State Insurance Canterbury Earthquake Case Study

Brief

Assist State Insurance and their direct response agency, Silk Communications, with implementation of a multi-channel campaign to reassure and inform customers following the Canterbury earthquakes.

Solution

The Canterbury earthquakes presented some unique challenges for insurance companies: how to reach customers when so many had been displaced and/or relocated; where to direct people for help with claims; and how to do it fast.

While digital communication was an obvious solution, many customers had an historic preference for engaging with their insurer via traditional media, leaving companies with limited email and mobile contact information.

Despite these difficult circumstances, State Insurance and their direct response agency, Silk Communications, were determined to be there for their customers, and approached us for assistance with implementation of a “Request a Claim Pack” campaign.

The multi-channel campaign used print advertising and radio to direct people to register for a claim pack either by text or online. All customers were also sent a DM (direct mail) piece with a request coupon that they could return by post.

We provided a centralised database to hold all the requests and sent regular datafeeds to State Insurance's mailhouse so they could be fulfilled.

Working against the clock we were proud to be able to deliver a solution that included:

Multi-channel response mechanisms including web forms and TXT for customers to easily provide updated address information and request a claim pack online
Data capture strategy and data management of all updated customer details received
Full-service management and delivery of direct and follow-up emails, via Engage platform, which were triggered and adapted according to customer response
Proofing and quality control
Testing
New Zealand-based on-call support
Fast turnaround from briefing to implementation.

Results

State Insurance’s determination to look after their customers despite the logistical difficulties presented by the Canterbury earthquakes resulted in a communication campaign that provided welcome reassurance to residents.

The innovative approach not only made use of all available channels – including DM, radio and press – to reach displaced customers, but also provided multiple options for response, including online forms and TXT, to ensure no one missed out.

With the assistance of our Engage platform, State Insurance was also able to simultaneously collect updated contact information – including email and mobile details – for future communications, allowing them to contact customers directly and immediately, should they ever need to.