Yet maintaining a high quality customer experience during the surges brought on by disaster — when the largest number of people rely most heavily on their insurance carrier — is when customer service matters most. A 2015 Medallia study found that 40% of customers are likely to switch insurers after bad claim filing experience, up from 15% when they have a good or average experience.

Poor brand perception, increased regulatory scrutiny and an erosion of trust in the insurance market overall can also have lasting negative effects on insurers long after the disaster itself has ended.

Neglecting the special circumstances of customer experience during a disaster can cost insurers even more in the long run. Here are three ways insurers can prioritize customer relationships even when they are at their most taxed.

Related: Keep older adults safe in natural disasters with these 7 tips

No. 3: Create opportunities for two-way dialogue.

Customers need access to their provider during an emergency, and providing as many contact channels as possible will ensure a better experience. This is especially important since there is a lot of friction surrounding communications during disasters — downed phone lines, decreased cell service and unreliable internet access can significantly disrupt and complicate the typical interactions between the customer and their insurance provider. They also need a way to let the insurer know when something isn't right, so there is an opportunity to quickly address any issues.

Make sure your call center routing and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are streamlined, monitor social media, and leverage live chat and automated chatbots to connect with customers as quickly and efficiently as possible. Conduct feedback surveys throughout to collect customer experience information and make sure there are no service breakdowns — reaching out to customers for feedback before their claim is settled gives the insurer the opportunity to make things right before it's too late.

Maintaining a high quality customer experience during the surges brought on by disaster — when the largest number of people rely most heavily on their insurance carrier — is when customer service matters most. (Photo: AP Images)

No. 2: Empower employees to take action

It's not enough just to provide ways to field an increase in customer interactions. In times of crisis, every minute counts — so once those customers are on the line and providing feedback, empower employees at every level to respond quickly and with minimal red tape.

If that means that every single worker in a call center can immediately hand out a $50 gift card for food, then that must be an option automatically triggered in an insurer's internal procedures during a crisis. If any call may need to be fielded by a manager, then that call should immediately get routed to someone with the authorization to handle a more challenging request. By decentralizing control and providing more authority to each employee, organizations can keep the focus on servicing customers and resolving issues as quickly as possible.

Related: 5 types of land development vulnerable to natural disasters

No. 1: Prioritize effectively using customer experience data

With limited time and resources, good prioritization is essential to resolving the most urgent customer needs. Existing customer experience (CX) data can help insurers identify and prioritize the drivers of experience where they matter most — whether that's wait times, policy documentation, online support or other interactions.

For instance, when call centers are overloaded during a disaster, CX data can help identify which groups (like insurance brokers) are particularly sensitive to long wait times and prioritize those calls to keep the customer experience high. If a business knows what people value most during a time of crisis, they can address those pain points with in-depth knowledge of how to best meet their needs.

Customer experience counts more than ever in times of crisis, and this year won't be the last that insurers need to respond to major disaster scenarios. Already this year, deadly mudslides following raging wildfires in Southern California have destroyed property and displaced entire communities. A data-driven approach can provide the tools to maintain critical service in a high-pressure situation and build customer relationships that last a lifetime.

Alex Glanz is the global insurance principal at Medallia. In his role, Alex advises the world's leading insurers on customer-centric strategies that drive long-term financial performance. He can be reached by sending email to [email protected].

See also:

Mitigating the No. 1 natural disaster in the U.S.

7 ways to mitigate risk for businesses before the next natural disaster