Pain points of onboarding new customers
Almost 90% of insurance companies lose potential customers during sign-up – but what’s causing people to drop out?
With 81% of consumers wanting more self-service options for doing business, it’s no wonder insurance companies are throwing money at improving their digital online offerings.
The idea that you can use your phone or tablet to enroll for a new policy within minutes seems ideal — but the problem is, it’s not. A new survey by ABBYY has revealed that a staggering 90% of insurance companies are struggling with customer abandonment — resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue. Their onboarding service just isn’t up to par.
Respondents believe if their abandonment rate was reduced by just 50%, it would increase customer acquisition by 26% and revenue by 25%.
So why are so many potential customers dropping out? The top answer: a lack of human interaction (24%). This will bring music to the ears of many brokers and agents, because, yes, people want to speak to a real-life person! More on that later.
In the meantime, let’s look at the other reasons for such high dropout rates and how they can be addressed.
It takes too long
In a world of speedy Amazon-style ‘get it now’ expectations, it’s no surprise a third of insurance leaders blame their slow process for abandonment. Perhaps we need to focus on why it’s taking so long. One of the top obstacles was identity proofing and affirmation — cited as a big hurdle by 26% of respondents.
Indeed, this is usually the first step in the process as insurers need to be sure that the person they’re dealing with is who they say they are — which is understandable considering there’s a new victim of identity theft every 14 seconds in the U.S. Most onboarding platforms include a way to take a selfie or headshot, which must then be verified for security purposes. With new sophisticated software, this process can now be done in real-time with live photos or videos, which can analyze the applicant’s face and then compare it to their submitted passport or driver’s license to see if the pictures are an exact match. This type of facial matching technology provides high accuracy rates and more importantly, takes just minutes to complete in one streamlined process via a smartphone.
Toggling between screens
Applicants also cite ‘too many steps’ as one of the main reasons for abandoning an application. Much of the frustration lies with having to switch between screens to perform certain steps. For example, they may be asked to sign in via their email to change a password, go to their camera to take a selfie or open up a different app to scan a document. Having to switch to different screens is a big turnoff and adds further time to the whole process.
Your onboarding app should provide an all-in-one solution. It also needs the ability to complete applications on both mobile and laptop devices, as people will sometimes start it ‘on the go’ and want to complete it when they get home and have access to the documents they need.
Finding balance between humans and technology
As mentioned earlier, a lack of a human element was the top factor for people dropping out. That’s not to say that automation does not have its place. Streamlining and modifying the onboarding process through the use of technology can dramatically improve the overall customer experience by up to 43% and increase customer retention by over a third (37%), according to the survey. So, how do insurers strike the right balance between great technology and the human connection?
The study showed that engagement and customer experience comprise 52% of the reasons customers leave a company within the first 90 days. Therefore, it’s not just at sign up where the frustrations lie and people miss the human touch. Consumers want support and to know that their insurance company cares. Just over a quarter of insurers (29%) still plan to include human interaction during the digital onboarding process, but should that be higher? Lack of communication is a major complaint and another reason for abandonment (25%).
While technology plays a huge part in improving the future of insurance, it’s important to remember that good customer experience is still about relationships, whether that’s in person or online — make sure you’re there for clients when they need you.
Bruce Orcutt is senior vice president at intelligent automation company ABBYY and has more than 20 years’ of experience in enterprise software. He’s played a pivotal role in envisioning and launching innovative solutions that have transformed the way people work, improved customer engagement, increased revenue, and enhanced competitive advantage for ABBYY customers.
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