How to Pick the Right Digital Channel for Your Insurance Firm

Digital transformation has changed the way people buy services and goods. Modern consumers compare products, read reviews and buy online. The changes in consumer behavior extend to the insurance sector, where customers expect easy access to digital self-service capabilities.

While insurers have largely embraced digital transformation, there’s still work to be done to create a better customer experience. Expanding and integrating the digital channels users can access insurance allows you to meet customers where they are and provide a more seamless experience. 

This article will teach you which digital tools can significantly improve customer engagement in the insurance sector.

4 Elements of Customer-Friendly Digital Insurance

There are four key areas that require the most attention from insurers during a digital transformation, including: 

1. Placing the customer in the center.
2. Personalizing the product and service offerings.
3. Operational efficiency.
4. Having one central database.

1. Place the Customer in the Center 

Customer centricity is about aligning your offerings with customer demands. You should understand your clients’ pain points, frustrations and needs.

2. Personalize Product and Service Offerings 

Tailoring insurance products and services to individual needs is essential for any insurance company. Consumers want to receive personalized policy offers, quotes and messages. And it's become possible thanks to the right technology solutions powered by big data, AI, data analytics, IoT and more. 

3. Operations Must Be Efficient

No efficiency is possible if your team manages operational costs, time and resources inappropriately. Agile transformation usually accompanies digital transformation, which means that insurers not only introduce digital solutions to their customers but also transform their internal processes by standardizing business workflows, fixing legacy systems and implementing business intelligence.

4. Have One Central Database

Unlike traditional CX, omnichannel CX allows executives to gather analytics from various channels (website, mobile app and chatbot) in one place. It also ensures consistent communication and engagement with consumers. Thus, the latter don't notice the transition from one channel to another. 

For example, a person who signs up on the website can follow the link and download an app to buy insurance. In this case, the UI and the information provided should be consistent and alike to make sure a person understands.

More on Customer ExperienceImprove Your Customer Experience. Hire a Decision Scientist

3 Insurance Digital Channels for Better CX

A stellar digital strategy includes three digital channels that form the foundation. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, considering these tools as priorities in your digital strategy can prove beneficial. These channels include mobile apps, web portals and chatbots.

1. Mobile App

Insurance mobile apps can provide diverse capabilities for users from anywhere. There are a number of advantages to integrating efficient and user-friendly channels across the entire customer journey:

• Alignment with user demands: Consumers can discover coverage, policies, premiums, costs, and more wherever they are. Moreover, buying insurance and paying for it via a mobile phone is easy. 
• Gaining a competitive edge: Insurance organizations can develop an app that will provide diverse features, streamline business processes through automation, and attract new customers by promoting relevant products and services on various platforms.
• Improve how a customer interacts with your company: A user-friendly app is a great tool to make your clients more satisfied with your service level. Here, you can offer 24/7 support and instant notifications so that your customers get information on time about their orders, requests and claims. 
• Data analytics: Gathering information about your customer’s behavior, preferences and frequent requests allows for preparing personalized offers and messages to meet your customer’s wants and needs. 

2. Web Portal

This digital channel encourages consumers to get acquainted with your company, learn more about your products and services, ask for quotes, and buy insurance online through the website. Web portals deliver many benefits to both policyholders and insurance carriers. Let's take a closer look at these advantages.

• Self-service functionality. With a robust web portal, clients don’t have to depend on brick-and-mortar working hours and days. They can reach any service around the clock from any part of the world.
• Access to necessary information. Compared to mobile apps, web portals usually contain more information, such as comprehensive product descriptions, guidelines, related blog articles, frequently asked questions, customer feedback, cases and more. 
• Claim management. On a web portal, users can submit their claim requests and monitor the status of their inquiries, send pictures of damages or upload necessary medical documents for reimbursements. The process of claim processing is transparent. Users can see how it's going by getting respective notifications. 

