Customer Service Standard and its Implementation 客戶服務標準及其實施

Implementation of Customer Service Standard 客戶服務標準的實施

Implementing customer service standards means putting the promises in a service policy into everyday practice and checking delivery. The insurer's internal audit staff perform this internal monitoring, for example by examining whether documents and claims updates are provided as promised. Detailed standards can differ between insurers, so performance should be assessed against the relevant company's declaration.

Failure to meet a declared standard must be taken seriously. Finding and correcting a problem within the company helps reduce the embarrassment and other consequences that may follow public scrutiny. Internal correction does not, however, allow the company to be the sole judge of its performance or remove external scrutiny.

External monitors include policyholders and the public, industry associations and the insurance regulator, which in Hong Kong is the Insurance Authority. Monitoring may actually be taking place or may remain a possibility. Its scope includes the company's fulfilment of its own service promises and obligations imposed by industry associations or the regulator.

Transparency allows business conduct and practices to be examined, and they must be defensible on both legal and ethical grounds. Merely avoiding a breach of law does not establish that a practice is ethically acceptable. The existence of external monitoring also does not mean that insurers are necessarily subject to constant, oppressive scrutiny.