"Speaking from my personal experience, my position is and has always been post-advice care. I think that's absolutely crucial when it comes to building trust and having an ongoing relationship."
- Naomi Jeffs - Waddle Insurance
In Waddle’s 2025 claims report, the firm revealed that 95% of claims were paid or ongoing, including 94% of life insurance claims, 97% of critical illness claims, and 79% of income protection claims.
But the role of the intermediary does not end there. In fact, it's often only half of the process.
Naomi Jeffs started at Waddle in 2021, and has worked across administration, client onboarding, sales support and compliance monitoring, which she says has given her "invaluable insight into different parts of the client journey and has helped shape the claims department and claims support framework."
"As the company has grown and clients have had their policies for longer, we've just naturally seen an increase in claims year-on-year. We feel it's imperative that there's a structure in place so that our clients receive the same level of care as they have received at all different stages in their journey, and arguably at a time that they need it most," she says.
In this regard, a "standout moment" for Naomi's career was being named as a 'Hero in the Middle' winner at the L&G’s Business Quality Awards 2026, where she was recognised for her work as a central point of contact for a client between their employer, insurer and GP. Now in its 15th year, the awards recognise firms and advisers who have delivered exceptional customer outcomes and strong retention of business.
Staying part of the journey
"When it comes to a life or a critical illness claim, once that claim has been accepted and the client receives their payout, it doesn't mean that their protection needs have ended," Naomi says.
"It may mean it's the end of the claim journey, but it's also so important that the client and their family understand the remaining cover and what the considerations are to plan for protection in the future.
"With that in mind, we have a post-claim review process in place. So that means that after every claim has been accepted, the client or the beneficiary is routed back to the protection adviser, who then has that conversation with the client.
"The majority of our claimants are really keen to have that completed soon after the claim has been presented because the value of protection is in the forefront of their mind," she explains.
However, Naomi notes that for income protection claims, the claim being accepted is "really just the middle part of the process."
"Income protection claims can be long-term, and they require evidence, coordination, communication, and collaboration," she says. "It's absolutely vital that the client has support because they're still navigating their own personal circumstances and their medical issues."
In terms of ongoing support, Naomi stresses that intermediaries checking in with customers can have an important impact: "Explaining what's going on, whether the payments are going to come this month, whether further medical evidence is needed, and being able to answer any questions, particularly at a time when clients may not be able to do it for themselves."
Becoming the central point of contact
As part of this support, Naomi highlights how intermediaries can act as the central point of contact between insurers, employers and medical professionals: "Waddle has created a digital claim support letter of authority (LOA), which has been really helpful in terms of being that effective central point of contact because it allows the flow and share of information between myself and the insurer."
"I think that having those right permissions in place really early on is crucial," she continues. "We want to make sure that the information is proactive, and if there are requests for information, we're on it; we can follow it up and get the information going. So that, I would say, is absolutely key.”
Naomi adds that a "dedicated claims support," where the same intermediary "supports the client throughout the entire journey,” can be "really useful", as it means the client doesn’t have to keep repeating themselves to different people.
"We know exactly what's going on. We have a timeline of events. We can collect the medical information or the financial information and have them in one central place. That's really effective with claim management."
In addition, Naomi notes that "positioning yourself as your client's advocate can really help when dealing with medical professionals," explaining that she is "often on the phone to doctor's surgeries, ensuring reports are moving forward and leveraging my experience and knowledge of the process to help support a fair outcome for the client.
"And in terms of employers, knowing when it is appropriate and reasonable to ask the client to get involved, because, of course, they have a level of responsibility and participation that they need to effectively move the claim forward," she adds.
The barriers to achieving fair customer outcomes
One of the biggest barriers that Naomi has seen to achieving fair customer outcomes is the amount of time that can be involved in processing a claim: "From viewing a claims form to third-party requests and third parties completing reports, further information being requested, and then assessing the medical and financial information. This all takes time."
"From start to finish, if your client is in a very vulnerable position, and arguably increasingly more financially vulnerable because they're not being able to work, this can be a real challenge," she continues.
"In terms of overcoming those barriers, I've already seen dramatic improvements and innovative solutions from insurers, such as L&G, where they have online portals to submit claims forms and track progress. Again, speaking about Waddle's initiatives, we have the digital LOA to remove bottlenecks early.”
Naomi stresses the importance of "proactive support services that insurers have on offer," including both emotional and financial support "that can bridge that gap between the claim start and the claim accepted.
"That support system goes far beyond just the claims journey,” she says.
Ensuring that the claim journey is accessible for the client is another important area of the process, Naomi says, such as in a situation where the client's first language is not English, and intermediaries may need to "adapt explanations to meet individual needs."
"Having that dedicated position as a mediator and being able to break down the jargon and the process is just totally invaluable for people with this particular vulnerability," she explains.
Real claims experience and its impact on advice
"I feel quite strongly that we can all learn something from every experience," Naomi says, "and that is especially true when it comes to claims, because arguably it's at the most vulnerable, important times of people's lives, so we can definitely take something away from things that go right, but I would say more importantly, where the journey is more complex."
According to Naomi, this was one of the main reasons why Waddle published its customer-facing claims report: "It was driven by transparency and the idea to create these conversations internally in the industry and for clients, too.”
"We see our position as an intermediary as a unique position," she continues. "We can see the claims journey from the client's perspective and the insurers, too […] we want to use these real experiences to remind clients and the industry of the impact and importance that protection has on clients and their family."
Naomi also says that Waddle has aimed to create "a continuous internal feedback loop so that our advisers are familiar with the realities of claims," in the hopes of prompting "more informative" and "genuine" protection conversations.
Closing the protection gap and building trust in the industry
In its recent Pure Protection Market Study final report, the FCA identified a protection gap that it described as stemming largely from "limited consumer awareness and understanding, or from challenges in the sales process making access difficult."
"Speaking from my personal experience, my position is and has always been post-advice care," Naomi says. "I think that's absolutely crucial when it comes to building trust and having an ongoing relationship. That needs to be built from the very first conversations that we have with our clients.
"In our advice process, the average length is about three hours long, and that's to get a clear understanding of the client: who they are, their medical information, financial circumstances, family, household.
"It's so much more than just providing advice on a policy. Their policies are in place to protect themselves and their families throughout all of life’s changes, and we need to be part of that client's journey throughout, whether it's a house move, a new child, a critical illness, et cetera.
Naomi says that she wants to shift the perception of protection from "a transactional service" to "a mutual, reciprocal, proactive relationship where the client is as much involved as we are in terms of setting up the policy and managing it."
She explains that one way in which this is done at Waddle is through its Policy Keeper Service: "When a client comes on board, they receive their welcome pack, and within their welcome pack, there is a policy keeper form that allows the client to nominate somebody to know that they have a policy in place."
"We want to make sure that their beneficiaries and their intended recipients do receive the money should they pass away, so we have certain initiatives in place that hopefully help us bridge that protection gap and build trust in the protection industry."
To ensure an effective future for the industry, Naomi underlines the importance of intermediaries making sure that clients are "aware of their policies, the protection they have, and the support that's available to them.
"I think all insurers have brilliant support services, which are totally free for their clients, and I just would love clients to make more use of that."
