Michael Kennelly
Business Development Director, EQ Benefactor
At the end of 2021, we saw the DNS reach a key milestone of 250,000 notifications. As we begin a new year, it’s worth pausing for a moment to consider what that means to both users of the service and the businesses that have chosen to make the process easier for notifiers.
Bereavement is in most cases an awful time for those left behind. As well as dealing with the obvious grief associated with a loss, there is also so much that needs to be taken care of. One of the most daunting tasks is having to contact numerous organisations to share the news of the death with strangers.
We know that the average number of organisations that need to be contacted used to be 21. However as our consumer choices change from single providers to multiple organisations, and as the products we consume diversify, this number is continuing to increase.
Having personally managed bereavement departments myself, I have seen first-hand how difficult the process can also be for employees taking the notifications.
The 250,000 notifications completed through the DNS means that 250,000 difficult repeat conversations have been prevented. In terms of the time saved here, given the average notification will require around 12 minutes of customer effort, that’s a huge 50,000 hours given back to family members and friends at what is already a very difficult time.
30 of the biggest brands in the UK only trust the DNS. It's the notification solution they want the family members and friends of their deceased customer to use. Why is that the case? It’s because we provide them and their customers with a secure, compliant and easy to use solution.
A solution that requires no uploading of documents and no need to input extensive details to be able to make the notification.
The service also guarantees a timely response from our members where there is a customer relationship.
Being a member of the DNS clearly ensures that you offer a better customer experience than using an in-house solution. No one wants to repeat something 21 times when they could potentially do it just once. As well as the improved customer experience, the 250,000 notifications will also have saved potentially up to 50,000 staff hours and up to £7m in operating costs.
The DNS has so many benefits for both members and users:
- The added security of validation
- Reduced volume of inbound calls, emails and postal notifications
- Significant cost reduction
- Improved timeliness of notification
- Improved interaction with bereaved family and friends
- A better experience for your employees
- Fully scalable
- Available 365/24/7
- Supports regulatory vulnerability standards
- Supported by many charities and Trade Bodies
- Positive PR for business
- Daily secure encrypted data transfer to your business
- Provides you with details of who is dealing with the estate
- Provides access to focus groups and best practice models from EQ and DNS members across bereavement and vulnerability.
The DNS has proven to be the best-in-class and the only solution businesses should consider to support and improve their bereavement service experience:
- Only service with a proven track record of cost savings
- 83% of data received through the DNS is unique
- Exclusive membership across all major high street banks and the only third party authorised to take notifications
- Service covers: Insurance, Pensions, Credit Card, Mortgages and can be deployed across all sectors
- 45% of notifications are made through DNS within 14 days of the date of death
- 3 years’ operating history - over 250,000 notifications
- Active fraud prevention and data security solutions embedded in the system, zero breaches
- Only service that does not require document upload from users (e.g. passport, driving licence)
- Only service fully supported and promoted by the LRSA
- Transparent commercial structure with no hidden costs
- ICO registered
- Delivered from ISO 9001-2000 and ISO/IEC 27001 accredited datacentres.
Our members and users trust us. We are proud to have been able to provide this valuable, essential and unique service. In both terms of membership and utilisation it continues to grow. The DNS will continue to support our existing and new members as we move forward. It's our priority to provide exactly what customers need at such an important and difficult time in their lives.