How digital communications can make life easier for customers

By Yaniv Hakim

There is no doubt that data and digital technology is transforming insurance. After all, this is a sector that has long relied on data to assess risk; now the amount of data and the speed with which it can be analyzed is astounding. But despite these advances, many insurance companies struggle with digital transformation when it comes to user experience and customer service.

In fact, poor experiences around making claims is a top reason people switch insurance providers. That makes improving the claims experience and other customer services, such as changing or renewing policies – with the help of digital communication and artificial intelligence - an opportunity for insurance companies to tap into growth.

Offering services on existing platforms

Perhaps the most important element of offering digital service for filing and following up on claims and other tasks is to be reachable on the platforms and channels that consumers are already using in their daily lives, including SMS texting, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Customers should be able to text or call their insurance provider the same way, and with the same convenience that they call family or friends. Once communication is started in one channel, it should also stay in that place, eliminating the need for follow-up phone calls and any other back and forth.

Too many companies make the mistake of offering such services only on their own apps or websites. While some consumers do use these channels, offering only these channels feels limiting or inconvenient for many people. On the other hand, being available on any and all platforms that customers use brings a sense of security that can be key to retention in the insurance sector.

Offering more communication channels using omnichannel technology can also help the company become more efficient. I have seen in my experience that companies that implement service on WhatsApp, or a similar platform, see their customer service call volumes drop by about 60%. This relieves the workload on phone agents, and allows some phone agents to transition to work as digital agents, where they are able to work on several queries at once and provide faster service.

Providing self service

Automation should not be about only giving out information, but should also allow consumers to carry out tasks such as renewing a policy, adding a driver, filing a claim or getting a quote for a new policy. Offering this can reduce call volumes by as much as 30%, in my experience. Again, such automation should be available across platforms, and not limited to a company’s website or app.

In addition, automation should be used to help company staff as well. For example, customer service agents can use virtual assistants or other tools to retrieve information quickly or to complete tasks such as sending out documents for a new customer to sign. A smart AI chatbot can collect all needed documents and send them to an agent, eliminating the need for some back-office work. This type of automation also can be used in outbound communications; for example, a company can automatically send out renewal reminders, along with a discount for customers who complete the renewal process themselves through automated communications.

This means that automation must be integrated throughout the business. To set up such a system effectively, it’s a best practice to appoint an executive to oversee implementation and ensure that automation is done holistically and advances business goals. We see that executive – a communication automation manager – as a critical role in any customer-facing company, that can pave the path to becoming an autonomous organization.

Knowing when and how to involve a human

Although one of the goals of AI is to do the work of humans in a human-like way, the bigger goal here is to offer more effective service. And that requires always having a human in the loop. Humans must oversee not just AI training of AI, but also supervise AI as it is working. This ensures that the AI is delivering the best service, and also makes possible a seamless transition between AI and humans, when needed.

In fact, one of the best-use cases of AI in insurance is figuring out which inquiries should go to humans. Simple and routine matters are often handled better by AI. But when it comes to someone with a claim that involves loss, damage or emotional stress, the AI can help get those customers to a human agent. The transfer of a customer to a human should be immediate, occurring on whatever communication channel is being used. It should not require the customer to wait for a call back, reach out on another platform or repeat information.

With AI handling many of the basic communications, human agents will have more time and resources to devote to more complicated tasks. Overseeing the AI also puts human agents in a more managerial role, allowing them to supervise a machine-led process, instead of feeling overwhelmed by having to work like a machine.

There is no question that AI has great potential to improve customer communications – and satisfaction – in the insurance sector. That makes the adoption of such technology key to any insurance company’s growth. But to really succeed, insurance customers need to make sure their customer communications are natural and easy to use, and allow people to complete tasks in a simple and efficient manner, like they are accustomed to in online shopping and other parts of their daily lives.

Yaniv Hakim is CEO and founder of CommBox. He may be contacted at yaniv.hakim@innfeedback.com.

Sara Stub sara@gkpr.com