Royal London, Standard Life, Canada Life and Vitality have all been awarded five stars in the fourth edition of the Corporate Adviser Service Ratings Report, which measures the service performance of all the key providers across the workplace benefits sector. Request your PDF copy of the full research here
The data in this year’s report shows an improvement on last year in terms of service standards delivered by most providers across all the key areas of employee benefits. Last year’s report saw advisers mark providers down for poor service across many channels, with healthcare, cash plans and group risk seeing particular challenges as providers grappled with increased usage and challenging supply chains following the opening up of the economy post Covid. This year’s figures show many providers starting to get on top of these challenges, with more Five Star Ratings earned this year than last, although some providers have seen their ratings slip. But overall, scores still remain below those recorded three years ago.
In the group pension sector Royal London maintained its Five Star Ratings, joined this year by Standard Life, which also earned a Five Star Rating. Aviva earned a Four Star Ratings.
In the group risk category Canada Life achieved a Five Star Rating this year – last year no group risk provider achieved this level. Unum retained its Four Star Rating.
In the healthcare category Vitality jumped from three stars to a Five Star Rating. Axa Health saw a dip in its score, while other providers improved theirs, with Bupa just missing out on a Four Star Rating.
In the cash plan category Medicash achieved a Five Star Rating, with Simplyhealth earning a Four Star Rating.
Corporate Adviser editor John Greenwood says: “Service levels are central to the relationship between provider and intermediary. Bad service is keenly felt by advisers, consultants and brokers, causing them increased workload, creating potential for errors and straining their relationship with their employer clients when things go awry. Good service strengthens the intermediary’s client relationship, evidencing why they recommended a particular provider in the first place.
“Congratulations to those providers that have earned five and four stars for their service in this year’s survey.”
The Corporate Adviser Service Ratings give advisers, consultants and brokers an unbiased and independent evaluation of the levels of service providers are delivering across the market. These ratings support advisers in understanding what they should expect from providers and enable them to see how their own experiences of providers compare with those of their peers.
The research analyses providers across six criteria. Understanding how they perform against each of these different metrics can help providers focus their resources on those areas most in need of improvement.