Is social media becoming a pivotal piece of the market conduct puzzle?
Momentum’s about-turn after its life insurance claim debacle shows that consumer opinion cannot be ignored
The growing influence of consumer opinion and the trend towards outcomes-based market conduct regulation means organisations can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to social media. On November 18 2018, someone with the handle @BATMAN_8_ tweeted: “They don’t deserve any business from us. Its [sic] so unfair for the family.” The next day, @MerchSouth tweeted: “So you won’t pay the 2.4m & that time you make 10 folds more. Your reasoning is not fair & unethical. This is going to cost you.” These may only be two tweets, but they are part of the mass of 35,000 others, posted between November 14 and 22 2018 about Momentum’s life insurance claim debacle. The insurer made headlines when it faced downward spiralling public sentiment in response to its decision to reject a policyholder’s claim based on non-disclosure. At the time, some executives may have considered the online chatter as innocuous grumblings from digital nobodies. Things have changed though. The Momentum debacle illustrat...
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