CLAIMS
Changing the service behind the form
SERVICE DESIGN • RESEARCH • UX
I led the human-centred framing, research and service-design decisions for the claims experience within My Account, working with operational, risk, training and technical colleagues.
The work connected what customers needed on screen with what the organisation needed to change behind it.
THE BRIEF LOOKED LIKE A FORM
The starting point was to bring an offline claims process online.
But making a claim could mean dealing with illness, bereavement or considerable uncertainty.
We couldn’t assume someone had uninterrupted time, the right device and every document ready.
That changed the design question: what would help someone make progress in the circumstances they were actually in?
THE FORM WAS THE TIDY BIT
Behind the application sat different products, claim types, evidence requirements and operational handoffs.
Putting those requirements on a screen would carry the existing friction into a new channel.
I used process mapping and workshops to make those dependencies visible. Working with claims specialists helped connect the formal process with the questions, uncertainties and reassurance needs they encountered in practice.
One distinction became central: the information needed to begin and progress a claim could be different from the evidence required before agreeing payment.
That gave us something concrete to change.
RESEARCH CHANGED THE REQUIREMENTS
I initially expected mobile to suit much of the claims journey. It was accessible and could fit around someone’s day.
Research challenged that assumption. Participants were comfortable with smaller tasks on mobile, but often preferred a computer for longer tasks requiring more attention. Save and resume became a day-one requirement.
The wider discovery included a 1,085-person customer panel. Checking claim status ranked as the most important feature among those tested, giving progress visibility a clear place in the design.
I combined task-based usability studies with reviews from experienced claims specialists. The two perspectives helped us examine both first-time comprehension and the practical realities of handling a claim.
MOVING THE INFORMATION GATE
Requiring all evidence upfront could prevent a customer from submitting anything, even when there was useful work the claims team could begin.
I brought operational, risk, training and technical colleagues together to distinguish what was needed at each stage. Customers could submit the information they had, and operations could progress what was possible while further evidence remained outstanding.
Required evidence still had to be in place before the payment decision.
This changed the underlying process across online, telephone and paper routes.
Save and resume addressed a separate need: someone could pause their application and return to it. Together, these decisions gave people more room to proceed at a manageable pace.
MAKING PROGRESS VISIBLE.
Sketches and low-fidelity screens translated the service decisions into an interface: clear steps, self-contained pages, visible progress and understandable next actions.
The research emphasis on claim status carried through into the tracking experience. Customers needed to understand what had happened, what remained outstanding and what would happen next.
Human support remained part of the service, with claims specialists available for explanation, reassurance and case handling.
THE WIDER SERVICE OUTCOME
2023
Online claims launched through My Account.
2 WEEKS
Reduction in average claim timeline reported by L&G in 2025.
70 NPS
Claims service score reported by L&G in 2026
GOLD
Best Digital Transformation — UK Customer Experience Awards 2023.
These are outcomes and recognition of the wider service and programme. My contribution was the research, service framing and design decisions described here.
Sources:
L&G Claims announcement -https://group.legalandgeneral.com/newsroom/press-releases/2025/9/l-g-digitises-claims-submission-process-for-single-and-over-50s-life-claims/
L&G Claims Service update - https://www.legalandgeneral.com/adviser/protection/knowledge-hub/news/why-the-strongest-claims-outcomes-are-built-long-before-a-client-ever-claims/
WHAT I'D CARRY FORWARD
The most useful question was what the service needed from someone at each stage.
A requirement can be necessary and still sit in the wrong place. Moving it means understanding its purpose, retaining the control and agreeing how the service will work around it.
Research also changed my own view of the experience. A device that seems convenient to a designer may feel quite different to someone facing a long, demanding task.
I’d carry both habits into the next project: examine when a requirement is needed, and give the evidence room to change the design.