Many companies have become successful today because they made the customers the center of their business. On the side of the customers, their experience with the brand becomes the most important factor in deciding where they should bestow their loyalty. For the modern consumer, their experience with the company is equally important to the product or service. Still, some companies are struggling to address customer expectations.
The case of insurance companies
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It is a well-known fact that insurance companies are slow to adapt to changes. But slowly, most of them are willing to change. For several decades, insurance customers have seen insurance as a product they need to purchase according to what is available from the provider. But market situations and consumer demand change as more providers flood the market. Younger insurance companies offer more products and options, opening the eyes of consumers to more possibilities. Insurers are therefore compelled to meet the changing needs. Therefore, they must be more responsive, work faster, and provide a better consumer experience.
Rising consumer demands
Due to the power and influence of social media, which most customers use, companies started to consider customer comments and reviews a priority because they can positively and negatively impact their business.
Given the premise, many insurance companies want to increase their consumer ratings. For example, an insurance company can utilize an enterprise insurance rating engine to use data analytics and automation to streamline their personalization and pricing. With the tool, they can develop different insurance offerings to match each customer’s needs.
Further, most of them applied changes in their operations.
Utilization of a customer-centric business model
Insurance companies are more conscious of customer experience CX. Some companies not only rely on tools to improve CX but go a step further by hiring or designating a staff to handle and effectively apply consumer experience initiatives throughout the entire consumer journey.
Updating insurance policies and pricing
With more insurance customers demanding customization, insurance providers are offering new policies that correspond to the customer’s needs. As customers differ, they tailor the policy to what an individual or business needs and the risks they face. As such, the pricing policy changes, too, matching the streamlined policy.
For example, some businesses may need cybersecurity insurance aside from general liability insurance and worker’s compensation. An office worker may only want to have life insurance after their retirement. People practicing their professions may require customized liability insurance for their accounting, legal, and other consultation services.
Other initiatives they implement include:
- Adding accessible communication channels so they could easily respond to customers’ claims and policy questions.
- Making policies and other documents easier to understand by using more common terms instead of insurance language.
- Offering hybrid consumer experiences through different contact points by utilizing humans and AI, direct and agent-based communication, and physical and virtual consumer engagements.
- Engaging with customers more often for updates, new offers, company and industry news, and other marketing initiatives.
Insurers’ customers are diverse. Therefore, they have tons of data about their customers. With better data analysis, they can access a wealth of information to help them understand and respond to their customers’ shifting demands.