ILC ARTICLE

ILC Rising Star Interview: Emma Langdon, Accommodation Team Supervisor, ICAB

25th October 2022

Tell us about your role, and what aspect of it has surprised you most?

I have worked at ICAB for 17 years, working my up from a junior accommodation team member, specifically in the hotels team, to my current role as supervisor for the entire accommodation team (hotels and rentals). My role is extremely varied and diverse as I not only assist all team members when required but have my own claims to deal with, assisting policyholders find suitable alternative accommodation when they are required to temporarily leave their home– no two days are the same! I did not think that when I joined ICAB all those years ago that I would still be here 17 years later – that is surprising in itself, however on a job specific level I am still shocked by the volume of claims that insurers need to deal with requiring alternative accommodation.

What has been your proudest professional achievement, and why?

A few years ago, I was dealing with a client who needed to be placed in alternative accommodation just before Christmas Day. He was understandably very distressed that he would not be at home over the festive period.  After numerous phone calls to our suppliers, I managed to arrange for him and his entire extended family to have their Christmas lunch in a private room at the hotel that we arranged for him to stay at. He later told me that I saved Christmas for him and his family! I was so happy that my efforts meant that he had as ‘normal’ as Christmas as possible under the circumstances.

How do you see your role changing in the coming 5-10 years?

Who knows what the future will bring but I am sure that digitalisation and new technological advances will mean that I am able to work in a more efficient manner.

What do you see as the industry’s greatest strength, and its greatest weakness?

That a tough question, however in terms of strengths I personally feel that the industry benefits from personnel with a wealth and breadth of experience who truly understand what is required in order to evolve. As far as weaknesses go, I think that whilst as an industry we are striving to adopt tech across all channels we are still some way behind other industries and we must adapt in order to meet customers everchanging expectations. 

What does job satisfaction look like to you?

Happy insurers and happy policyholders!