Shaping a Digital Insurance Strategy: Why Listening to Consumers Is Key

Consumers are at the heart of everything. Today, this rings true more than ever. Brands have been progressively shifting to a more customer-centric approach in an effort to address changing demands and increased expectations. 

From finance, retail to insurance -- organizations across industries are embracing a digital approach to meet new customers and offer an enhanced experience. If you’re contemplating a digital insurance strategy for your organization, let’s take a deeper look at the key customer experience trends that are driving today’s digital transformation.

Digital-first

Purchase decisions are now increasingly made on screens. With 63% of shopping occasions being initiated online, it’s crucial for brands to foster a strong online presence and create an intuitive digital experience.

In the digital age, customer experience has leapfrogged to the top of the customer acquisition and retention priorities list. Industries across the board have been grappling with this new normal, especially insurance. 

Historically, consumers only really interact with their insurers at the point of purchase, renewal, and claims submission. Today’s digital landscape has transformed that model with insurers interacting with their customers more frequently than ever before.

With the emergence of digital and usage-based insurance models, there are more opportunities for insurers to engage their consumers. But also more opportunities to lose them. Surveyed consumers say they value speed of service, and availability of self-service options, and that they are more likely to part ways with a product/service if they received poor customer support.

This is where technological innovation proves a key advantage for insurers. By embracing the digital transformation, brands and insurers can offer valuable services and experiences seamlessly and across multiple digital distribution channels, all without needing a brick and mortar location.

Today, we’re seeing the value of digital insurance solutions amplified in the midst of COVID-19. In a business landscape where remote work and social distancing are encouraged, digital platforms are proving to be integral in keeping products and services running. Across most insurance lines, the increased need for a digital-first model validates the role of insurance technology platforms in empowering carriers and brands to be highly engaged and deliver essential services to their customers without any disruptions.

Personalized services and support

Digital does not and should not mean cold and impersonal. In the digital insurance age, cultivating the human touch through personalization of support and services must be fundamental to the core experience. Here are some strategies brands and insurers can employ to leverage enhanced customer experience as a key point of differentiation.

• Know your customer: Understanding your customers’ needs and pain points is key in delivering the type of product and support they need.

• Be transparent: Offering clear information about your products and services is a foolproof way to foster brand loyalty. A 2019 survey found that consumer expectations for trust increased by an average of 250% year-over-year. 

• Personalize your support: A human touch is still a critical component of the digital age. 64% of consumers care about receiving more personalized advice. 

• Be easily accessible. Out of sight does not have to mean out of mind. Support your customers through their preferred channels -- whether that’s via live chat, email, or a phone call.

• Take feedback to heart: The digital model empowers an open feedback loop that allows you to learn more about the gaps in your products and customer experience, and more importantly, various opportunities to improve them

On-demand way of life

Consumers appreciate products and experiences that are tailored to the way they live, work and play -- and insurance is no exception. As a result, usage-based insurance solutions are now being offered alongside annual policies to give consumers more flexibility.

Technological advances, the widespread use of smartphones, and the emergence of the gig economy have contributed to the demand for an integrated and easily customizable insurance purchasing experience that can be done on-demand, in real-time. 

Usage-based insurance models are transforming the way insurance products are designed, priced and distributed. For traditional insurers, this presents an opportunity to diversify their risks and capture a new set of customers, including gig economy workers, pay-per-mile drivers, and consumers in emerging risk categories such as commercial drone pilots.

At REIN, we’ve been fortunate enough to see firsthand how an on-demand, usage-based insurance product fulfills the coverage gaps in the market, specifically for commercial drone pilots. In developing our first program, DroneInsurance.com (offering round-the-clock ground coverage and usage-based flight coverage for drones, sensors, and ground equipment), we’ve had to truly understand the unique needs and pain points of commercial drone pilots in order to collaborate with our carrier partner in designing a solution that matches the customers’ unique risks and operational needs.

While still in its infancy, on-demand insurance presents a unique growth opportunity for insurers as reports estimate the UBI market to be worth $190 billion by 2026. 

One-stop shop

While the shift towards digital insurance comes with a handful of challenges, it also presents a lot of opportunities. Digital is doing so much more than transforming the customer experience, it also paves the way for brands to strengthen their products and expand their offerings.

A lot has been said about offering the right product at the right time, within the right channel. This resonates with insurers, especially with the rise of digital ecosystems and growing appetites for embedded insurance products. A Mckinsey report found that ecosystems will generate $60 trillion in revenue by 2025. This massive growth potential is partly fueled by customers’ desire for a seamless purchasing experience -- a one stop shop from a brand they already know and love. 

In engaging with brands within autonomy, mobility and commercial auto, we’ve learned that their customers are eager for a bundle of products and services that not only enhances their experience, but more importantly, encapsulates their end-to-end needs.

Of course, every organization operates differently and there’s no one size fits all approach for embracing a digital strategy for integrated services. The upside is, at least from our experience, some of the world’s largest brands are eager to dig in and collaborate to understand what their customers need, and explore ways to find the most efficient path forward to deliver a best-in-class experience to their customers at a global scale.

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If you’re a brand or carrier and are interested in embracing a digital insurance strategy, let’s talk about your unique needs and goals at partnerships@rein.ai.