5 key elements of the insurance digital experience

Insurance companies have long been behind the curve when it comes to providing great customer experiences. Insurers have been slow to adopt new technologies and change their ways of doing things. However, with the advent of digital technologies, things are changing. 

The digital experience era in insurance

Customers are now more connected than ever before, and they demand seamless experiences when interacting with insurers. If you want to stay competitive in today's insurance market, you need to focus on providing great digital customer experiences. 

Digital transformation in insurance starts with understanding your customers and their needs, finding points of friction and fixing them, automating customer interactions, and making it easy for customers to find what they need.

Digital customer experiences are no longer a nice-to-have for insurers - it has become a primary competitive advantage. Customers expect seamless experiences in their insurance interactions across all channels in today's digital age. They want to buy policies online, file claims seamlessly through an app or website, and contact customer service without having to wait on hold. If you're not providing a top-notch digital customer experience, you're going to lose business to the competition.

That's why insurers are scrambling to digitize their businesses, transforming how they work in order to keep up with customer demand. But this is no easy task, it requires a lot of planning and effort. 

Are you ready to rethink digital experiences in insurance? Here are 5 key areas to focus on.

1. Map out your customer experience journey.

Digital journey mapping is a great way to understand how your customers interact with your brand. By mapping out the different steps a customer takes when interacting with you, you can identify pain points and areas where you need to improve. You can also see where you're providing a good experience and should continue doing what you're doing.

To map out your customer experience journey, you'll need to gather data from all of your customer touchpoints. This includes everything from your website and app, to contact centers and social media channels. You can use various tools to collect this data, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, and user feedback forms.

Once you have all the data, it's time to start mapping. Begin by outlining the overall customer journey, then drill down into each individual step. Be sure to include all channels, not just digital ones. Use flowcharts and diagrams to illustrate the different paths a customer can take.

2. Identify the channels that are most important to your customers.

Not all channels are equally important, so focus on the ones that have the biggest impact. 

It would help if you also considered the most convenient channels for customers. For example, many people now prefer to buy insurance policies online rather than through an agent. So if you're not offering online sales, you're losing out on potential business.

In general, the channels that are most important to customers are the ones where they interact with you the most. This includes your website, app, contact centers, and social media channels.

3. Transform your culture to be more customer-centric.

This will require changing how employees think about their work and how they interact with customers. The key is to focus on the customer's needs, not your own.

Too often, companies try to push their agenda instead of focusing on what the customer wants. This is a big mistake and can lead to disaster. Remember, it's not about what you want - it's about what the customer wants.

To ensure you're providing what the customer wants, you need to gather feedback throughout the digital journey design process. This includes everything from early concept stages to post-launch evaluations. Use surveys, interviews, and focus groups to get input from customers on your designs. You can also use user feedback forms or social media monitoring tools.

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4. Automate and personalize your customer interactions.

Automation is a key part of providing a great digital customer experience. By automating policy quotes and claims processing tasks, you can free up employees to focus on more important things - like providing excellent customer service.

You can also use automation to personalize the customer experience. For example, you can use data collected from previous interactions to provide tailored recommendations or suggestions. 

Co-browsing  is a good example of automation and personalization put to work for better digital experience. Co-browsing is when an agent and customer both see the same screen at the same time, allowing them to collaborate on tasks in real time. This eliminates back-and-forth communication, which speeds up the process while providing a better experience for customers. This will make customers feel like you're providing them with individual attention, which is what they expect in a digital world.

5. Make it easy for customers to find what they need.

Customers don't have time to search through your website or app to find what they're looking for. They want everything to be easily accessible, so make sure you design your interfaces with this in mind.

Self-service is also crucial for making it easy for customers to find what they need. This includes providing customer support articles, tutorials, and FAQs, and it also means giving customers the ability to manage their policies and accounts online via self-service portals.

In addition, use clear and concise language throughout your digital channels. This will help customers understand what you're saying, even if they are unfamiliar with insurance terminology.

Finally, make sure your website and app are responsive and compatible with all devices. This will ensure that customers can access them from anywhere at any time.

It's time to rethink the digital experience in insurance

Digital customer experience is no longer a nice-to-have for insurers - it has become a primary competitive advantage. In today's digital age, customers expect seamless experiences with their insurance carriers. Yet, often they are faced with subpar experiences, clunky PDFs, and websites that are difficult to navigate.

If you want to stay ahead of the competition, you need to focus on creating great digital customer experiences. This starts with understanding your customers and their needs, finding points of friction and fixing them, automating customer interactions, and making it easy for customers to find what they need.

If you're ready to rethink digital experience in insurance, the time is now.