Developing practical mitigations for reputational risks: A case study from the UK insurance sector

Abstract

This paper examines a new method for measuring reputational risk developed by the Customer Services Institute in 2018 for UK insurance markets. It sets out the way in which the model was constructed through in-depth qualitative work followed by detailed opinion surveys, and uses two case studies to compare the results from the research with perceptions about how the sector has performed through the lens of different stakeholders, including regulators. It finds that the index correctly identifies two areas where public trust in insurers has been reduced. These areas are renewal charging practices in retail insurance and payment of business interruption insurance claims for SMEs. The paper also concludes that the index gives strong practical guidance about how these reputational issues can be addressed. Two limitations of the model are as follows: first, because it is set up to express issues in consumer terms, it can be difficult to then draw lessons for different organisations within the value chain, and secondly, the survey approach can obscure the experiences of very small minorities, unless the survey is carefully focused on those groups. For very small groups, a more qualitative approach may be more effective.