How did elearning help insurance giant roll-out professional controls, globally?
This case study explains how elearning was used to help insurance giant, Chaucer Group in their mission to improve processes and ultimately, services to a worldwide client base.
As a leading specialty (re)insurance group working with brokers, cover holders and clients to protect and support business activities around the world, Chaucer Group are always looking for ways to improve their risk management, operational oversight and, ultimately, their ability to provide top-tier services to clients all over the world.
With over 200 underwriters globally leading their strategy and driving growth, they partnered with Dynamic to create a high-impact, concise experience to support a major shift in their underwriting controls environment—helping this diverse set of professionals understand what’s expected of them, and drive consistent adoption and behaviours across the business.
Together, we acheived:
What did we need to do?
We met with Chaucer right in the middle of a major operational change. They had just refreshed and refined their existing underwriting controls framework and developed a new SharePoint site to centralise guidance and best practice.
With the infrastructure in place, the success of the initiative now depended on perception, understanding, adoption and consistent application by underwriters at all levels and in every one of their global offices … from their HQ in London to their regional hubs in Copenhagen, Dublin, Miami, Dubai, Singapore, Bermuda and Ipswich.
The challenge was set. We needed to put our elearning expertise to use in order to improve operations across the insurance company’s underwriting function. In short we had to:
Engage
… junior and experienced underwriters, each with different mindsets and levels of acceptance.
Explain
… the “why” behind the controls, not just the process.
Drive
… implementation of the controls and adoption of the SharePoint site as a single source of truth.
Maintain
… Chaucer’s high standards of compliance and service quality.
The elearning also needed to land quickly, as insurance is a fast-paced environment, aligning with a wider change programme and a planned rollout within a tight 10 week delivery cycle (including the Christmas period and scheduled annual leave, which impacted review periods).
How did we solve Chaucer’s challenges?
We started with a blank sheet of paper … scoping, shaping and designing a 15 minute elearning module that was:
Respectful of our audience’s time …
… and their professional experience.
The result was an experience that combined:
Strong instructional, application-based design …
… and purposeful multimedia elements.
This started with the way we visually designed and developed the module. At Dynamic, we’ve worked with 100s (if not 1000s) of brands of all shapes and sizes, making sure their palettes and identities are reflected in the learning. With this project, we knew the focus had to be on exceptionally clear, easy-to-use navigation and visual design that balanced cognitive load considerations with Chaucer’s unique professional identity. Yes the aim was engaement. But it was time to focus on the important factors; what made the underwriters tick?
Using the 'What’s in it for me?' approach
One of the main challenges of this project was ensuring all underwriters—of different ages, backgrounds, experiences and nationalities—were bought into the wider change and purpose of the training.
To achieve this, we created a strong narrative hook, which worked to connect individual role with the broader business impact, helping learners to understand both the what and the why. We know that underwriters take pride in their position and ability to provide expert advice and services. So we used this very same messaging to gain buy-in for the controls.
This included a scene-setting animated video, used to introduce context, purpose and collaboration in the controls environment.
How should I use the controls?
Once we had their attention, we wanted to show people how they should use the controls. After all, the only way this change was going to land was if underwriters truly understood how the controls should be used to support daily work.
We did this through a series of scenarios, helping learners explore how the principles apply in realistic, recognisable situations, while simultaneously reinforcing key learning and testing understanding. It was a truly practical approach.
How should I use the SharePoint site?
Creating the elearning is all well and good but how do we make sure it sticks with hundreds of insurance professionals? Finally, we needed to return to the key driver for the project:
Make sure that people are actually accessing and using the SharePoint site.
Well, to make this a reality we didn’t just tell them what the site was and why it existed through a walkthrough video and subsequent information … we also created an integrated assessment that tested use of the site rather than recall of knowledge from the training.
Learners were expected to answer questions by searching the SharePoint for the answers—testing utilisation while also getting users to go to every corner of the controls environment in search of the correct answers.
Maintaining professionalism, at every stage
Working in close partnership with the Underwriting function, we developed a professional, interactive training module that supported the roll-out and continued implementation of Chaucer’s underwriting controls framework—as well as directly contributing to longer-term business transformation and strategy.
By combing concise, straightforward content with engaging design and practical application, the training helped:
Align underwritings around a consistent approach
Embed understanding of the controls environment
Support adoption of the SharePoint controls site
Reinforce the importance of quality, compliance and risk management
And the flexible video assets we created also provided Chaucer with reusable communication tools to reinforce key messages beyond the initial rollout, for lasting value and continued professionalism.
Proactive partnership ...
'Delight to work with'
“The training module is now live and has had its first run across the business. The feedback received is that it’s a very professional and polished module and users were engaged with the content and the length of the module was ideal to prevent training fatigue setting in. It was a delight to work with such a pro-active team. You understood the requirement from the start and designed and built a first-class training module to support our Underwriting Controls Framework.”
“Right from the start of the project, I was really aware that certain things needed to happen for this training to be a success. This is a group of professionals at the top of their game who, quite frankly, probably don’t feel like they need to be ‘controlled.’ The real challenge we faced—and solved—was thinking about ways to make this as easy-to-use, considerate of their time, and grounded in practicality. We wanted everyone who completed the module to come away thinking “Wow. I can really see the value in the controls” or “this is how these will help me serve my clients.” And, together, I really think we achieved that.”
To summarise
This project demonstrated how targeted, well-designed elearning can play a critical role in supporting large-scale organisational change in a complex insurance environment—and how a slightly different approach can go a long way to meeting the needs of a professional audience.
By focussing on engagement, clarity, conciseness and real-world relevance / application, we helped Chaucer embed new ways of working and strengthen the foundations of their underwriting operations.
Just imagine what we could do for you …
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