Insurers are not keeping up with consumer expectations — andtheir customers are not sticking around long enough to give themthe opportunity to prove otherwise.

We in the insurance industry have read the abysmal rankings incustomer experience satisfaction scores and know that customerloyalty is at an all-time low.

Customer churn because of declining loyalty and poor customerexperiences represents as much as $470 billion in Life and Property& Casualty premiums globally. This is according to Accenture's 2015 Global Consumer PulseResearch, which analyzed responses from more than 13,000P&C and Life insurance customers in 33 countries.

Other notable findings indicated that only 29% of insurancecustomers are satisfied with their current provider and that fewerthan one in six respondents (16%) said that they would definitelybuy more products from their current insurance provider.

What are insurance customers looking for?

Like most industries today, a good digital experience isappreciated by insurance customers.

In the Accenture report, consumers rated digital andcross-channel engagement as being very important and an area inwhich they seek improvement from insurers. Nearly half (47%) of thesurvey's respondents said they want more online interactions withtheir insurers. In the past six months, half (49%) of P&Cconsumers purchased a policy online and 41% used a mobile device tomake the purchase. Although many consumers are purchasing insuranceproducts online, only 15% said they are satisfied with theirinsurers' digital experience.

Digital transformation leads to premiumgrowth

With such a heavy emphasis on digital, it's not surprising thatthose insurers who lead in digital channel strategies also lead inpremium growth.

The J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study,which focuses on auto insurance, measures purchase behavior andpurchase experience satisfaction. According to SNL Financial,direct premiums written in the personal lines auto insurance marketin the United States increased by approximately 4.7% to $199billion in 2015, with much of that growth coming from new businessgenerated by direct writers who have invested heavily in digitalchannels.

While many consumers head online to research insurance productsand obtain quotes from an insurer website, only a fraction actuallycomplete the purchase online. The preferred channels for closing apurchase are through direct contact with an agent or through aphone representative.

The J.D. Power study shows that an overwhelming 74% of shoppersuse insurer websites or aggregators for obtaining a quote andresearching information, however only 25% actually purchase theirpolicy online, with 50% using an agent and 22% via a phonecenter.

Integrate channels for a seamlessexperience

Insurers are picking up the pace and using multiple channels totarget consumers.

E-mail, social, websites, mobile, phone and direct mail are allpopular methods for customer and prospect outreach. Althoughinsurers are engaging through a variety of channels, the missinglink is the enablement of seamless movements between eachchannel.

As consumers use different channels at different points in thepurchase process, the ability to move easily and effortlessly fromchannel to channel, or even from device to device, is vital for apositive experience.

An integrated channel strategy is easier to achieve with theadvancement of more-sophisticated technologies and analytics.Knowledge of who the consumer is at an individual basis can nowoccur in real time at the moment of engagement. As is often thecase, data is fragmented across many systems —obscuring customerbehavior. Through the use of cloud-based marketing platforms, data,technology and analytics can be brought together to create holisticand unified marketing insights and right time messaging whereverand whenever a customer or prospect decides to engage.

Optimize claims processes

One of the biggest factors affecting customer churn is theclaims process.

Customers will quickly change carriers if they experience apoorly handled claim process.

According to a Forrester study, more than 30% of customers whoendured a bad claims experience switched insurers within a year ofthe incident. And claims are costly because of increasinginefficiencies and increased customer churn as a result of poorcustomer experiences.

By sharing data across systems and channels, the claims processcan be optimized to reduce inefficient operations, dataduplications and customer frustrations. Providing online tools andresources to support a better claims workflow also benefitscustomers who are already dealing with a stressful event.Ultimately, improving the claims system will empower insurers todeliver highly positive and enriched customer experiences.

Improving the customer experience can go a long way towardimprovements in policyholder retention, identification of cross andup-sell, ability to achieve higher premiums, and an increase inbrand loyalty and customer advocacy.

Related: 4 digital strategies to reach Auto insuranceshoppers

Jim Kaiser is vice president of data solutions for WesleyChapel, Fla.-based data marketing company DataMentors.