Three out of four people in the U.S. do not answer calls from unidentified numbers. (Shutterstock) Three out of four people in the U.S. do not answer calls from unidentified numbers. (Shutterstock)

The insurance industry is facing a massive shift in customer expectations due to evolving technologies and uncertain economic conditions. And while the sector is seen by some as moving forward sluggishly with digital transformation due to the legacy systems and paper-based manual processes, the 2023 Gartner CIO and Technology Executive Survey revealed that over half of insurance CIOs are increasing technology investments in 2023.

As a result, more insurers are seeking to capitalize on the opportunity to leverage digital transformation to modernize their business and provide a better customer experience. There are many market drivers for insurance CXOs to accelerate technology transformation, including the changing nature of their customers. Millennials were the largest purchasers of insurance in 2021, according to research published early last year by Majesco, a leading insurance software company. This shift will continue for insurers along with increased demand from digitally native millennials and Gen Z for a modernized omni-channel experience.

To date, the voice channel has been largely omitted — or at minimum, overshadowed — in the digital transformation conversation for insurers, with more attention being placed on web, mobile and social platforms. However, more often than not, current and prospective policyholders rely on guidance from insurance companies' call agents throughout the enrollment process. Failing to offer that help via the voice channel might result in those customers deciding to elect policies from different insurance companies altogether, resulting in a loss of revenue. As such, voice technology is critical for all types of insurers due to the time-sensitive nature of insurance-customer communications around claims and policy servicing.

Customer experience challenges

As insurance companies strategize around digital transformation, there are three major market challenges that should be kept in mind.

  1. Increasing customer contact with insurers. These interactions typically amount to the point-of-sale or filing a claim. Increasing the emphasis on customer engagement via digital transformation is critical to optimizing the customer's journey.
  2. Claims management is critical and complex. In the world of insurance, there is arguably no time that is more important than when a claim arises. A consumer's claims experience with an insurance company makes or breaks their renewal decision and their overall satisfaction. Subscribers may prefer talking to an agent rather than using a digital channel.
  3. Insurers can't get customers to answer the phone. The rise of insurance scams coupled with the overwhelming volume of robocalls means that consumer trust in voice calls has significantly declined. According to our recent survey, 75% of Americans do not answer calls from unidentified numbers. This makes it difficult for insurance companies' policy servicing departments to reach customers about payment information, service lapses or changes in premiums.

Benefits of digital transformation in voice

Given all the intricacies in the insurance space, there are several benefits to ensuring that voice isn't left behind in transforming the omni-channel customer experience. A key component of these efforts is branded calling, a technology that's gaining traction amongst insurers for its ability to help improve agent productivity, contact center efficiency, customer satisfaction and, ultimately, the bottom line.

Branded calling, as a concept, is not new. But over the past couple of years, it has evolved dramatically for insurers as it restores trust in voice calls by delivering critical brand information on an incoming call screen, so consumers can identify who is calling. The technology has demonstrated its ability to deliver several key benefits:

  • Delivers competitive edge. Whether insurance agents are calling to provide information to help consumers evaluate the best plan options, compare deductibles, co-pays, premiums, prescription coverage, claim status or address other issues, branded calling helps any insurer that's fighting low call answer rates among its customer base.
  • Optimizes voice for insurance complexities. Navigating insurance claims and policies is complicated, and customers often need rapid, accurate answers for which the voice channel is optimally suited. According to a 2021 ValuePenguin survey, for example, 24% of Americans have made a mistake during open enrollment before; while nearly half (45%) of Americans said they considered switching their plan, coverage provider or changing the amount of coverage. This data affirms that Americans have an extremely difficult time selecting insurance. The inability of an insurer to reach customers and engage with them on these complex issues has repercussions across the industry.
  • Improves engagement. Enhancing and implementing better engagement protocols can offset the high cost of customer acquisition. With improved customer engagement, the lives of call agents are made easier and these warm leads can be converted into sales.
  • Drives gains in agent efficiency and employee satisfaction. Digital transformation of the voice channel empowers insurance companies to achieve better business results by improving call agent productivity and driving increased engagement with their customer base. Branded calls can aid lead generation efforts by more seamlessly converting qualified leads that originate through other channels such as the web, email and social media. With more brand information on the incoming call, consumers can connect that call to earlier touch points and will be more likely to answer the phone. As such, call agents can reach these customers in fewer calls, improve their experience with the subscriber and their satisfaction in their role as a customer support representative. In addition, this provides further opportunities for the agents to make more calls throughout a business day.

The insurance market is complex and can be overwhelming for consumers to navigate. With millions of Americans constantly interacting with insurance companies, there is significant demand for the industry to modernize its current systems to provide a better customer experience. By prioritizing voice transformation, insurers can ensure a more seamless customer experience where agents help consumers better understand and navigate through the various industry processes.

Focusing on digital transformation for the voice channel will help insurance companies strengthen customer engagement and retention, leading to an overall improved customer experience.

Jim Tyrrell is vice president of Enterprise Product Management at Transaction Network Services (TNS) with specific responsibility for TNS' Communications Market solutions. These opinions are the author's own.

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