Hyper-personalization is key to building claimant trust
A survey of 150 senior insurance executives examines the future of building customer trust throughout the claims process.
Hyper-personalization across forms, channel orchestration and AI will double over the next two years, says a study from Salesforce and Smart Communications. The study is based on a survey from Insurance Innovators of 150 senior insurance executives across the U.S. and U.K. Ninety-five percent of those executives said they believe the claims process is where insurers have the greatest opportunity to build — or lose — customer trust.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way the insurance industry operates, particularly when it comes to the claims experience,” James Brown, CEO, Smart Communications, said in a release. “From technology use to personalization, the claims experience is in the midst of one of the most disruptive periods it has ever experienced. This research aims to shine a light on the biggest factors shaping the claims experience today, the impact of customer conversations on overall CX and what insurers need to keep in mind as they look to build long-lasting trust with their customers.”
To understand where the future of claims lies, we must first look at how the process currently operates and what customers value most throughout the claims process. Around 60% percent of executives surveyed said having a quick, easy and seamless process was critically important to building customer loyalty and trust throughout the claims process. Slightly more than half believe having a speedy settlement is critically important, and 41% said the same about the importance of making customers feel known and understood.
When it comes to making customers feel known, however, many insurers are still handling claims in a way that is counterproductive to that goal. Only 40% of surveyed executives said they use pre-populating with first notice of loss forms, 32% tailor scripts to only ask customers for information they don’t already have and just 24% allow claimants to shift between channels without having to repeat information.
Most of the surveyed executives said their biggest priorities for 2022 are to enhance the customer claims experience including increasing efficiency (89%), reducing settlement times (74%) and reducing customer effort (74%), and hyper-personalization could be the key to achieving these goals. When it comes to outbound communications, most also hope to make the shift from letters, email and phone calls to speedier options like online claims portals, text messages and messaging apps. These forms of communication could also help provide more transparency throughout the claims process, which is imperative to building customer trust.
“By and large, the insurance industry has done an admirable job of embracing widespread digital transformation initiatives. The time has come now, however, to evolve from digital-centric experiences to ones that are also entirely customer-centric,” Brown continued in the release. “By adopting frictionless processes such as personalized forms and two-way conversations, insurers will see improved customer satisfaction and increased trust that will have long term effects on their claims experience and business operations.”
These changes won’t happen overnight, of course, but the majority of executives said they believe they will integrate new technologies, including AI, into their claims process over the next two-to-five years.
You can download an infographic with the full survey report here.