There are also a few benefits to insurance carriers, including:

• Lower costs to acquire a client. Web portals are usually designed and developed with the user in mind. Everything is built in such a way as not to lose the user and encourage them to continue the interaction. 
• More channels to sell products and services. Web portals are excellent tools to sell, upsell and cross-sell insurance as they are equipped with advanced marketing capabilities that encourage customers to get familiar with other products or buy insurance for their relatives. 
• Quantitative and qualitative customer analytics: Digital channels gather data about customers and their actions. This information is critical for creating customized propositions as insurers know what their customers like and dislike, what products or services they need at the moment, and which pain points they have.

3. Chatbots

Many businesses actively use chatbots to interact with customers, answer their questions, process requests, provide information, and guide them through the customer journey. These AI-based tools also bring much value to the table:

• Cost-effective support. Chatbots play a role in your customer support as they may answer the most frequent questions and guide clients. Insurers can decrease the number of customer support staff and costs, respectively. 
• Minimized time for processing. Unlike human agents, chatbots provide instant replies. The time for processing customer requests could be shorter. Clients are more satisfied, which raises their loyalty to your brand.
• Omnichannel ecosystem. Usually, chatbots become a part of the omnichannel ecosystem, which allows direct users across various channels. 

Which Digital Channel Should You Choose?

The first step to selecting a digital channel should be a discovery phase. It’s a pre-development stage, also known as business analysis, that involves thoroughly exploring your IT infrastructure and business processes. However, below is some advice to get you started: 

Mobile App

Develop a mobile app if your company:

• Needs to provide easy access to its products and services.
• Has customers worldwide.
• Wants to automate manual work and become paperless.

Web Portal

Build a web portal if your insurance company:

• Wants to extend its services.
• Needs new ways of customer acquisition.
• Has issues with customer loyalty.
• Wants to get a helicopter view of business.

Chatbot

• Need to reply faster to queries.
• Want to lower the workload on staff.
• Want to improve customer experience and engagement.

More on Customer ExperienceHow to Prioritize What Your Customer Needs

Advantages to Implementing Digital Channels for Insurance

Here are the advantages to implementing digital channels for your customers.

No More Paperwork 

Nobody loves filling in papers. It's much easier to fill in a digital form, get a quote and pay for your policy online. The same goes for agents. They keep all the information about consumers in a CRM system and can aid policyholders whenever they need it without searching for the required data for long. 

Reduced Workload on Call Centers 

Modern digital channels like mobile apps or chatbots facilitate insurance companies in the task of engaging customers to buy policies or file claims online instead of calling consultants.

Enhancing Customer Interaction Efficiency

Customers expect prompt answers to their inquiries. With the advent of innovative technologies, users now have the power to efficiently manage various insurance processes conveniently, access the required services from anywhere and anytime. Agencies streamline the customer journey by digitizing policy purchases and claims submissions, making it simpler and more user-friendly.

Clients Get Access to Specific Functionalities

Regarding the company's business workflows, goals, product and service lines, insurers can enrich digital channels with relevant features. For example, it would be great competitive edge for a health insurance provider to offer its clients the digital capability to make an appointment with a doctor via its mobile app.

Lower Operational Costs

Thanks to excellent sales and cross-sales possibilities and marketing tools digital channels provide, insurers can decrease operational costs on advertising and using intermediate agents for promoting their products. Built-in features allow insurers to sell, upsell and cross-sell policies in the mobile app or via a chatbot. 

New Customers Like Simple Interaction and Great CX

Being a strong market differentiator, a digital channel and its features can attract new customers. People searching for more accessible ways of submitting a claim, for instance, will pay attention to your company. Moreover, customers satisfied with the service they get are more likely to advocate for your brand.

Adopting digital transformation and the proper digital channels is essential for insurers searching to thrive in the digital age. Insurers can create a seamless, efficient and engaging CX that sets them apart from competitors by putting clients at the center of their strategy, customizing offerings, and automating operations through digital channels. The digital future of insurance is here, and those who leverage it to their advantage will grow into industry leaders.