Cirencester Friendly maintains superior customer service rating with advisers

15 December 2023

• Achieved 89.2 in the latest Institute of Customer Service Business Benchmarking survey
• The organisation continues to benchmark more than 10 points above the insurance industry UK Customer Satisfaction Index average of 78.7
• Places Cirencester firmly in the upper quartile of the B2B organisations.

Cirencester Friendly is delighted to announce another strong set of results from this year’s Institute of Customer Service Business Benchmarking Survey. Cirencester achieved an impressive rating of 89.2, which is more than 10 points higher than the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) insurance industry average and almost 13 points better than the average across all sectors in the UK.

The areas where Cirencester scored particularly highly were the helpfulness and competence of employees, doing the right thing, product and service quality and explaining information clearly. In all these areas, the organisation was rated at 9 or higher out of a possible 10.

These results demonstrate the emphasis that Cirencester has placed on service quality, putting it firmly at the heart of the organisation. The need to provide clear and comprehensive support to advisers and members were central objectives behind major initiatives this year, including the launch of the new short-term benefit option in the summer and the recent rebrand and website refresh.

The impact of the short-term benefit option was reflected in the results, with 97.4% of advisers stating they feel it has had a positive impact and helped to improve the level of service that Cirencester offer.

Cirencester also scored an impressive 8.9 out of 10 for the intention to remain a customer and intention to recommend Cirencester Friendly to others. This is around 1 point higher than the industry and UKCSI all-sector average, showing the strong relationship that Cirencester has built with advisers.

Head of Customer Experience & Claims, Michelle West-Wiggins said: “These results reflect the hard work and passion of our teams. They are genuinely focused on providing a fantastic level of service to everyone they speak to, whether that is an adviser or a member. I’m particularly proud to see we scored so highly for doing the right thing and shows we follow through on our promise of putting people first.”

CEO Andy Morris said: “I’m delighted to see that advisers think so highly of our service, especially as there have been so many negative stories in the industry press about service over the past year. Since I took over as CEO, we have placed service at the heart of our strategy and focussed on this across the business. These results reflect the hard work and commitment that all our colleagues have put in, demonstrating the value that mutual organisations can bring to the sector and I am thrilled that our advisers have recognised these efforts.”

Matt Brown, Head of Proposition, PRIMIS Mortgage Network said: “We receive great feedback from our Appointed Representatives about the service they receive from Cirencester and additionally our own interactions with their strategic partnership team reflect the high scores around the helpfulness and competence of their employees. There is a clear culture evident within Cirencester which shows care for their customers, and this delights us as a distributer of their products”.

Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, said: “These results in our Business Benchmarking survey show that Cirencester Friendly’s adviser network has had a positive and consistent customer experience. The excellent feedback received demonstrates strong leadership commitment to service and a customer-centric approach.”