Eytan Morgenstern, of Lightico, says: "The trick to making mobile claims work is really a combined experience where the agent on the phone can connect quickly via a non-app portal to get what they need to help their customer out — whether that is a picture of the damage or the other driver's insurance information. That really provides the best of both worlds; the guidance and empathy of a person with the convenience and power of a mobile device." (Credit: Terovesalainen/Adobe Stock)
While mobile devices have become ingrained in our culture, both personally and professionally, consumers still aren't robustly leveraging insurance company apps, according to a survey from Lightico, which found mobile is the among least used methods for performing sales and claims functions.
A survey revealed that just 10.5% of claims are submitted through mobile apps, with the bulk (44%) coming through phone calls. Slightly less than 30% are initiated on a website and 7.5% are done face-to-face. Similar results were seen for sales, with just 11.5% being completed on a mobile app. Phone calls were the most common way sales were closed (39.2%), while 23% were finalized in face-to-face meetings.
At hand are a host of issues, explains Eytan Morgenstern, director of media communications for Lightico. One of the major ones is the fact that consumers typically don't engage with insurance companies as regularly as other financial service sector players, such as their banks. In turn, adoption tends to be lower for P&C industry apps.
"When your car was just totaled or your house flooded, you don't want to start trying to download an app, sign up, verify yourself via email and all that kind of mess. You want to speak to someone now," Morgenstern tells PropertyCasualty360.com "The trick to making mobile claims work is really a combined experience where the agent on the phone can connect quickly via a non-app portal to get what they need to help their customer out — whether that is a picture of the damage or the other driver's insurance information. That really provides the best of both worlds; the guidance and empathy of a person with the convenience and power of a mobile device."
He notes the story is the same for sales, explaining: "Brokers still need to be in touch with clients to sell policies but the bureaucratic, technical side of things should be done in tandem on their mobile device."
Are apps the way forward?
However, since most policyholders only interact with an insurer once or twice a year, or in the event of a claim, driving adoption can be difficult.
Noting consumers hold storage capacity of their mobile devices near and dear, Morgenstern says insurers should instead aim to use features that come stock on nearly every mobile device.
"Mainly text messaging and (a mobile) browser are really the way to go," he says, explaining the process is as simple as texting a link that opens in a browser, which is "an easy place to get things done." This includes signing documents and reviewing policy changes.
The ability to get things done faster while making it easier for policyholders are the main benefits insurers and brokers see from this approach. However, Morgenstern cautions that not all consumers are going to dig a mobile experience. This makes it mission critical that policyholders have a way to easily access an agent should they desire to speak with someone directly.
The challenge to driver further policyholder engagement through mobile is two-fold. The first step is getting the technology right, according to Morgenstern.
"Digital transformation has been talked about for decades but customers are less interested in core systems but rather how the digital experience they have compares to Amazon," he says. "It doesn't matter if it is insurance or buying a flight — the Amazon experience is the standard we need to push for, and that means putting the customer experience front and center. The good thing is that a good digital experience can save insurers and brokers money and increase retention. And that doesn't mean a long process of upgrading your core. Rather, through APIs and SaaS technology, insurers and brokers can upgrade major parts of their technology in months and often weeks."
The second part of the equation is more consumer education.
"Many people are pleasantly surprised when they can sign up or renew a policy with just a few clicks on their phone. Better awareness will increase usage of that channel and as a bonus delight consumers — even when filing a claim," he explains.
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