The Future of Insurance–
Intelligent, Automation-Driven Experiences
Wealth Management
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xperience defines business today, and insurance is no different. Customers will reward those providers that deliver exceptional experiences (for example, paying up to seven per cent more for car insurance), but they will also punish those companies that don’t by not buying from them again. In fact, 32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience. But what does an improved experience look like? It’s fast, it’s easy, and it delivers what customers want, through a channel they’re comfortable with. Or, to put it another way, good experiences are whatever the customer, not the provider, decides. In insurance, consumers increasingly expect to be able buy common products (such as home, health, car and travel insurance) with a minimum amount of fuss and time. The demand and competition to simplify the end user experience is stronger than ever, with easy access to a broad range of relevant products (and the ability to buy them quickly) expected as standard. For more complex queries, if a human agent is required, then customers expect the representatives they’re speaking to have all the information they’ve already provided online to hand. Evolving expectations forcing ongoing change These expectations have been shaped by digital innovators in other industries and through entrants, such as price comparison sites and Big Tech companies, that do not have the legacy systems or regulatory concerns that established insurers must contend with. One report noted that policyholders’ willingness to buy insurance from non-traditional entities, in particular Big Tech, leapt from 17% in 2016 to 44% in 2020. With so many options readily available, people do not care about the challenges
insurers face – if a process is too hard or time consuming, customers will go elsewhere. Where does this leave insurers? Some are adapting, developing applications that allow customers to access all their insurance policies in one place, irrespective of the business unit providing the service. This allows customers to review policies, add and make changes, and receive relevant, targeted offers. The insurer receives live data on what matters to the customer and increases the likelihood of selling new products and growing share of wallet. It’s not front end or back end, but end to end How do others achieve this? Many will focus on the front end, investing in areas that customers directly interact with. While it’s certainly the most visible part of delivering great customer experiences, purely developing the interface overlooks the importance of being able to generate, connect and share relevant data in real-time, in a manner that meets regulatory requirements and corporate governance. This is critical. Without the back end and the ability to aggregate data effectively, all insurers are left with is a well-designed interface that provides no value to customers at all. Getting the right data in the right place at the right time is the fuel that drives great experiences. The challenge is enabling a system that can deliver full end to end services which simply can’t be achieved through a recruitment drive. Aside from the fact that sourcing, hiring and retaining the right talent is harder than it’s ever been, with all industries battling for the same skillsets, humans simply cannot scale and match with technological advancements. They get tired, they make mistakes, they lose focus when faced with crucial yet repetitive tasks, and their productivity becomes inconsistent.
