As the new normal continues to define new set of norms, the economic environment continues to remain uncertain. The insurance sector too is not immune to current pandemic-led uncertainties. However, this is the most opportune time for insurance players to rise on the occasion & mitigate, handle and manage risks.

A 2020 Global Insurance Outlook report by EY suggests that digitising the distribution of insurance is key priority for insurance providers. However, it is found that a large number of insurance carriers are still struggling in their digital transformation journey with half-hearted approach to getting digital.

Going digital is all about re-imagining and transforming digital infrastructure to create impressive CX - from reaching with new products to on-boarding new customers and the claims settlement process throughout their entire digital journey.

Here are the top ways insurers can craft impressive customer experience in quick and efficient manner:

Hassle Free, Simpler and Faster Policy Purchase

The first step in ensuring a delightful journey with your brand is to remove all redundant and unnecessary roadblocks to insurance buyers who know what they are about to buy and are ready to make the purchase decision. Simple, click through and feature rich forms can help the customers hasten their way to purchase, and insurers get time to verify the lead when they send the quote and purchase links to the customers. You either give your customers the way into their buying decision or let them slip away to a more efficient and seamless purchase platform elsewhere.

Omnichannel Presence for an Omnipresent Customer

An insurance buyer, or be it any online purchase, may not always follow a linear pattern, i.e., the customer would follow one straight linear path from discovery to purchase. An insurance buyer may fill up a form on your website, talk to your customer support team and even compare the price quotes from multiple carriers. However, an email with customized purchase link with all the details already filled up by the customer during their previous interaction motivates the buying decision of hitting the ‘buy now’ link, rather than filling up the form from the scratch. This omnichannel communication with customers to pick up the interaction from where it was left off hits the right cord with the customer giving them the sense of comfort and ease and an experience that always converts.

Claims Resolution aided by Artificial Intelligence

The fluid and stress-free experience of claims settlement is possibly the best customer experience any insurance buyer can dream of. While it comes to insurance buying decisions, customers not just look into the percentage of claims settled by the insurance provider but also into the time in which it is resolved, and the amount of paperwork or hassles associated. Insurers have always been promising quick disposal, speedy settlement and round the clock availability with respect to their claims resolution process.

However, with the arrival of AI and its deployment by some insurance companies have altogether transformed the claims settlement benchmarks. Some insurance companies (Lemonade Insurance Company for instance) contend to settle claims within a matter of few seconds. This, has thus, ushered in a new era of claims settlement, where buyers expect faster than ever resolution. It is high time for insurance companies to deploy AI for not just a speedy settlement but one that is hassle free, accurate and less resource intensive.

The Need For Automation In Insurance

Customer expectations for a digital, simple, fast and hassle-free customer experience is ever on the rise owing to the rapid evolution of technology and stiff competition. Insurers need to be at the forefront of automation. Emerging technologies such as machine learning, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and IoT offer massive opportunities for insurance providers to transform the customer experience and offer state-of-art platform to their customers, that matches their need for speed and efficiency. All this translates into better ROI, boosted revenue and higher profit margins.

Customized, Relevant and Personalized Products

With abundant customer data, advanced analytics and modern digital tools, it has become simpler for companies to target their customers with customized and relevant personalized campaigns for an improved acquisition, cross-selling and marketing ROI. Personalized insurance services too, no more remain a "nice to have" service and have become a necessity for every insurer to ensure a delightful customer experience. Getting hold of the customers by offering them the renewal on time, delighting them for lower premiums for safe driving or reaching out to them with targeted sales pitch based on their browsing behavior, are all ways insurers are trying to not just craft customer aligned products or services but even offer them a rewarding experience.

Rising to the occasion: Serving insurance during and after the current crisis will continue to remain tricky owing to the lack of demand. Although with right tools and technologies in place, insurers have all the opportunities to turn the tide and rise to the occasion to deliver a truly exceptional customer experience and stay true to their social responsibility of managing and handling risk with care.

At Espire, we stand together with our client helping them deliver above par CX transformation in their journey to digitally transform their services. Espire is enabling Insurance companies worldwide to revamp their digital experience management and CX strategy, resulting in up to 20-30% increase in revenue through new digital channels. You can reach our experts at Espire Infolabs for a quick consultation at www.espire.com/quick-contact. For any query, get in touch with us at markting@espire.com & subscribe to our blog to learn more for latest insights & updates.