Keynova Group's 2021 Small Commercial Insurance Report Shows New Telematics Features, Digital Injured Workers Support

WILMINGTON, Del. (PRWEB) October 26, 2021

Keynova Group, the principal competitive intelligence source for digital financial services firms, today announced the results of its 2021 Small Commercial Insurance Scorecard report.

The Hartford was the clear winner of the Scorecard based on its Overall Score, receiving top marks for its comprehensive digital offerings for small companies, although key findings reveal widespread variation in the digital capabilities that carriers offer small businesses. While some insurers have expanded digital quoting and binding and added new options for claims-associated support, there are significant gaps in online and mobile services compared to consumer and enterprise-grade offerings – particularly regarding authenticated policyholder servicing in which five of the 10 reviewed carriers offer dated interfaces supporting limited self-servicing for businesses.

"Despite the pandemic spurring small businesses to increase their reliance on digital channels, insurance carriers have responded inconsistently with digital capabilities to support these firms," said Beth Robertson, managing director, Keynova Group. "While digital quoting for small commercial policies is becoming more common, secure servicing lags for these policyholders though a few providers are building competitive advantage by enhancing elements like digital claims for business policy lines, interactive customer support tools and telematics options."

The annual Scorecard report benchmarks the 10 largest U.S. small commercial insurance carriers and evaluates comprehensive digital capabilities supporting small business insurance types such as Business Owners Policies (BOP), Property, Liability, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Auto insurance.

Key findings:

Telematics Tools Augment Fleet Management and Motivate Safe Driving

As telematics tools have become attractive among carriers to encourage safe consumer driving behaviors and generate auto insurance discounts, insurers like Nationwide, Progressive, The Hartford, and Travelers are also offering telematics to help small businesses manage fleet vehicles, achieve operational efficiencies, and encourage professional driving behaviors. Other firms are also beginning to offer telematics options for commercial auto policies, enabling future benefits such as real-time claims reporting with live driver and vehicle data to support straight-through claims processing.

Digital Claims Grows but is Inconsistent

Claims handling is another area of growth, although carrier support varies widely: Just four of 10 firms enable digital reporting and tracking for both commercial auto claims and for traditional small business policy claims, such as property or liability, while four additional firms offer limited claim reporting or tracking for certain policy types. Claims-related chat is a new development, as is the addition of digital search, enabling more insurance sites to help small firms identify repair service providers for commercial vehicles.

Expanding Digital Support for Injured Workers

Supporting injured workers through virtual insurance options has become especially important since the pandemic. Along with workers compensation coverage, four of 10 firms now have a digital interface that workers can use to monitor their claims, upload claims documents, or communicate with claims handlers online. The Hartford is the first to enable injured workers to receive coaching and recovery support via digital options - including clinician-supported virtual exercise and return-to-work programs, physical demands analysis, and educational videos.

About the 2021 Small Commercial Insurance Scorecard

Keynova Group's annual fact-based Small Commercial Insurance Scorecard evaluates the online and mobile offerings of 10 of the leading U.S. small business insurers. Evaluating approximately 300 objective criteria and measuring competitive digital capabilities and user experience elements, the Scorecard identifies evolving trends and actionable insights that influence digital strategies for carriers serving small firms.

For more information about the Keynova Group 2021 Small Commercial Insurance Scorecard, please visit https://www.keynovagroup.com/scorecards/#insurance.

About Keynova Group

Keynova Group is the foremost competitive intelligence firm providing trusted benchmarking insights and analysis of consumer and small business digital financial services, including banking, credit card, home lending, and insurance. Formerly known as Keynote, Keynova Group's Scorecards have served as the go-to source for prominent financial services firms to obtain reliable competitive intelligence and actionable insights since 1999. Keynova's proven methodology and highly detailed results help its clients maximize the value of their digital channels to deliver a premier experience to customers and prospects.

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