In this piece, Eileen Potter, VP of Marketing at Smart Communications, looks at how insurance brands can meet customer expectations, and more.
The bar for customer experience (CX) has been raised. As more players up their CX game, consumers have come to expect nothing less than premium omnichannel journeys from all service providers — and that includes insurance companies. This rapid shift in demand
has exposed insurers to a growing number of customer-related risks, such as churn and declining acquisition rates.
Right now, CX matters more than ever. So, where are insurers falling short? And how can these companies adapt to the heightened expectations?
Personalisation: The necessity of the modern day
Feeling seen, heard, and understood is non-negotiable for today’s digital-native society. According to McKinsey research, 71% of consumers expect personalisation, and 76% feel frustrated when they don’t get it. It’s no secret that the technology to cater to individual customer needs exists. So, when consumers feel that their insurance company isn’t providing a streamlined and transparent claims process, they’ll try to find another that does.
A recent study found that customer experience is a strong predictor and driver of financial and organisational outcomes in insurance. In fact, CX leaders significantly outperformed their TSR and P&C peers across the board, from revenue growth to stakeholder satisfaction. So, in what areas should insurers focus to drive positive customer experiences?
• Claim settlement speed
• Transparency and ease of process
• Ease of communication
Where do the problems lie?
The claims process is a critical touchpoint that’s all too often plagued with administrative inefficiencies and siloed data. Insurers have more often focused on ensuring a smooth First Notice of Loss (FNOL) experience, but have spent less time on what happens after that. Many insurance companies still heavily rely on outdated, manual systems and deliver customer experiences via separate functions, such as call centres, websites, mobile apps, and in-person interactions. These channels are typically run by different teams with isolated goals and metrics, which puts CX in the back seat. With repetitive information requests, disjointed conversations, and frustrating delays becoming a common occurrence, such fatal flaws can cause loyal policy holders to disconnect from their oncetrusted insurance company.
And while time to close is a significant marker for CX, organisations should not forget that proactive and empathetic communication throughout the claim is also very important.
To keep up the pace, insurers must completely rethink their approach to data integration and communications management.
Work smarter, not harder
Technology and CX go hand in hand. The near-endless possibilities tech has to offer means that pretty much nothing is off the table. But what solutions are available to take insurance
CX up a notch?
Cloud-based solutions are one powerful way for insurance companies to modernise their IT operations. APIs act as the bridges that integrate data across various systems, not only helping to streamline and ease communications, but also providing a new-found flexibility that allows insurers to quickly adapt and scale to changing market needs. What does this mean? No more data silos that trap information within specific applications. Instead, companies unlock omnichannel capabilities.
With past interactions, preferences, and behaviours at their fingertips, insurers can get their hands on actionable, real-time data, letting them build a holistic view of their policyholders. Such comprehensive overviews allow insurers to gain a deeper understanding of customer needs to create rich, personalised journeys for a better CX journey at every interaction the policy and claims lifecycles.
Of course, we can’t have this conversation without touching on AI. There’s a long list of ways AI-powered systems can automate the claims process, from validation against predefined criteria to extracting information from policy-related documents and photographs. It’s also able to route claims to the appropriate parties and identify the difference between sufficient information and potential fraud cases, helping to slice customer waiting times — leaving no room for unnecessary delays caused by human error.
It’s a journey
In the effort to build better experiences for policy holders, insurance companies face a unique set of challenges in their customer-centric transformation journeys. Some are inherent to the complexity of products, while others are the result of gross underinvestment in digital optimisation tools.
Yes, digital transformation can be a long and tough road, and CX initiatives can take time to realise their full potential, but that doesn’t make them any less valuable to business growth. Amidst these challenges lies a valuable opportunity to embrace technologies, adopt innovative strategies and differentiate from the market to become a forward-thinking competitor in the sector.
The time for change is now
The industry is now at a stage where always on, digital-first strategies are a must — and insurance companies can’t afford to ignore this reality. Insurance organisations need to foster collaboration between business and IT that drives a culture of continuous improvement throughout the enterprise. As the insurers of yesterday continue to provide disjointed customer journeys, the insurers of tomorrow will leverage the smart tech solutions that allow them to effectively manage interactions and contribute to a continuous, two-way conversation.
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