Scope: Following catastrophic floods, a leading general insurer needed to understand current community mindsets as well as local contexts, influences and expectations among rural and regional communities.

Methodology: Canvass developed a series of Community Engagement Forums involving a cross-section of community members from a range of age groups and occupations. Some were policy holders, others not.

The Forums were designed to be engaging, dynamic and participatory workshops, delving into the social and community context that informed the attitudes and decisions of insurance buyers in regional areas.

Driving Change: The Forums revealed that the experiences of rural and regional communities during and after the floods had changed their perspectives.

Participants made explicit their levels of understanding, their need for guidance and their expectations about the role of organisations like insurers in community life.

These research findings were critical to securing the company’s social licence to operate. They informed and enhanced customer assistance and marketing strategies in regional areas and strengthened the brand and profile of the insurer with its key communities.