Aviva could teach British Airways about good customer service!

Regular readers will know that a school minibus reversed into my car two weeks ago. 

To cut a long story short, a few hours after the incident I received a call from Aviva who are Kent County Council's insurers. The caller introduced himself by name, explained the process and gave me a direct line and email address should I need to contact him. I was asked to provide a written quotation to repair the damage, which I had to email with a couple of photographs, which I did three days later. 

Each time I emailed with a question I received a reply within a couple of hours; the replies were well written, courteous and accurate. I was kept informed of progress, and yesterday received an email to inform me that the car was repairable but offering me an option to write it off. The 'write off' figure was very fair, and whilst a friend advised me to go in higher to try and up the offer I decided to settle. I am sure I could have pushed them for a few hundred pounds more, but in the end I felt I had been treated well, their offer was decent and I was happy to bring the matter to conclusion. 

Had Aviva treated me badly, or their Claims Manager been arrogant or condescending, or failed to reply to my emails, I would have probably been a bit more combative and tried to maximise my claim. As it was, I felt I had been treated well and was happy to settle without rancour or argument. I suspect some might consider me foolish for showing such benevolence to a multi-national insurance company, but I am happy with the outcome and like to treat people fairly.  

It's a shame that receiving good service is so rare that I consider it worth blogging, but sadly that's the way of the world. Given I am happy to complain when things go wrong, it's only right to acknowledge when they go well.  So thank you to Aviva and to their Commercial Claims Manager, Daniel Hipperson. I have emailed his line manager to express my thanks, which I am happy to do in public on my blog!