It's an all-too-familiar scenario: You have a question about a bill, and you call the toll-free number listed on your statement. After dialing, the same recorded voice you've heard on every other customer service line thanks you and advises you to "listen carefully, because the options have changed." None of the options offered match the nature of your inquiry or issue, so you press "0" for the operator and you are told that your selection is invalid.
If you're weary of such "modern" customer service, you may find yourself relieved when you call SAIF's Service Center. More often than not, you are greeted by a SAIF receptionist and directly transferred to the person who will give you his or her complete attention until your question has been answered.
On the other end of the phone is a highly trained, licensed insurance producer whose mission is that of SAIF – to provide your small business with affordable workers' comp insurance and to do so with exceptional service and timeliness.
What they do
Located in Portland, SAIF Corporation's Service Center is staffed with more than 20 insurance representatives who, because of the wide range of calls they receive, are the company's "go-to" people. They are masterful at what they do – namely, serving the needs of small business. Their job is to handle the calls of policyholders, insurance agents, and others who need workers' comp questions answered.
Writing new policies, answering billing questions, responding to customers' and agents' emails, processing address changes, and forwarding calls on to other parts of the company, such as claims or billing, are all in a day's work for a SAIF insurance representative. These routine tasks, however, fail to describe the real substance of their work.
How they help
"These days I get lots of calls from customers who are experiencing stress because 
of the economy," says insurance representative Sarah Coxsey. "Very often they've reduced staff without providing new payroll estimates to SAIF, so they're paying a premium based on a higher, outdated payroll."
Coxsey is especially happy when she's able to save a customer money. "Having accurate payroll amounts makes a huge difference, and sometimes I get to give customers the good news that they're entitled to a premium credit, or at least advise them on ways to save money in the future."
Who they are
Many customers don't understand the intricacies of workers' comp, and the insurance representatives like Sarah are adept at explaining how customers' rates are calculated, what goes into the cost, and how to reduce these costs.
"Our insurance representatives are well-organized, analytical, great multi-taskers, and above all else, the kind of friendly people everyone hopes for when calling customer service," says Jan Warren, SAIF's Service Center operations manager.
"Each new representative we hire gets 13 weeks of classroom training as well as on-the-job training. Plus, as licensed insurance producers, they are all expected to take continuing education courses in relevant insurance topics."
The top 5 reasons to call SAIF's Service Center
You are a small business and you:
- Are changing the size of your payroll
- Are changing your address, phone number, or other contact information
- Are in need of a new policy
- Are having issues paying your premium
- Have a question about your policy