AXA Gulf: Shaping a better future digitally

Covid-19 has caused immense disruption across almost every aspect of our lives, directly or indirectly affecting us all. As a life partner, AXA Gulf's purpose is to empower people to live a better life, and it is its job to know what matters to customers and to protect it. 
Its customer-first approach meant that AXA Gulf was ideally placed to cope with the operational challenges of the pandemic, enabling the company to keep all of our customer service touch points operational. No matter where the customer is, they can always reach AXA at their own convenience.

AXA Gulf also set up different ways of accessing and purchasing its insurance plans. These make it easier to get a quote, buy a policy, activate or cancel plans, add extra benefits to current or required plans and many more services; all designed to ensure the customers enjoy a tailored and seamless experience. The expert call centre representatives remain available round-the-clocks, helping clients choose their insurance or make a claim.

With the relaxation of restrictions, AXA Gulf's branches and shops are now fully operational if a customer wishes to visit one of its physical stores.

Valuing proactivity, AXA Gulf has focused its efforts on helping people stay safe at home. It recognised the need to enhance its digital experience and capabilities if it was to stay one step ahead and pre-empt the challenges facing its clients in accessing insurance requirements.

As more and more customers wanting to use online services, AXA Gulf took the opportunity to raise the bar in terms of content, user experience, engagement, and product flexibility, making the courageous decision to accelerate its digital transformation programme.

Despite the digital team working from the safety of their own homes, AXA Gulf launched an enhanced, streamlined, easy to use, online and mobile portal for the car insurance customers, creating a new experience that puts customers in control. The portal allows buying, renewing and claiming all of AXA insurance products completely remotely from the comfort of their homes.
Developing this under lockdown conditions required agility, adaptability and perseverance, but AXA Gulf achieved a simple end-to-end online process where requesting a quote and purchasing car insurance from AXA is fast and easy.

Throughout the lockdown, recognising that the customers needed insurance support, AXA Gulf has remained available through all of its channels. Each stage of the customer lifecycle, whether it be buying or renewing is now a seamless and consistent experience tailored to their individual needs. Because of AXA Gulf's legacy of insight and expertise, it truly understands each customer; allowing to create a personalised journey for each individual.

Embracing diversity in all its forms, AXA Gulf offers its customers, partners and employees' choice, flexibility and variety in everything it does, enabling it to include several additional services, which is not available with many other insurers, including - one free pick up and drop off when vehicle needs to go for servicing or windscreen repair without the need to go to a garage.

Franck Heimburger, Chief Personal Lines Officer at AXA Gulf, commented: "Globally, AXA is recognised as a digital pioneer. Our 'One AXA' approach establishes an agile environment where we can challenge the status quo and push ourselves through iterative designs and experimentation to create the best, most progressive and customer focused products and services available.

"In addition to enhancing our digital capabilities during the crisis, we worked on tackling other challenges facing our customers during this difficult time. Most notably, extending access to our 24/7 virtual healthcare service - AXA Teleconsultation - to every customer in the Gulf region. Giving them free 24-hour access to qualified medical doctors virtually, recognising the need to support the Government initiatives to alleviate pressure on hospitals/clinics and also supporting our customers to stay at home and stay safe whilst getting medical advice, prescriptions and many other support services."

Heimburger added that similarly, while the Dubai Government, Abu Dhabi Executive Council and the UAE Cabinet all approved stimulus packages to support the national economy and ensure business continuity, AXA Gulf sought to assist its P&C commercial lines customers and SME businesses by revising policies to offer additional extended protection during the crisis.

"For our retail customers, when it became clear that lockdown was preventing our clients from driving their vehicles as regularly as normal, not only did we reduce our rates, but we also removed the requirement for customers to send in a number of documents like 'No Claims Discount' confirmations to ensure we kept them safe and minimised physical contact, keeping it easy at all times to work with us. This in turn enabled us to secure the best deals for our customers while reducing the documentation needed to incept a policy.

"Although restrictions are being lifted, there is no clear end to the pandemic in sight and we have been able to develop new ways of working that will reinforce a greater level of availability for our customers in the future. The impact of this pandemic, whilst difficult, has had some very positive impacts, accelerating development of our service operations, and we are looking forward to being stronger than ever for our customers as a result."

For 70 years, AXA's experience and expertise have given customers the peace of mind that allows them to live a better, healthier and wealthier life, and the brand is committed to being the ideal insurance partner during these difficult times by helping customers find solutions to everyday problems, making things quicker, easier and more convenient.
For more information, visit www.axa.ae or call 800 AXA (292)