Integrating empathy and efficiency to foster customer loyalty

Rahul Kumar of Talkdesk joins us to discuss how insurers can create and nurture customer loyalty by enhancing the customer experience.

The modern landscape presents a host of challenges – both old and new – for insurers, and balancing the varying priorities and preferences of your customers can be tricky.

Of course, with premiums rising, some customers will go wherever they can find the lowest quote, but according to a recent survey from Capco, the top reasons customers cited for choosing their insurance provider were speed of service, the scope of coverage and the provider’s reputation.

Attitudes about providing insurers with more personal information have been changing over the last several years, as well, with 89% of respondents to Capco’s survey stating they were willing to offer up more personal information to their insurers – an increase of 17% from 2021– to help create a more customized insurance experience.

Of course, the issue of catering to customers’ individual needs doesn’t end once you’ve acquired their business, but what are the keys to keeping these customers around long-term?

For this episode of the Insurance Speak podcast, we were joined by Rahul Kumar, vice president and general manager of financial services at Talkdesk, to discuss how insurers can create and nurture customer loyalty by enhancing the customer experience.

One key element for insurers looking to make things more efficient for their customers is artificial intelligence (AI). Of course, AI has already been integrated into some of the tech insurers utilize to serve their clients, and Kumar explained how it could continue to enhance the entire insurance process, from distribution and underwriting to processing and claims.

“…Say, I was driving home from work and I get into my apartment complex. I park my car, and while I’m parking my car, I scratch it against a pillar, right? Oops. Very, very common,” Kumar began his example. “And think about a scenario where the internal diagnostics of the car itself can determine the extent of the damage. The personal assistant in the car gives me prompts to do what to do next – take pictures of damage, upload them to the portal – and by the time I get out of the car, I already have a claim filed and processed, so I think that’s the sort of future we are heading to with insurance.”

While this may sound pretty advanced, he explained that it’s not too far off from becoming a reality; possibly coming to fruition in the next three to five years.

This automation doesn’t negate the need for human contact completely, however, and insurers must still work to show empathy in times of loss and gain the trust of their insureds.

To hear our full conversation with Kumar about how insurers can integrate new technologies into their process while still fostering trusting relationships with their insureds, listen to the full podcast episode above or subscribe to Insurance Speak on Spotify, Apple Music or Libsyn.

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