver a faster and more convenient claims experience. Union Mutual takes great pride in its superior service and dedication to innovation and will continue to adapt to evolving customer expectations by offering flexibility and convenience through every step.

About Union Mutual

Union Mutual of Vermont Companies, founded in 1874, is a property casualty insurance group consisting of Union Mutual Fire Insurance and New England Guaranty Insurance Company Inc., both based in Montpelier, Vermont; and Community Mutual Insurance Company, based in Latham, New York. The three companies write a total of $220 million in direct premium annually through independent agents throughout New England, and New York and are all rated A (Excellent) with a Stable Outlook by A.M. Best.