As many as 47% of customers say they stop purchasing from a company after experiencing poor customer service. And once they’ve had that negative experience, it takes as many as 12 additional positive interactions to make up for it.[1]
The stakes are high.
As an insurance carrier, your insureds have an opportunity to interact with you many times over the course of a policy year, including when they file a claim, request an endorsement, or when renewing coverage.
Each interaction is an opportunity to build trust and share information. For carriers, customer touch points can be challenging if the customer’s information isn’t easily downloadable or accessible in electronic form.
Today’s policyholders are consumers of insurance. They want their claims and insurance information to be easily accessible in real time. They want claims status and payment information to be just as readily available as their phone bill and mortgage information.
The best way to provide this service is to automate as much of the policy and claims administration process as possible.
Take customer Dave. He got into a car accident this morning and now he has to file a claim. Before his insurance carrier had an automated claims process, he waited until he had a block of time to devote to filing a claim. Now that his carrier has an automated claims process, he’s more confident in his ability to file the claim and knows he can do it that night from his cell phone.
The automation process helps Dave communicate with his carrier, i.e. submit his claim, without having to call the customer service line. The portal guides Dave through a series of questions aimed at improving the accuracy and immediacy of his reporting. Dave knows what to expect from the process now and feels his communications with his carrier are painless.
Internally, automating policy and claims administration is a game changer for insurance carrier staff, helping them streamline policyholder and claimant communications.
Both the carrier’s staff and policyholders want the same thing — the ability to communicate thoroughly on demand.
When information is available online or via app 24/7/365, with just a click or swipe on a mobile device, every interaction between the carrier and the policyholder becomes a positive one.
The benefits of automating the claims process for communication are vast. Here are a few ways both policyholders and carriers experience improved communication from claims automation:
In addition to the above, there are a number of benefits exclusive to the carrier. They include:
Insurance claims are costly, complex transactions involving multiple parties, systems and regulatory concerns. Automating claims services will open lines of communication for both the insureds and carrier staff.
For more information on improving efficiency for your claims administration, contact Leslie Sargent, our Insurance Carrier practice leader.