Pinnacol Policyholders Reap Benefits from Ease of Doing Business ...

Focus is published quarterly for
Pinnacol Assurance’s policyholders.
Pinnacol
Assurance’s
Phone Listing
Please have your policy
number ready when you call.
Toll Free
1-800-873-7242
Telephone Relay Service
1-800-659-2656
Claims Reporting Fax
1-888-329-2251
Fraud Hotline
Toll Free 1-800-873-1888
Report workplace injuries
immediately by going to
www.pinnacol.com and clicking
on “Pinnacol ServiceLink.”
President’s Message
Improvements Help Raise Customer
Satisfaction
Because Pinnacol Assurance is always looking for ways we can improve, we regularly ask our
customers about their interactions with us. In recent years, feedback from agents and policyholders
indicated that we were not easy to do business with, especially when compared to many
of our competitors – so we took action.
In 2006, we established a new corporate strategic theme – Ease of Doing Business (EODB) –
that focused on being more flexible and streamlined, with the goal of saving time and
eliminating inconveniences for our customers. Since we launched EODB, more than 30 underwriting
and policy management-related areas have undergone improvement, including our
installment plan options, payroll reporting form, and invoices. You can read more about these
and other EODB initiatives in this issue of Focus.
Have our efforts made a difference? We think so. One indication is our recent customer satisfaction survey results. The
results of our 2006 Policyholder Service Quality Survey show that Pinnacol received our highest-ever rating of 8.9 out of
10 points for overall customer satisfaction, which is significantly above the nationwide insurance industry norm of 8.2
and up from our 2005 score of 8.7. Survey respondents also gave Pinnacol a 9.0 rating on the likelihood of renewing their
policies, an all-time high mark for the company.
Few companies in any industry receive customer satisfaction scores as high as ours, and we couldn’t have achieved such
high numbers if not for our employees. Their focus on meeting customers’ needs, combined with all the services Pinnacol
provides, has clearly had a positive impact.
One example of that impact comes from Ted Roach, a Pinnacol policyholder and small business owner, who has benefited,
firsthand, from our EODB efforts (see story on page 3). With a seasonal cash flow, he struggled to pay his policy premium
in one lump sum – so we designed a payment plan that fit the seasonal nature of his business.
Although our EODB efforts have made a difference so far, there’s more to be done – so we are expanding these initiatives in
2007 and beyond. Ultimately, we want our policyholders, injured workers, and agents to acknowledge that we are easy to do
business with.
Business Update
2007 “Ease of
Doing Business”
Update
Last year, Pinnacol Assurance launched our Ease
of Doing Business (EODB) initiative aimed at
addressing feedback from customers, who said
that our paperwork requirements and other
processes were too cumbersome. Here’s a quick
overview of the improvements we’ve implemented
so far:
• Shorter Applications with Flexible Upfront
Deposits – We’ve cut our application
supplement in half.
• More Flexible Installment Plans – We’re helping
policyholders adjust their payment schedules to
meet their business needs (see story on page 3).
2
• Redesigned Safety Questionnaire – The new
“risk profile” saves policyholders time and
eliminates redundant paperwork.
• One-Time Independent Contractor Forms –
These forms are now required only once for the
lifetime of the policy, unless a change occurs.
• Streamlined Invoices – Our invoices are
shorter and contain better information on
payment plans, audits, and monetary disbursement
options.
• Streamlined ERM 14 Form (Change in
Ownership) – Policyholders now receive this
form with many of the fields automatically filled
in by our system.
• E-Signatures Acceptable – Our system now
accepts electronic “signatures” for new business
applicants and electronic fund transfer (EFT)
payments, eliminating the need for faxed
signatures.
• More Efficient Payroll Reporting – A
streamlined form, available online at Pinnacol
ServiceLink, makes payroll reporting simpler
and quicker for policyholders.
• Reduced Deposits with New “Pinnacol Pay
Partners” – Under certain circumstances, there is
now no deposit required when a Pinnacol policyholder
reports actual payroll instead of estimated
payroll.
• Provider Designation Over the Phone –
Policyholders can now designate medical
providers from Pinnacol’s SelectNet network by
completing the written form or by calling their
underwriter or our customer service team.
• Phone System Upgrade – Calls are answered
faster, our Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
system does a better job of transferring calls to
the right person, and we’re enhancing our menu
options to include Spanish and self-service
options (see story on page 6).
cont. on page 6 >>