How insurer LV=GI embraces digital accessibility

Insurance company LV= GI has been embracing digital accessibility as a way of “putting customers at the heart of everything we do,” says Charlotte Rae, LV=GI’s Customer Experience Manager. She adds that it wanted to ensure that it “catered for all customers regardless of their circumstances.”

LV= logo

LV=GI has always had a good understanding of accessibility and what this means, but it needed support with digital accessibility, so asked AbilityNet how it could help.

“A year before we embarked on our relationship with AbilityNet, we commenced our digital transformation agenda with a transformed website and wanted to ensure this work aligned not only with our brand objectives but our accessibility objectives too,” says Rae. “We wanted the experts to audit our site – there’s nothing better than working with an established, experienced team of experts in their field,” she adds.  

A shared experience

AbilityNet has more than 20 years’ experience of working in accessibility, and a team of consultants who were delighted to welcome LV=GI to our head office (pre-Covid-19 lockdown). It was an opportunity for us to find out more about what the company needed from us, and what good looks like.

“The interactive session really brought to life digital accessibility in a way we’d never seen before, with some great working examples,” says Rae. 

“This support continued throughout the project, we never felt we were on this journey alone and there was always someone at the end of a phone/email if needed. For us, it felt like AbilityNet was bringing us along on the journey to help us become self-sufficient; it wasn’t just about an audit it was about giving us the tools to understand and that for us was the most helpful part of our working relationship.”

An accessibility roadmap

AbilityNet worked with LV=GI to establish how accessible its sites were and make plans to improve. The audit has helped identify issues, and how to solve them.

“We now have a full and comprehensive list of errors across our site with the tools to help us fix these issues. We also now know how to prevent these issues going forward, which was such an important outcome of the project for us,” says Rae. 

In response to the audit, LV=GI created a project team specifically to address the accessibility issues and is proud to see how much the site has improved. “It’s great to see the small steps we’ve made to help us become one step closer to our ambition of a WCAG 2.1 AA standard,” says Rae. 

However, the organisation recognises this is the start of an ongoing journey. Its future plans include learning more about digital accessibility and getting training in place throughout the organisation. Rae is keen to share what her team has learned to drive lasting, cultural change.

“It’s about sharing what we’ve achieved with the wider business, so everyone is part of this accessibility journey.”

AbilityNet is delighted that ongoing journey includes us. “Our relationship with AbilityNet won’t end as it will be supporting us on audits for other areas of our digital estate," says Rae. 
“We understand that an accessibility journey doesn’t just stop after an audit is complete; we intend to continue audit check ins annually to ensure our journeys are the best they can be,” she says.

Her advice to others embarking on their own accessibility journey is to seek expert help. “Learn from their expertise and recommendations. Secondly, use this as a chance for real education; from developers to designers to content editors, everyone needs to have a great understand understanding of digital accessibility for it to be successful,” says Rae. 

Meeting Corporate Social Responsibility goals

LV=GI also has a strong commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and supports a wide range of charities. It recently helped AbilityNet’s free services via a donation to help us meet the high level of demand for our free IT support for disabled and older people during the COVID crisis, enabling us to assist people to stay connected using technology. 

Jo Lean, LV=GI’s Brand Engagement Executive, shared that LV=GI matches up to two and a half days a year for individual volunteering. The organisation also encourages its teams to take on a challenge in the community as a great way to bring the team together, develop relationships and share skills and expertise. She has circulated the AbilityNet volunteering scheme on LV=GI's internal volunteering hub so that those with an interest in supporting people to get online can get involved. 
 

Start your accessibility journey - speak to our experts

Do you need help with digital accessibility at your organisation? We offer tailored accessibility and usability support to clients from all sectors.

Speak to our experts about your project and we will advise on a bespoke accessibility strategy to meet your specific requirements.