3 steps to improving customer experience in insurance

Greg Gatherer, Account Manager at Liferay

In the quest to provide better client experiences in the insurance industry, insurance companies have been working hard to get to the finish line, but they are still trailing other industries.

Historically, insurers have been more focused on their products than on their customers. Customers continue to be dissatisfied with the level of service offered by their insurance.

To keep up with policyholder demands and evolving industry needs, insurers can take the following three steps to kickstart their customer experience (CX) initiatives:

1. Identify digital CX maturity

According to IDC, there are five levels of digital customer experience maturity for insurers

• Level 1: Superficial
Insurers here are lagging far behind. These insurers are slow to change and grow because they are unable to keep pace with ecosystem needs. Additionally, their goals and strategies are not aligned to focus on improving CX.

• Level 2: Enriched
At this stage, insurers understand the need for better CX, but their efforts are inconsistent and unsustainable because programs are disparate and not executed well.

• Level 3: Multidimensional
The insurer at this stage has aligned to a CX-focused strategy. They have made efforts to build a connected ecosystem among their agents, employees, and customers, which results in improved loyalty and business performance. They are on part with their peers and competitors.

• Level 4: Amplified
With a customer-focused strategy and integrated ecosystem, insurers can begin to sense and respond to market needs early. This allows them to provide value to their policyholders and grow their market share.

• Level 5: Disruptive
The highest level of CX maturity means that insurers are well attuned to the market, able to consistently and sustainably grow the business ahead of their competition through new digital technologies and business models. Leaders encourage innovation and experimentation to develop better ways to serve their policyholders.

2. Evolve priorities to be more customer-centric

Depending on where the business falls in the maturity model, insurers can assess how they can transform their strategies and tactics in order to be more customer-centric. For example, two critical CX strategies that insurers in levels two and three should focus on:

• Omnichannel engagement
Customers want to interact with their insurance providers on multiple channels. Millennials, for example, contact their insurers up to 2.5 times more frequently on social media and twice as often via mobile. But most insurers aren’t equipped to deliver integrated and seamless experiences across these touchpoints. By investing in an omnichannel customer service strategy, insurers can provide a consistent experience regardless of the channel they use so customers can receive relevant and targeted information.

• Frictionless insurance
Insurance is not complicated. Not only for the end customer, but also for the intermediaries and carriers who need to sell the policies. Seventy percent of customers say that connected processes are very important to win their business (such as seamless handoffs between departments and channels, or contextualised engagement based on earlier interactions. Insurers should invest into the digitalisation or replacement of their core functions in order to simplify the processes for their users.

3. Build a specific digital strategy roadmap

With CX priorities guiding the way, businesses can map and plan out what they need in order to cross that finish line.

While it may be exciting to see the end goal come into focus, insurers might be careful no to rush and overwhelm their teams. IDC recommends breaking up the digital strategy into short-term and long-term goals for a more manageable and sustainable customer experience engagement.