By Kefiloe Kajane
Local insurance company Alliance Insurance this week gave an update on the impact of Covid-19 on policy claims and how they have adjusted to the new normal.
Alliance head of – marketing and communications – ‘Makeabetsoe Mabaleha, said as a company, they recognize that the Covid-19 pandemic has adversely impacted their clients and Basotho in general, and in 2020, they came up with measures to support their clients and Basotho as a whole, who found themselves in financial distress.
Mabaleha said they offered clients relaxation on policy lapse for six calendar months, provided them with a payment holiday and extended a helping hand to more than 2500 street vendors with a capital fund for their businesses, to mention a few.
She said they have noted with great concern the increasing number of Basotho who are losing their lives, and this has indeed saddened them as they know the value that each life brings, adding that the increasing number of lives lost has also been evident by the increasing number of claims which doubled in the first three weeks of January compared to the month of December.
“From a liquidity point of view, Alliance is not strained to honour these claims, as we have over the years been using the best actuarial modelling to determine and build our reserves. We wish to reassure Basotho that we will honour all valid claims, including claims for deaths as a result of Covid-19.
“We, however, admit that we were somehow challenged in the first week of January by volumes which quickly needed us to adjust our operations and increase the number of people who will attend to claims to improve our service to our customers, especially given the urgency demanded by government regulations around burials.
“The pandemic has forced us to change the way we work and render our services. We have had to fast track our technological projects, which has helped us to link with more suppliers that are part of the ecosystem and this has improved our turnaround time. There are several projects that we continue to work tirelessly on which will improve our sales and claims processes drastically. In the meantime, we are confident that the measures we have taken to assist our clients will live up to their expectations and we should improve from there,” she explained.
She further explained that while dealing with the pandemic, the biggest challenge, as mentioned, has been the strain on their service levels caused by the increased quantity of claims. She said, to address the issue, they have increased resources dedicated to claims and have extended working hours for staff to deal with the increased volumes of claims.
“Furthermore, we have had to deal with the implementation of the recommended Covid-19 protocols to protect both our staff and our clients. We are thankful that, to date, we have not had any prolonged service stoppages or any internal Covid-19 related mortalities. We continue to be vigilant in maintaining the protocols across all our branches,” Mabaleha stated.
She also said they have also been paying attention to their staff and helping them to overcome, not just fatigue, but also the anxiety that nation is facing during these times.
She explained that they continue to provide personalized counselling for their staff and have also been engaging in group counselling sessions which they believe have provided much needed relief.
“This is a continuous process and we remain committed to prioritizing our staff’s mental and physical well-being,” she concluded.
