Youlon Naidoo, executive head of claims and procurement at Miway
Miway Insurance has partnered with DataEQ since 2023 to listen more closely to customer conversations and strengthen communication across the claims journey, an approach that has helped shift claims sentiment into positive territory.
It comes as no surprise then that industry-wide claims process sentiment sits firmly in negative territory at -34%[1]. This is according to the DataEQ 2025 SA Insurance Index, however Miway was able to pinpoint where sentiment was shifting and act on the moments that mattered most helping the insurer achieve a positive score of 6.8%. These results are further demonstrated by achieving the lowest overturn ratio in the short-term insurance industry just 6%, as reported in the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (NFO) 2024 Annual Report.
Youlon Naidoo, executive head of claims and procurement at Miway, says it comes down to listening more closely to customers and strengthening communication across the entire claims process.
Treating customer conversation as a signal
Rather than viewing online feedback as background noise, Miway treats public conversation as an operational signal. “Our primary focus is on understanding what customers are saying, where sentiment is shifting, and which moments in the claims journey have the greatest impact on trust,” explains Naidoo.
Crucially, insight was only part of the equation. Miway paired this understanding with a sharper operational response, prioritising high impact cases, and ensuring customers received consistent, empathetic communication, particularly where issues were time sensitive or emotionally charged.
The Hellopeter effect: Turning service recovery into advocacy
One of the clearest examples of this approach in action has been Miway’s performance on Hellopeter, a third-party platform where customers often turn when they feel frustrated, uncertain or unheard.
“Rather than viewing these interactions as reputational risks alone, we recognised them as opportunities to demonstrate service recovery in public,” says Naidoo. “It’s amazing to see how by simply taking ownership, clearly explaining next steps and keeping customers informed, frustration can be converted into visible advocacy.”
Miway’s Hellopeter claims sentiment increased from 37.6% in 2024 to 46.9% in 2025. Over the same period, MiWay improved its claims response rate and reduced average response times by 4.2 hours, from 4.6 hours to 0.4 hours. The lowest response rate in the industry.
Excellent customer service is still human
While technology and insight play an important role, Miway’s data consistently points to one dominant driver of positive sentiment: its people. When claims are handled efficiently, with empathy and clarity, customers take notice.
“But improving claims sentiment takes more than faster turnaround times,” says Naidoo. “By drilling down into the real drivers behind customer frustration, our customer service teams are able to communicate more proactively and guide customers through the process with confidence, ensuring better outcomes,”
The results speak for themselves
“You can’t always make everyone happy, especially when it comes to insurance – but what we as insurers can do is listen to our customers and be compassionate during the most stressful moments in their claims journey. Even in a sea of online noise, by focusing on these moments that matter, the most challenging points in the customer journey can become opportunities to build lasting confidence,” Naidoo concludes.
