In line with market trends and the ongoing focus on escape of water across the property claims division we looked at how our own training could support the handling of these matters, combined with our existing technically focused escape of water training we introduced Davies Virtual Reality.

Davies Virtual Reality is a bespoke virtual environment accessed via individual headsets that submerges the user into a virtual house experiencing an escape of water.

Davies Virtual Reality was created with the core objectives of supporting our staff with an engaging, outside of the ‘norm’ training platform to adapt to a changing technology driven world and support a more technology enabled workforce.

By creating in escape of water peril based content we were able to re-create a policyholder’s home in a virtual environment, evidencing the devastation which follows a significant escape of water. We emulate the panic of discovery, the devastation of the damage and the steps needed to be taken not only to mitigate damage but also in the aftermath. Features within the training platform include an audible panicked heartbeat, children worried about their toys and a missing stopcock putting our claims handlers into the immediate situation our policyholders feel when the worst occurs. This not only allows our claims handlers to empathise with the policyholders in a similar position but the system also supports practical advice, helping our staff go the extra mile when supporting a policyholder in need.

Our escape of water training has been revolutionised and now 100% of new staff members attending this training are taught via the Davies Virtual Reality platform. We have seen immediate and midterm knowledge retention improve by 35% on average and immediate test scores from the module are 29% higher when compared to the previous power point lead process. It is now available across our claim sites in the UK and the US and is helping us drive better customer service through soft skills and technical elements.