A motorist insured at a.s.r. hit a cyclist in January 2023, who was seriously injured in the accident. The man sustained a spinal cord lesion, spent a long time in hospital and then worked on his recovery in a rehabilitation centre for months. When he was finally allowed to leave the rehabilitation clinic in June, he was confined to a wheelchair. Returning to his old home, a flat on the fourth floor of a block of flats without a lift, was not an option.

New flat

A solution had to be found for the man, who has no family and friends and lives alone. Paul Westerik, Contract manager for in-kind recovery at a.s.r., explains: ‘These types of personal injury cases would typically involve financial compensation, but my colleague told me that this person would not be helped by that. Through the municipality, he had been offered a new flat and my colleague from personal injury asked if we could do anything in terms of making the necessary adjustments and furnishing of his new home. In consultation, it was decided not to pay out money, but to help the man in a more practical sense.’

Paul contacted Henri Smit, a Service organiser at Soople, which presents itself as the job service that makes you happy. a.s.r. has had a majority stake in this company since March 2023, in line with its strategy to invest in sustainable damage repair and efficient services for customers. Paul asked Henri to adapt the injured person’s new flat to his situation and make it ready to live in.

Relocation

By working with Soople, a.s.r. is closer to the customer. Paul: ‘We don’t want to be an insurer that simply compensates any loss. Customers have long been able to choose from a cash claim payment, a damage repair firm of their own choice or a repair firm from our network. But often they still had to arrange many things themselves. Together with Soople, we now take all that off their hands. Customers do not have to search for a repair firm or request quotes themselves. We take care of everything, from carrying out the work to paying for it.’

After Paul’s phone call, Henri contacted the injured person to discuss the furnishing of his new home. After the customer made his choice, a Soople employee laid carpets, put up curtains and some lamps, assembled furniture and painted the walls in a few days. Soople also arranged the man’s relocation. Henri: ‘He had no one to help him with that and was dependent on us. Together with his representative, we looked at his old flat to see what could be taken to his new home, and what could be abandoned. The injured person was incredibly grateful that we gave him a nice place to live again.’

Back on track

The situation made a big impression on Henri. ‘What we were able to do for this man in a short time would not have been possible via the municipality. I think he got a lot more out of our help than a hefty sum of money. It was great to be able to do something important for someone in this way.’

This special case is on Paul’s mind, too, now and again. ‘We helped this person get his life back on track. We took everything off his shoulders, there was nothing he had to arrange for himself. Maybe we should actually help people more often rather than giving money.’