Just a few short years ago, I purchased a new car from a dealer about an hour away from my house. I wanted to take home the car that day, but my insurance company (one of the large national insurers) wouldn't issue my policy unless I physically brought a check to one of their local office–another hour away. Needless to say, I didn't get my car that day and I was furious. I switched over to one of the large direct insurers as soon as I got home and transferred both my auto and homeowner's policies. A digital self-service capability was important to me: #frustrated!

My new insurer sells primarily auto insurance and partners with another large agency insurer for homeowners' insurance. While I now have a great online and mobile service experience with my auto policy, all servicing of my homeowners' policy took place through a call center until just a couple of months ago. But because there are two insurance companies here, it's two completely different online experiences, one fairly mature and the other nascent.

For some time now, consumer expectations have been reshaping interactions in almost every industry. The shift from face-to-face to digital for basic transactions, in many ways driven by the influence of the technology giants Apple, Google and Amazon, has been exponential. The quality and speed of the digital services and products provided by those companies have heightened consumer expectations: We expect all of our digital interactions and transactions to be as seamless.