A ‘moment of truth’ is when a customer interacts with a company and forms an opinion about it. For an insurer, this takes place at policy creation and renewals and during the claims process. Insurers who can leverage technologies to noticeably improve the customer experience (CX) will likely have a competitive advantage in this rapidly evolving market.
The pandemic forced many insurers to digitise their customer experiences. However, some insurers did this without thinking strategically.
For example, an insurance company might create online forms for customers to apply for insurance policies. However, instead of leveraging technology to provide a better experience, they may simply recreate the lengthy paper forms in a digital format.
As customer expectations continue to grow, it’s time to be more strategic about where to innovate and how to focus on the customer’s journey with your products and services.
Below, we’ll look at ways insurers can use technology innovations to improve CX and discover a competitive advantage.
Insurance as a digital-first experience
Today’s customers are used to modern digital experiences. When an insurer provides a digital interface that looks like it’s decades old, the customer begins to have a negative view of the insurer. Couple this with slow and inefficient back-office processes and you have a perfect mix of factors to start driving customers away.
Customers now look for a digital-first experience. They expect that insurance will be available when they need it and where they need it – something that can usually only be achieved by taking a digital-first approach.
To support this, insurers need to make their platforms intuitive, so that customers can access information at any time. Design elements also need to support a seamless purchasing experience. This means that interfaces should not only be attractive and functional but also contain helpful content to provide a smooth user experience. This often requires reimagining the customer experience from the ground up, instead of simply overlaying your legacy user journeys onto digital technologies.
Simplification through automation
Oftentimes, it’s not easy or practical to take a completely digital-first approach. Sometimes, legacy technologies will have to remain for one reason or another. In this scenario, automation can provide a lot of benefits. Automation can help free employees from mundane repetitive tasks so they can focus on the things that will contribute to a better customer experience.
For customers, automating activities helps save time and reduces errors. Instead of having to wait three days to get a quote for a mid-term amendment, it can be provided in a few seconds. On the claims side, policyholders no longer have to wait 30 days once their claims have been approved to receive payment. These things can significantly improve the customer’s perception of the insurer at these critical moments of truth.
The personalised insurance customer experience
In addition to automation, personalisation can also help improve the customer experience. While automation and personalisation don’t seem like a natural pairing, they can both make the experience easier for insurers and customers. Over time, these strategies can make the journey more relevant to the customer’s needs, which helps drive growth.
By providing a personalised customer journey, you eliminate all the distractions that can impede a customer from doing business with you. It allows them to easily find and receive the services they are looking for. And, if you do personalisation right, you also ensure that the customer buys the product that’s suited to their needs, as well as potentially offering related services that they didn’t know they needed but could benefit from.
Leading the way to a competitive advantage
In this digital world, it’s not easy to provide customers with an experience that will meet their expectations. But if you don’t, you risk losing your customers to those who are. And if you get it right, you could really differentiate your offerings from competitors.
Customers will want to buy insurance from you if you make the process faster, more convenient, less repetitive and more personalised. They will all face a moment of truth at some point in their journey – and when you provide a fantastic experience, those instances can inspire repeat business and brand loyalty for many moments to come.
To learn more about current trends in insurance, including how data can be used to further innovate and personalise, download our Data-Driven Insurance e-book.