The best insurance businesses are the best listeners, says Brent Baldwin European Engagement Lead at Duck Creek Technologies
Listening to consumers is the most direct way of getting specific feedback – not just about their problems and challenges, but what they like about your products too. Paying close attention to their changing needs is essential for carriers, brokers, and third-party agents to be able to shape the right products and services to respond. In fact, I’d go as far as to say the best insurance businesses are excellent listeners, and the most able to react in an agile and intelligent way powered by cloud-based, modern core systems.
The 2,000 respondents to the Global Consumer Insurance Insights Survey – conducted independently by Research in Finance – provided a wealth of data to crunch, but also some very specific commentary for insurance businesses to take on board.
For instance, when it comes to insurance buying preferences, there was some interesting commentary on the human interaction point compared with online – with respondents who had expressed a preference for human interaction citing “personal treatment” as reasons. Other comments included wanting to get “a complete listing of coverage and cost, with no surprises,” hinting perhaps at a perceived lack of transparency with insurance pricing.
Claims communication is critical
Respondents also commented about the lack of support during a claim. They felt “left in the dark” and also called for clear milestones with specific timeframes. Further commentary provided by respondents around the issue of claims typically touched on issues around proactivity from insurers, and access to funds and services to support them during a claim.
Consumers generally want carriers to be more engaged, easily accessible, and share real-time information during a claim. Respondents also raised the issue of rewarding policyholders who do not file a claim – an interesting concept that some carriers are already exploring. There was also focused commentary about the issue of rewards / money back if a policyholder doesn’t make a claim.
The results of this research point to clear opportunities for carriers, brokers, and third parties to improve their communication with consumers, and to personalize the way they interact. In fact, in a world of razor-thin price differentiation when it comes to personal lines insurance, one of the biggest focuses for insurtech startups is improving the customer experience. In a world where the competition for market share is fierce, we’ve seen time and again that the most nimble insurers working with intelligent technology that keeps them evergreen are best able to gain the edge and connect with consumers.
The results of this survey are clear and consumers have spoken, and there is strong scope for our industry to listen and to act on what they have said.
Download the Global Consumer Insurance Insights whitepaper to see the full results and analysis.
