Leveraging New Technology to Optimize Customer Experience

In part 4 of our Insurance Customer Journey Blog Series, we explore what matters to customers and which pain points to focus on as you leverage new technologies to optimize the customer experience.

Although digitization has been a critical focus for the insurance industry, a recent J.D. Power survey revealed that very few insurers currently deliver a highly personalized and improved digital experience.¹

As insurers speed ahead, they may have forgotten that new digital tools need to serve a purpose and enable a vision. Ultimately, they should be improving the insurance customer experience.

Insurers are pouring significant resources into digital tools, so you would expect that customers should be happier than ever – but they're not. Clearly, there's a disconnect. It's time to fix that. It's time to leverage new technology to optimize the customer experience – and it will take a new approach.

Put Yourself in Your Customer's Shoes to See What Matters to Them

Insurance professionals are also insurance customers. So what do we, as customers, want from our own insurance providers?

Most likely, these three things are on the list of priorities:

• Speed – Modern customers don't like waiting. Think about the technology that can reduce the time it takes for insurance customers to apply for coverage, make a premium payment, get help with an issue, report a claim, or get access to funds. These are the technologies that can boost the customer experience. 

• Convenience – Customers shouldn't have to jump through hoops. Apps, websites, or other tech tools can make the insurance customer experience more convenient, but only if the tools are truly easy to use. Insurers need to offer tools that are free of bugs, feel intuitive, and provide a seamless experience from channel to channel. 

• Transparency – Customers want access to real time information and transparency into the process. Self-service portals and digital engagement tools can drive this transparency and provide policyholders more control, especially beneficial during the claims process. Think AI-based SMS texting platforms that streamline communications and provide digital communication records.

Address the Common Pain Points

If your customers are dissatisfied, think about where things are going wrong and how technology can help. There are a few touchpoints that stand out:

• The Insurance Application – Applying for coverage should be fast and easy. Think about the technology that can help your customers get the coverage they need when they need it, such as: 

• • API connections to facilitate instant data lookup
  • Simplified, accelerated underwriting
  • Coverage comparison and guidance tools
  • Multi-lingual capabilities
  • Electronic signature
  • Omnichannel alerts and reminders for missing information or needed follow-up 

• Premium and Claim Payments – Most insurance transactions are financial in nature. The customers pay premiums. The insurer pays claims. Next gen technology can make these payments fast – or better yet, instant with omnichannel payment capabilities. Your customers are able to make or receive payments in any channel they like, including: 

• • Digital wallets
  • Mobile web and in-app
  • Pay-by-text
  • Secure interactive voice response 

• Claim Interactions – When insurance customers file claims, they're already stressed. The last thing they need is a slow and inefficient claims process making it worse. Leverage tech tools that improve and accelerate the claims process, such as: 

• • Easy 24/7 First Notice of Loss (FNOL) filing
  • Instant approval for claims falling within certain parameters
  • Automated VIN recognition
  • AI-driven repair cost estimation
  • Augmented reality-based adjusting for claims that require an adjuster's inspection 

• Routine Policy Service – Don't forget about the everyday experience. Insurance customers may have questions about their policy or need access to documents. With the right tech tools, this doesn't have to be a hassle. For example: 

• • Accessibility 24/7 through more communication channels, such as 'n-way texting'
  • Hybrid AI/human experiences utilizing chatbots and interactive voice response
  • Digital proof of insurance and a wider range of mobile app capabilities
  • Simplified policy language with digital help

The End Goal: Emerging Tech with Human Touch

New technology is meaningless if it doesn't achieve your customers' basic priorities of speed, convenience and transparency. Leveraging emerging technology to optimize the customer experience requires insurers to put themselves in their customers' shoes. It also requires them to provide employees with the tools necessary to succeed in a digital-first culture where they are encouraged to embrace new mindsets, employ critical thinking, and ultimately engage with empathy. Implementing emerging technology doesn't replace the importance of human interaction. It should, in fact, enhance it.

One Inc

We're here to help. One Inc's comprehensive payment solution achieves all three priorities, enabling insurers to deliver on their promise to provide a secure and superior customer experience. Our reimagined inbounds payment platform, PremiumPay® 2.0, features a low code/no code user interface that provides insurers unparalleled speed, usability and customization. Our comprehensive digital payment solution enables insurers to transform the insurance payment experience. And our omnichannel digital communication capabilities allow insurers to proactively engage policyholders on the channels they prefer. At One Inc we provide carriers with the ability to give their customers what they want and expect: control, convenience, consistency, and continuity.

To discuss your digital payment needs, please call (822) 209-1688 or email inquiries@OneInc.com.

Stay tuned for Part 5 of our Insurance Customer Journey Blog Series where we’ll take a look at how automation enables efficiency, empathy and better experiences.

 Endnotes:
¹ https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2021-us-insurance-digital-experience-study