Insurance providers improve standard of service
By Johanna Gornitzki
Just Retirement has been coined the best service provider in the life and pensions industry for the second time running by Sesame's Provider Service Index Report.
Skandia kept its position as runner-up in the index, which looked at the standards of service delivered by insurers.
While no surprises were seen in the top two spots, Legal & General managed to grab third place after climbing five places since the last survey was undertaken.
Axa, however, experienced another disappointing result as it continued to be the lowest rated provider, coming in at 21st place.
The insurer was joined by Canada Life and Abbey, which fell to 20th and 19th place in the index, respectively.
In general, adviser satisfaction levels were up 16% compared with the previous study.
Stephen Young, sales and marketing director at Sesame, commented: "Excellent service can be a key differentiator in the market, and it undoubtedly has a positive impact on how product provider brands are perceived by the advice profession."
Sesame launched the index last summer as part of its campaign to raise provider service standards. More than 500 advisers took part in the latest survey, which was conducted in October 2007.
The index aims to assess four key areas of service, including how well providers handle telephone inquiries, how they process and track new business, their online systems and support and ability to handle and issue correspondence to consumers.
