In this crowded marketplace, it can be difficult for insurers to distinguish themselves from competitors on price and coverage. Performance in claims handling and excellence in customer service can offer a much-needed competitive advantage. Insurers who strive to place their clients' needs front and center can turn any insured event into an opportunity to refine their processes, improve retention and build brand loyalty.

Listen to feedback and analyze data

The secret to understanding the needs of your clients is to listen to them. Throughout the life of a policy there will be many opportunities to get feedback from your clients, but this wealth of data can easily be squandered. It is quite a challenge to effectively leverage all the data from phone calls, surveys, web-based forms, mobile apps and social media. Data will be collected by different individuals and departments but must be consolidated in one location to be analyzed. Get this right and you can get ahead of the competition and significantly boost customer loyalty.

Make it easy for customers to give feedback and respond in real-time so that they know you are listening. Become an advocate for your customers by sharing the data you gather at all levels to drive improvements. Connect customer feedback to business outcomes. Measure and monitor metrics such as customer retention, range and extent of coverage requested, speed of claims handling, and likelihood that the insured would recommend your products and use them to benchmark your service against your competitors.

You may want to consider a formal VOC (Voice of the Customer) feedback program to keep the lines of communication open after a claim. When handled well, VOC can provide valuable insights and improve customer satisfaction.

Set standards for service

The best way to tackle this head on is to establish clear guidelines and set timeframes for all aspects of your business (especially claims handling) and investigate any occasions when they are breached. Beware of complacency in this area. There are always improvements to be made, and new technology to consider. Cloud-based solutions and AI applications can help speed up a claim and provide a wealth of data to help streamline processes.

Speed is of the essence in claims resolution, but how a claim is handled can be almost as important as the outcome. In this area, employees are your greatest asset. Efforts to enhance employee engagement and satisfaction will have a positive effect on all of their interactions with customers.

Recognize and reward good customer service and roll out best practices to all divisions. Recognize that it is not only the demeanor of your own employees, but that of all external service providers that will affect how customers view your service.

Clear communication and transparency

Thankfully, we have mostly left cumbersome paper forms with slow snail mail turnaround behind. It is now possible to communicate with your customers across a wide range of platforms and offer support and advice at any time of the day or night. Many potential customers will simply not tolerate a product where ease of access is not available. An Accenture survey found that 53% of insurance customers would not recommend any insurer that did not allow them to check claim status through digital channels such as mobile.

Offer clients multiple entry points to communication with you and respond in kind. Some people would rather handle everything online, and texting updates on the progress of a claim could significantly reduce the number of times the insured has to reach out to you.

Positive communication also includes making information freely available to your customers. An intuitive web-based platform can answer many questions for your clients, but it is important that they can also speak to a person if they have concerns.

Adopt the right tech and software

One of the greatest areas of impact on customer loyalty is the speed of claims handling. Technology can help to massively reduce cycle times, reduce costs and improve retention. A truly proactive first notice and resolution system could turn your customer into an evangelist for your products, while an unwieldy First Notice of Loss procedure could turn them against you.

With increasingly sophisticated products on the market, it can be hard to choose the right tech partner to deliver a fast and adaptive platform that will enhance account application, claims handling and the collection of customer feedback. It pays to take some time to evaluate your tech partners and look for solutions that are adaptable, intuitive and easy to use.

Build measurement and improvement into your system

Measuring and evaluating processes is a critical competency for any insurer. Benchmarking your products and processes can help you to focus on the areas that need improvement. You also cannot be sure if your policies, technologies, systems and workflows are working as intended if you do not measure their effectiveness.

Listening to feedback and analyzing data is not a one-off activity. You need to create a feedback loop that can drive continuous improvement to enhance the customer experience you offer. Put insureds first and your business will thrive.

Fred Lizza is CEO of StrategicClaim, a provider of a SaaS-based claims platform for carriers, agents and policyholders designed to expedite reporting and resolution of auto and homeowners insurance losses. He was previously CEO of Freestyle Solutions, an e-commerce and SAAS order management leader. Contact him at FLizza@stclaim.com.

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5 approaches for putting insureds first

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