Commercial-lines customers will exert more influence over the insurance-buying process over the next year, driving insurers to support real-time interactions, a new report says.

In its latest report, “2014 Trends to Watch: Insurance,” Ovum says, “The insurance industry is at an inflection point between operating in a product-orientated marketplace and operating in a customer-orientated marketplace.”

The analyst firm contends insurers see it as an imperative to embrace customer-centricity due to growing customer empowerment, the increasing ubiquity of mobile capabilities and minimal economic growth in developed countries.

“In 2014, insurers will have to support real-time commercial interactions not only with customers, but also with prospects and sales channels,” says Ovum. “Insurance sales channels will expect insurers to provide them with the capabilities to create market awareness, generate business and service clients.”

Barry Rabkin, principal analyst, Insurance Technology, Ovum, says in a statement, “The old saying that the 'customer is king' has never been more apparent in the insurance industry. However, to improve the level of customer focus, insurers' legacy IT systems will need modernizing. Insurers need to integrate systems of record, such as core administration systems, with systems of engagement, such as customer channels.”

Rabkin contends insurers should look at hybrid systems that combine the two systems, “such as customer relationship management (CRM) or customer experience management (CEM) systems.”

Rabkin concludes, “It is imperative that insurers cross the inflection point between a product- and customer-orientated marketplace in 2014. However, they will have difficulties in accomplishing this with their decades-old underwriting and core administration legacy systems.”

Special Reports /

In 2014, Customer Will Be King, but Can Insurers' Systems Keep Up?

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