Insurers can earn customer loyalty through better onboarding

Customer loyalty is the key to survival in today’s marketplace. Retaining an existing customer is often more profitable than bringing in a new customer and provides a higher return on investment. Yet, according to the new ABBYY State of Intelligent Automation Report, 90% of insurance companies are struggling with customer abandonment—resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Although having competitive rates is important, if each insurer offers roughly the same rates, then the customer experience becomes the thing that will make or break a relationship. The insurance industry has the largest customer touchpoint at the time of onboarding, and beyond that, at the point of claim. The more streamlined insurance companies can make these two touchpoints, the more likely they’ll be able to retain customers.

Simplifying the paper trail

Experts recommend that customers should review their insurance plan every six to 12 months and make a switch every two years. But with all the information, documents  and data available, finding the right provider often comes down to fatigue-based decision-making. Then, after the consumer chooses an insurer, it can take almost two weeks to get them fully onboarded.

When insurance companies onboard a customer or process a claim, they face stacks of documents from different places that don’t adhere to a standardized structure or format. Paper, email, PDFs — the ways insurance companies receive documentation are also becoming more varied. With slow data fulfillment, customers end up facing long wait times for claims processing. This results in insurance companies losing unnecessary money because they are too slow to settle claims.

To stay competitive and improve the customer experience, insurance companies need a more efficient solution. Collecting the documents needed for onboarding, extracting the necessary information and compiling it all together takes too long to complete manually. And this process cannot be repeated for each individual claim.

To optimize the onboarding and claims process and to establish a positive relationship with your customers, you must shift your perspective to theirs. Insurers must meet consumer onboarding expectations at scale and consistently deliver quick claims service to retain customers and continue building loyalty.

The best way to do this? Putting the customer experience at the center of your strategy and using technology to increase efficiency.

How insurers can meet the mark to achieve customer loyalty

Insurers have traditionally been perceived to be slow to adapt, lagging behind the need to evolve and transform. Traditional providers that have struggled to update their processes are starting to feel the pressure. However, they can play catch up and satisfy their customers in three ways.

1. Digitization

Digitization has become a crucial aspect of business operations across industries. With digitization, insurers can offer clients online portals to access their policy information, make payments, file claims and communicate with agents. Clients can enjoy greater convenience and have more control over their insurance policies. This can lead to faster turnaround times, improved accuracy and reduced costs, which ultimately can help insurers retain clients.

2. Automation

Again, technology is a great way to improve client satisfaction and increase retention rates. Streamlining and modifying your customer touchpoints—onboarding and claims processing—through automation can dramatically improve the overall customer experience. With the right intelligent document processing hardware and software, companies can rely on AI-enabled technology to scan documents in multiple formats, identifying the required details and helping customers move more quickly from the documentation phase to the processing phase.

Fast-tracking or cutting out unnecessary steps through IDP enables employees to focus on building relationships with their customers, further improving the customer experience.

3. Personalization

No matter the type of insurance or benefits you sell, keeping customer relationships at the center of your business is key. Personalization is a powerful tool for customer retention because it helps clients feel valued and understood. Helping a customer see how your products and services fit their needs can make all the difference in whether you retain your clients or lose them to competitors. Insurers can gain insights into their clients' behaviors and preferences by collecting and analyzing client data. Insurers can then use this information to tailor insurance products and services to better meet their clients' needs.

To stay competitive and retain existing clients, insurance companies must put their customers at the center of their strategy, and that means focusing on their most important customer touchpoints — onboarding and claims. Making these traditionally cumbersome and paperwork-heavy interactions seamless and tech-forward will build customer loyalty, improving retention and boosting revenue.

Susheel John is vice president of ibml. He may be contacted at [email protected].

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