Innovation in the Insurance Customer Experience – SMA

Article Synopsis :

In the evolving world of digital insurance,  customer-centricity needs to be at the core of the carrier business model. The customer – not the policy – is the key.

Insurers must shift their focus from product to customer in order to deliver an outstanding and innovative customer experience

In the research brief “Innovation in the Insurance Customer Experience”, Mark Breading, a Partner with SMA, explores how insurance carriers are leveraging customer information to inform their business, from marketing through policy servicing.  In so doing,  these insurers are successfully shifting their focus from product to customer.  In the paper, Mr. Breading shares eight observations  insurers will find helpful in the development of strategies to enhance customer experience:

1. Insurance is a unique industry.  The intangible nature and complexity of the product pose challenges to customer intimacy.
2. Leading insurers are demystifying products and making it easier for prospective policyholders to connect with them.
3. The transition to customer-centricity does not imply a de-emphasis on the product – in fact the opposite is true – product innovation is increasingly important.
4. Human intermediaries continue to play a vital role in the customer experience, requiring improved technology enablement for distribution partners.
5. The insurance industry is in the midst of a long transition from paper to digital that is affecting every part of the business, especially the customer experience.
6. Many insurers are planning unified digital communications platforms, bringing together portals, web sites, mobile and social capabilities.
7. Improving the customer experience requires more insight into customer needs and behaviours, which is driving extensive activity in business intelligence and analytics.
8. Innovation and next-gen technologies are key elements in establishing differentiating customer capabilities.

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