A foreword, from Rocio Sarriegui Zulueta
Over the decades, it seems that the insurance industry has forgotten why it was born: to protect their customers and let them protect their most valuable assets, including their own life. When talking with industry practitioners about the future of insurance, their main concern is: how can we make insurance part of the lifecycle of a person? When you buy a car, you need insurance; when you buy a house, you need insurance; when you have a family, you might want health or even life insurance. With so much potentially at stake, why does the insurance industry struggle with customer interaction and trust? And what can be done to bridge this gap and rebuild the relationship between consumer and insurer?
Since insurtech took off, we’ve seen a shift in the industry focus, from product to enhancing customer experience. From on-demand insurance to automated and seamless claims management to insurance wallets, the aim of many insurtechs is to simplify processes throughout the whole value chain and make the products more attractive to their customers.
Technologies such as IoT and telematics are re-defining the customer journey. The rule of the IoT is simple: more connections creates more information, which creates more opportunities. Connected devices like biometric and environmental sensors make it easy to calculate risk and adjust policies as situations change, making pricing a new area of competitive advantage.
Is the key to improving customer experience centered around building products that fit with consumer lifestyles, even if they aren't necessarily insurance focused? It seems so. Combining digital and data can drive real-time improvements in customer experience; and AI and data insights can elevate that customer centricity further.
AI powered chatbots are already drastically improving customer onboarding and relationship management - and just imagine the variety of touchpoints one person must interact with over the life of their insurance coverage! In the past, this experience was tiresome and even once the potential customer was ready to commit to a coverage plan, they still needed to go through the application process. With the right technology, this disjointed type of customer service is being eliminated, to both the customer's and insurer's delight.
The competitive insurance landscape is becoming increasingly crowded and the battle for the customer’s attention will be won and lost on customer experience. The victors will be those who adopt technology that put customer centricity and service at the forefront of their business strategies.