The last time I filed a claim I called the insurer, and I wouldn't be surprised if you did, too. Or if you're part of the younger, tech-savvy Gen Y, you probably visited the insurer's website, which now accounts for nearly one-fourth of an insurer's interactions with policyholders.

Despite the growing popularity of this channel, however, local agents and brokers remain the key drivers of overall policyholder satisfaction.

Agents and brokers play a vital role in creating the meaningful connections that increase policyholder retention, reduce expensive calls to customer service and boost referral and renewal rates among existing policyholders. And between the increased Web usage by baby boomers and the proliferation of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices among users of all generations, customers increasingly desire personalized communications including quotes and proposals, policies and policyholder notifications via the web, SMS, mobile apps and email.

Here are five ways insurers can empower agents and brokers to deliver against increased web usage and the proliferation of mobile devices and tailor their services to meet the unique needs of different customer segments.

Upgrade from legacy systems. As policyholders increasingly demand intelligent, personalized communications, insurers need to create quotes and proposals, policies and policyholder notifications through new and preferred channels: the Web, SMS, mobile apps and email. However, most insurers' systems are still tied to old processes that do not easily support these delivery options. Gen Y in particular indicated in the 2010 J.D. Power and Assocs. Insurance Shopping Study that they want more electronic communications and resources from their insurers, but many of them are not receiving it.
Enhance data capture and access customer analytics (BI/CRM systems). Effective onboarding requires a well-defined process as customers increasingly demand detailed and timely policy information to help better understand their coverage. Enterprise content, customer relationship and policy administration management systems drive context-aware experiences that leverage past interactions and preferences to achieve greater customer satisfaction. Using customer insights in direct marketing pieces, newsletters, quotes and proposals not only improves response rates and return on marketing investment, but also increases retention by proactively managing “at-risk” customers and using analytics systems for lead generation and referral analysis.
Automate document processes. Agents are often the first point of contact for new clients, and need time to cultivate customer relationships and create meaningful connections. Document automation processes help to populate up-to-date data—including regulative and legislative—into documents, simplify captured data integration and connect with existing workflows. As a result, insurers can increase straight-through processing, reduce policy cycle time for specialty and commercial insurance and reduce the time agents spend on administrative tasks. In fact, many leading insurers have developed self-service portals for agents to increase straight-through processing, upwards of 70 percent.
Integrate electronic signatures. Rather than deliver quotes, proposals or claims correspondence via traditional print channels and then waiting for policyholders to sign and fax or mail back, agents and brokers can deliver documents via the Web, mobile apps and email, enabling policyholders to electronically sign contracts, agreements and other time-sensitive policyholder communications. Electronic signatures have achieved reductions from as many as 3 to 4 weeks to a few days. For instance, a health insurance benefits company integrated e-signatures in its contracts among hospitals, physicians and other healthcare professionals, reducing total processing time by more than 85 percent. Along with accelerating transactions and improving response times, e-signatures also feature tracking capabilities for real-time completed customer communications and often mitigate exposure to risks such as unsigned policies.
Provide real-time content for smartphone and tablet-based apps. According to the J.D. Power Insurance Intelligence Monitor, insurance customers—particularly Gen Y—are apt to use mobile phone apps, and insurers such as Nationwide and USAA are rapidly introducing smartphone applications into the market. Through online web portals, insurers can directly connect to content repositories that provide both intelligent and interactive documents to agents and brokers who can then select and apply the appropriate content to be delivered to policyholders via smartphone and tablet-based apps. Insurers that successfully leverage smartphone and tablet apps can generate new revenue opportunities, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

Web, SMS, mobile apps and email channels are a catalyst for not only attracting and acquiring new customers but also growing and servicing existing customers. Studies show that servicing and growing an existing customer costs insurance carriers five to seven times less than capturing a new customer.

There is a unique opportunity for insurers to empower agents and brokers to manage policyholder expectations and deliver the communications that policyholders desire.

Special Reports /

5 Insurer Tech Strategies to Enhance the Agent-Customer Experience

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