Michael Kennelly
Business Development Director, EQ Benefactor
The Death Notification Service has allowed family members and friends to avoid having to make in excess of 175,000 phone calls to member organisations since its inception. Many coming within the last 12 months since the first cases of COVID started to impact on all our lives in some way or another.
Clearly the biggest impact has been felt by those who have lost a loved one and are left to pick up the pieces without someone they cared for and in many cases relied upon. Whilst nothing can make up for this loss, it is reassuring to know DNS has helped to reduce the need for repeatedly having to make calls to multiple organisations and having to repeat the same difficult conversations over and over again.
On average a family member will need to contact 21 different organisations to notify them of a death
Being able to use a simple online solution without the need to upload I.D. and death certificates has made it much easier to let businesses know about a death early and also who is dealing with the correspondence moving forward. This ensures businesses who are members of the service know who to communicate with and stops all unnecessary contact going out in the name of the deceased, which can be very upsetting to receive.
The death notification service is the only solution of its type that guarantees the notification made will be accepted by all members, with the added security of the death being validated automatically as part of the process, as well as the automated identification of the notifier without the need for uploading any documents. We also receive regular feedback from users about the added convenience of being able to use DNS to contact organisations outside of core office hours, with as many as 1 in 4 notifications being made at a time when most offices would be closed.
As many as 1 in 4 notification are made outside of core office hours
It is also easy to forget the impact of dealing with calls about death can have on our employees. No matter how well we train and support our teams, working in bereavement departments can be one of the most emotionally challenging areas of any business. Receiving an automated death notification allows team members to carry out their role without the impact of having to converse with a potentially emotional family member at the same time as completing their internal processes. If they do need to contact the family member, it is much easier to do so when they have all the information they need to hand in advance of making an outbound call.
DNS currently has 26 members across financial services and is now developed and ready to take notifications across utilities, insurance and telecoms, therefore the value it will deliver to those suffering a loss will only increase.