Businesses are having to operate in a different way to ensure the safety of both their staff and customers and this presents further challenges to friends and family members when trying to make them aware of the death. As a result we have seen a huge increase in those using the death notification service to do this.
The Death Notification Service, delivered by EQ, continues to provide support for customers of our clients during the pandemic. Created to deliver enhanced customer experience and support to the recently bereaved, the simple and easy to use online portal enables a family member, friend or administrator to provide the notification of death to multiple businesses without having to contact each one individually. For those unable to use the online service our telephone support line is available to take notifications.
With Customer Service Centres seeing an increase in calls and with frontline staff focusing on appointments for the most vulnerable, the Death Notification Service (DNS) has been integrated into COVID-19 customer advice and IVR messaging, reducing call volumes, waiting times and customer anxiety at such a difficult time.
Our current members tell us this is greatly reducing the need to visit branches or phone them. We have been contacted by many organisations recently asking how they can make the service available to their customers. As a result we have significantly reduced the time it takes to join the service as well as creating a solution that works for businesses of all sizes across all sectors.
Our service users are finding the DNS very useful and it’s easy for us to promote as we are a predominately rural county and a large number of banks have closed their smaller branches within the area. This leaves some of our service users feeling isolated and vulnerable as they can’t get to the larger towns/cities due to transportation or mobility issues. Having a DNS is a great help and with the support number that they can call instead of having to submit a notification online it’s even more accessible for those in need.
— Helen Blake, Norfolk Registration Service
Having this service by the financial organisations has helped make a very difficult time a little bit easier on the practical side when someone dies. It would be very useful if utility services and insurance companies came together and did something similar.
— DNS Service user
Practitioners can notify the banks online – a much quicker and simpler process for all involved. Practitioners should sign-up to the free Death Notification Service which allows them to notify several banks and building simultaneously.
— Ian Bond, Chair of the Law Society’s wills and equity committee
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If you are an individual hoping to use our EQ Benefactor service directly, you can find out more in the Help section of our Shareview website.
If you need assistance with managing an estate, you can find out more in the Help section of our Shareview website.