How to improve customer experience in insurance?

Customers and sales are the main reasons for company’s activities. In competitive environment it’s extremely important to engage with them unconventionally and offer unique customer experience. This is true especially in insurance, where there are only a few touchpoints between the company and end client.

Importance of customer experience in the insurance industry

In the relation between every company and its customer are the moments of true: the actual contact which can be more or less frequent, and that often verifies further cooperation. These are the touchpoints. They consider the whole picture of every point of contact, from the channel used, ease of communication, needed length for handling the process to personal qualifications of engaged company employees and more.

The less touchpoints there are between the two actors, the more important every step of the process is from the perspective of company. A summary and rating of all these actions creates for the client his customer experience.

Considering touchpoints in insurance industry, there are not many. Every point needs to be carefully considered by the insurance company. This is it:

1. Searching for best offer, in case the client has additional questions, meets up with an agent or decided to talk to a call center operator,
2. Purchasing the policy,
3. Renewing policy or implementing changes to it,
4. Processing claims.

Investments in customer experience in insurance are evolving all the time, as its difficult to reject completely the current habits and processes. The development of exquisite experience is increasing due to the growing competition among insurers, new market entrants such as peer to peer policies, lower customer loyalty and increasing demands.

Improving customer experience in the insurance industry is not an easy task. Products offered on this market are rather tough at the purchase stage and during claim process. It requires overthought strategy and tools.

New way of interaction through customer portals

In the big picture, customer portals are dedicated platforms for the end users, which include many self-service functions, such as purchasing, managing, checking for promotions, possibility to contact with staff and more. They are rapidly gaining on popularity and importance. Customers are getting used to having private and personalized accounts, where they have the full picture of their current situation and can take certain actions by themselves.

Research by Statista shows that 89% of U.S. respondents expect companies to offer them online self-service portal. In Accenture Technology Vision 2019 report we can read that interactions with customers are going towards a complete new level. Every customer wants to have its identity and expects to receive rich, individualized and experience-based relationship. This relation cannot be provided the same way it was done 10 or even 5 years ago. A new chapter in relations with customers needs to be written.

Customer portal for insurance industry

Insurance industry is governed by complete different rules that any other industry, even theoretically similar financial services. The trust factor in the relation between customer and insurance company has to be at the highest level for the success of transaction.

These customers expect to get quotations within a few clicks, then store it on the website and preferably be able to come back to it when they’re ready for purchase. They’re frustrated having to call the operations center, where most probably nobody knows their case and occurring problem. Without the proper care of clients, trained staff who has access to the same data from various positions and roles, without user friendly reminders and giving the client possibility to easily click ‘renew’, keeping these policyholders loyal to one brand is extremely difficult. Choosing a new provider may seem to them easier than renewing policy. And above all processing of claims is the key for them as time is money.

There are a few ways to satisfy these customers and create exquisite relation that lasts.

Comarch Digital Insurance - Improving customer experience in insurance

Comarch Digital Insurance is a software created specifically for insurance industry. It drives everyday needs of insurance companies, by offering complex solution in three applications, based on one common business logic engine: dedicated for the distributor, business administrator and end customer. It ensures digitalization of sales and service processes with real omnichannel customer experience.

Client Portal is among the three applications offered by Comarch Digital Insurance. It’s a self-service portal for the clients to: run a quotation, end-to-end purchase policy, implement changes to the policy, renew it, register a claim, contact with the agent, store all possessed products, and more.

In Comarch Digital Insurance, to provide users with modern, intuitive and visually appealing interface, frontend part of the system has been designed by user experience and graphic design specialists. The software provides modules that have been designed with the end users in mind. Guided by knowledge in the field of cognitive science, as well as continuous usability research, we have developed the solutions that support users in achieving their goals.

Thoughtful design

We have focused on how efficiently and quickly user can work with the system. The interface of client portal has been designed independently of other applications of Comarch Digital Insurance, taking into account the needs of users - the end clients of insurance companies. Thus end client and agent have portals created especially for their requirements.

Usability and intuitiveness

The solution is designed to guide user through all the steps of the process of purchase and management of insurance. The availability of functions has been thought out so that the ones that are really needed in the current context are at hand.

Focus on tasks

The interface of dashboard and other tabs was designed to support users, showing them what is currently relevant and important. The solution encourages purchasing additional covers, through displayed policy recommendations and notifications.

All of these aspects make Comarch Digital  Insurance solution a very strong tool for improving customer experience in insurance. There will never be better time for changes.

Julia Burda, Junior business consultant, Comarch