Empowering Customers to Manage their Claims Online
Direct Line Group (DLG) partnered with Motability to create a new hub where customers could track and manage their claims online.
Direct Line, Churchill, and Privilege brands later adopted this new hub.
The Problem
Once customers had made a claim, they had to call in to get updates, leading to:
High call volumes and associated costs.
Long wait times for customers, resulting in frustration and poor experiences.
A lack of online options for customers who preferred managing their claims digitally.
The Goal
Design an accessible, user-centric claims hub to improve the post-claim customer experience.
Identify key post-claim drivers based on common customer call reasons.
Create an intuitive interface that allows customers to easily track and manage their claims online.
My Role: Lead UX Designer
I contributed to all stages of the project including:
Initial research
Ideation
Wireframing
Research
Understanding Post-Claims Data and Key Pain-Points
To uncover the reasons behind post-claim customer calls, I analysed call data, listened to recordings, and collaborated with call handlers and the customer insights team. Key pain points identified included:
Lack of visibility into repair status and liability updates.
Difficulty submitting additional evidence including photographs and videos.
Uncertainty about claim progress and completion dates.
The inability to resume a claim online.
Design Process
Ideation
I coordinated multiple brainstorming sessions with the relevant cross-functional teams to generate ideas. This included working with engineering to understand what was technically possible and how the customer would be handed over from their account into the Track and Manage Hub.
A Personalised Experience
I designed a customer journey that was personalised to the customer’s intent, ensuring the customer could get to the right place as quickly as possible.
In addition, capturing the customer intent upfront also meant that we could learn what the majority of customers were logging into the hub to do.
The Hub’s Features
Driven by research and solving problems for the customer, the features of the Hub included:
Track repair progress, including dates for vehicle repair.
Upload photos, videos, and additional details.
View claim documents and download them as needed.
Resume partially completed claims.
I began work on future features, which will include liability updates and hire car information, before moving to Australia.
Accessibility and Design
Collaborating with an external accessibility specialist, I designed the hub to meet WCAG 2.1 standards, making it accessible to all customers. This included using descriptive hyperlink text that would make sense out of context for screen readers.
Brand Consistency
Since the hub was initially built for Motability, who had their own requirements, I needed to adapt the design so it was suitable for DLG brands.
I created a white-label version of the product, followed by branded variants for Direct Line, Churchill, and Privilege, ensuring each had a consistent user experience while reflecting its brand identity.
Impact and Reflection
Outcomes
While the hub was launched at the end of the year, early usage data showed promising results in the first month:
Over 2,000 customers logged into the Track and Manage hub.
600 claims were resumed through the platform.
600 documents were viewed and 250 documents downloaded.
This solution is expected to significantly reduce call volumes and improve operational efficiency by giving customers a self-service option.
Final Thoughts
With the support of my team, we were able to empower customers to manage their claims online—a capability that few UK insurers currently offer. In doing so, we laid a strong foundation for future features that will continue to solve customer and business frustrations..
Throughout this project, I collaborated with internal and external cross-functional teams, proactively presenting design iterations to a range of stakeholders, including C-suite. This approach helped raise the product’s profile across the business and was well received, aligning with the company’s focus on reducing costs and accelerating digital transformation.
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