Environmental awareness
We recognise that everyone plays a crucial role in managing the impact we all have on the environment, and it is our responsibility as an employer to ensure we are reinforcing that message by demonstrating that we are doing what we can. As small steps, we recycle all waste and encourage our staff to embrace car sharing.
We have chosen an Eco office specifically to make a bigger step to becoming a carbon neutral business. Our office is rated ‘A’ in Energy Performance and uses Biomass heating and the toilets utilises rainwater collection.
Changes in our policy towards fleet purchasing has shown a reduction in the average CO2 emissions of 49.5g per vehicle (considering standard and 4×4 vehicles only), and as we add more hybrid and fully electric vehicles to our fleet, this will only reduce further.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone. We foster a positive climate at work and encourage an environment of trust at all levels of the business. Our staff know that they can speak to us about anything they are worried about, and we all know what signs to be aware of so that we can provide support to someone if they haven’t felt able to ask for it. We have people trained in mental health first aid, which is not only essential for the wellbeing of our own work force, but also for any clients who we recognise as being vulnerable.
We understand that individuals may experience differing levels of resilience when it comes to our claims process and understand the importance of tailoring our service to the needs of the consumer.
Training
This covers a wide area – from the induction training provided to new starters to on-going refresher training for all our teams. We offer and encourage our staff to work towards relevant qualifications, usually through the Chartered Insurance Institute and we welcome external trainers who deliver important face to face training covering areas such as dealing with difficult customers specifically tailored to our service requirements.
Consumer Duty
The implementation of the new FCA consumer duty regulations reflects the absolute importance on prioritising customer interests within the financial services industry. We have implemented ways of measuring and monitoring customer outcomes, ensuring that we consistently uphold the principle of placing customers first. We will continue to make sure our clients fully understand the services we are offering to them, and will act with integrity and in good faith at all times.
Thinking beyond policies & procedures
This may sound like a strange responsibility, but we believe it is one of the most important. Our leadership team are empowered to have the confidence to be flexible and adapt the actions they feel are appropriate in any given situation, regardless of what a documented process may dictate. Our business and the services we provide are not reliant on automated decisions generated by computers, and the human consideration of each claim and situation is key to our ethical approach to business.