BCIC embarks on ‘mission clarity’

The British Caribbean Insurance Company Ltd (BCIC) has committed to be clear, open and customer-focused in its communications by rewriting its policy booklets in ‘plain language’. A document written in plain language is easy for the reader to read, understand, and act on. The first phase of the company’s plain-language commitment is its new Home Cover All Policy Booklet, which is Writemark-approved.

The Writemark is an internationally recognised quality mark for clear communication. Established in 2005, the mark is awarded to documents and websites that achieve a high standard of plain language.

This new plain-language strategy does not only involve the rewriting of policy booklets, but a complete overhaul of how the company communicates with its customers. Managing Director for BCIC Peter Levy indicated that all the company’s communications are being written using plain language.

“We’ve found that the best way to minimise distrust and improve the connection between us and our customers is to talk to them in a way they can understand. Plain language delivers better results, and an enhanced customer experience,” he said.

The Financial Services Commission recently released The Insurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022, which outlined new market-conduct guidelines for the insurance industry. Among them was the necessity for plain language to be incorporated in all interactions between insurers and their customers.

Insurance consultant and regular Gleaner columnist Cedric Stephens commended BCIC for its foresight. In his recent column, Stephens said that this initiative has positioned the brand favourably in the eyes of the customer.

“The BCIC’s management is promoting trust in its brand and products, and at the same time complying with the regulator’s market-conduct rules,” he said.

Levy is pleased with the new guidelines, because he believes the industry must place the customer at its centre to survive what is a difficult insurance landscape. However, he is even more pleased that BCIC is seemingly ahead of the curve with the use of plain language in all aspects of its communication.

“This is something we are passionate about, and we do a lot of work internally to ensure that from top to bottom, all of our teammates know how vital the implementation of plain-language standards are to the survival of our business. We have an entire team dedicated to pushing our plain-language initiative. We have plain-language champions in every department to hold teammates accountable, and we host training sessions for all members of staff on plain-language standards regularly”, he said.

The Writemark is the second such international certification BCIC has received. The company received a rating of B++ (good) from AM Best, the world’s first and largest credit rating agency specialising in the insurance industry. The rating of B++ is assigned to insurance companies that have a good ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations.