Key issue:

Lapse rates poorer than divisional average and poorest in peer group. Business leaking away and no strategy to reduce the losses.

Solution:

In mid-2009 Tom Baigrie (Managing Director, LifeSearch) understood from our presentation that they needed to stem the tide of lapses. As a result of the recommendations put forward, Tom enlisted Andrew Parker (Operations Manager) to set up a retention team to work on the Early Warning System notifications.

results

The first full year of operation proved a £600,000 saving by using the Early Warning System. They now have 5 full time staff working on Early Warning and customer retention. This is now a core part of Lifesearch's business.

Quote from LifeSearch:

"Prior to meeting with  Mike, we gave it a stab but it was only when the proposal was presented and the benefit clearly illustrated that we were seriously taken by what could be achieved. The "this is what you could be doing..." slide was a wake up and call to action. We have built the retention unit up slowly but surely, adding a new team member as we move along. Every chance we get, we have process reviews to see what we can do to improve efficiency and outcomes. It's important that you look at what you do at every opportunity. Never take it for granted that you have the "finished article". Understanding what works well, through best practice, is vital to saving time and effort. As a result of the way we've developed, I'm pleased that our retention unit has more than paid for itself, and it's definitely worth our while and providing great value to our business. L&G were instrumental in LifeSearch forming our Customer Retention Team, which has helped reduce our policy lapses considerably. They've worked closely with us over the last couple of years in refining this process which now saves us over a million pounds in clawback every year."

Key issue:

Potentially millions of pounds a year being lost by the business (and their franchisees) without a plan to help retain.

Solution:

• Set up a retention unit and made it the best, with four full time staff now working in situ since 2006. 
• Put excellent systems and controls in place to ensure they retained the maximum amount of business.

results

They saved 79% of all net notifications from the Early Warning System. This means that £1.42m of the £1.78m notified was managed and retained by their excellent team.

Quote from Peter Brodnicki, Chief Executive of Mortgage Advice Bureau:

"We set up our Protection Retention Team in 2006. The team’s sole objective is to handle all of the arrears notifications received across MAB’s distribution to ensure lapses are kept to the minimum possible. The results speak for themselves, with over £7m of our advisers' and business owners' incomes saved over that period! Catching the client early in the process is essential to a successful outcome. Legal & General’s Early Warning System has proved an invaluable part of the retention process, and is by far the most efficient arrears notification technology we have come across. The overall efficiency and speed of EWS helps our Retention team deliver extremely high standards of customer service and handle arrears situations quickly and efficiently. We've continued to develop our retention process with Legal & General, who have been extremely supportive of the teams work and what we are trying to achieve."