Accelerating CX With Connected Insurance Experiences

Harnessing digital solutions for strong policyholder relationships

The J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Claims Digital Experience study shows that many insurers struggle to deliver a seamless digital experience. After surveying 3,184 auto/home insurance customers who had filed a claim in the past 12 months, the study evaluates a customer’s digital claims experience with Property & Casualty (P&C) insurers by examining the latter’s functional aspects.

Transformation in the ever-evolving insurance landscape has become a continuous journey due to the changing demands of policyholders and stakeholders – currently woven with digital portals, mobile insurance apps, effortless and on-demand payments, and a multitude of customer support channels. Customer experience has taken the top spot in the policyholder’s ask, and a staggering 46% of the policyholders consider it a decisive factor when choosing their insurance provider.

From the initial policy purchase to the ultimate claim settlement, insurers aspire to provide fast and reliable solutions for their stakeholders (policyholders, agents, brokers, etc.) — to reap the benefits of the efforts and investments made in the customer experience, the transition must be across all systems within the value chain. For example, an outdated technology used for agency portals will hinder scaling system transactions and performance even though new-age policy administration and payment systems have replaced legacy platforms in the ecosystem. These hotchpotch implementations do not cover the upstream and downstream system gaps.

To achieve an effective digital transformation, insurers must account for CX/UX and integrate systems with new technologies for real-time data exchange – the pivot in achieving these goals is connected insurance. Real-time connectivity ensures instant access to information while streamlining processes from policy issuance to claims settlement and providing timely insights. This seamless integration is required to facilitate quick decision-making, improve customer service, and ultimately elevate the overall efficiency of the insurance ecosystem.

Powering better experiences with connected solutions

Connected experience allows insurers to maintain data consistency and a single source of truth, which will consequently improve data quality and better use of data for reporting and insights. Today, insurers can provide customers with self-service capabilities through omnichannel integrations or the ability to access real-time quotes with automated submissions and underwriting.

The big wishlist of stakeholders (vendors, adjusters, brokers, etc.) also includes digital payments, faster claims processing, more customized and on-demand products, and risk mitigation support from the carriers.

The leap in this journey is through introducing the latest technology platforms and an enterprise architecture upgrade for the longevity of the solutions; here’s how:

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) accelerate claim damage assessment, enable instant chatbots and shared platforms, and convert data to business insights. This will further help develop customer-centric solutions, reducing claim-settlement turnaround time and improving efficiency. Additionally, chatbots can redirect customers toward the most appropriate plans instead of the customer going through multiple pages of research.

Cloud-based interoperability becomes the next stage of this process, where the existing AI-powered insights can allow the integration of different platforms to catalyze faster customer journeys. So, if the agency systems work with underwriting systems simultaneously (because of shared platforms), accepting or rejecting a policy becomes almost instantaneous.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) coupled with data analytics, on the other hand, becomes instrumental in the organization’s extensive digitalization. This includes workflow automation, embedding technology throughout the operations, integrating functions, automating claim payouts, and more.

Large Language Model (LLM) solutions, additionally, drive operational efficiencies in the contact center through automated chatbots, CRM platforms, and real-time agent assistance. This further augments the customer-agent relationship by eliminating burnout due to manual interventions.

AI tools can enhance the straight-through processing of claims by automating the damage assessment, setting up reserves, and settling the initial claim payout for non-liability claims. This sort of technology is bound to welcome a loyal customer.

Evidently, it’s about more than embarking on a digital transformation journey. Instead, connected insurance solutions must add value to the business operations from every standpoint. Here, HTC is equipped to empower organizations in implementing connected solutions that improve the customer experience, address unique business requirements, and ensure economic feasibility.

Case in point

HTC assisted a leading P&C carrier modernize their agent portal to increase efficiency and customer experience, upgrade core systems for real-time data processing and interactions, and heighten customer satisfaction through quicker and more effective service. HTC achieved this with the following steps:

• Re-engineered and enhanced agent portal to make it more user-friendly, ensuring mobile accessibility, product insights, and included Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Business Profit Management (BPM) tools with AI-driven analytics to strengthen customer engagement.
• Implemented core system transformations, automated the critical functions to enable real-time data transfers, and integrated data analytics tools to allow proactive and accurate risk assessments by underwriters, thus enabling faster decision-making for commercial products.
• Enabled real-time interactions with instant communication channels to exchange files and data, keeping agents’ and underwriters’ interactions efficient to close prospects faster.

The results were visible and quantifiable: 40% improved agent efficiency, customer satisfaction rose by 30%, and a significant 50% reduction in claim processing time (survey and data captured over a period of 6 months).

The road ahead for connected insurance

Despite the advent of digital solutions, over 30% of insurance customers are dissatisfied with the available channels. This poses a threat to digital adoption. Not all solutions fit the bill due to several variables: geographical, product-specific, offering-specific – the list goes on. Thus, integrations across insurance touchpoints that are very specific to the business are crucial. Agents, underwriters, and claim-management departments must work in synergy as technologies augment and speed up their collaboration to deliver the best CX.

To exemplify, if the customer wants to talk to the chatbot or the customer service agent, the choice should be theirs. Increased interoperability, simplified channels, personalized attention, and accessible product information – all of this, while everything is uber fast and at ease – is the way forward.

Collaborating innovations for future-ready solutions

Adopting the right approach to establish a connected insurance experience is essential.
HTC assists with customer data standardization, customer identity resolution, and automating and streamlining processes, thus facilitating a complete digital transformation. Our cost-efficient yet effective approach will pave the way for insurers toward a digital-first customer experience.