5 Ways Life Insurance Companies Can Transform Customer Experience Through Digitization

If there’s one industry that’s under significant pressure to adapt to the current times, it’s the insurance industry. Carriers are welcoming a new generation of customers who think very differently about insurance than their parents or grandparents did. The legacy systems that were responsible for insurance programs of bygone times may no longer be enough to accommodate millennials and Generation Z. For life insurance companies to enjoy the same success as yesteryear—or better yet, exceed it—they must ready themselves for the digital era. And one aspect that deserves priority when it comes to digitizing insurance operations is, without a doubt, customer experience.

If you’re wondering about the best application for a new life insurance solution, turn your attention to improving your customer experience. Digitizing your customer service and innovating your current programs with new software will contribute greatly to customers’ trust, satisfaction, and loyalty to your business. Here are the top five ways that your life insurance company’s customer experience will benefit from a digital transformation.

It Can Add New Flexibility to Your Existing Insurance Programs

Digitizing operations will afford a life insurance company something they’ll need in the current climate: flexibility for existing programs. Thanks to digitization efforts, your company may be able to deliver improved insurance products that best reflect what your customers want. It won’t be as difficult to make important changes to your underwriting, contract writing, and claims processes. More than helping you adjust your policies with minimal disruption to your workflow, new technology may also accelerate your product development. A new insurance product that might take a year to roll out with your legacy system can be launched in a matter of months.

Simply put, digitization will allow you to customize the delivery of your insurance services for every part of the policy lifecycle. All this will be possible without you feeling like you’re starting your programs from scratch.

It Can Help You Rethink Your Policies

Your digitization efforts may also inspire you to get creative about reaching your audience and selling life insurance products that are of value to them. One example is the use of a life insurance platform to decouple all-in-one insurance programs, all without compromising on service. “Un-chunking” the all-inclusive life insurance policies may make you more appealing to spendthrift but tech-savvy customers who prefer hybrid products. Alternatively, you can also provide them with smaller and more affordable policies that better suit their budgets. 

If you feel like your legacy product lines would benefit from an overhaul, you’ll be able to achieve that with extensive digitization efforts. They may be just what your life insurance company needs to stay fresh and relevant to your current customers.

It Can Harness Analytics to Present You with Detailed Customer Insight

Another way your company can benefit from digitization is through enhanced analytics capabilities. New life insurance software can help you master big data and receive comprehensive customer insight.

If you upgrade to new technologies that allow thorough data analytics, you’ll be able to get the answers to the following questions:

• What are the current market conditions like for life insurance?
• What type of customer is currently pursuing a life insurance program like yours? How old are they, what industry do they work in, and what have their previous life insurance experiences been like?
• What kind of life insurance policies are your customers looking for?
• What qualities do your customers look for in an insurance carrier?
• What are the factors that get in their way when it comes to enrollment or renewal of life insurance policies?

Having insight like this will allow you to tailor-fit your insurance programs more closely to your customers’ expectations. It’s also good to share this insight with your staff on the ground, such as your individual agents, for example. Access to this data may empower them to reach out to your customers using the right words.

It Can Increase Efficiency in Billing and Collections

Billing and collection are two of the most straightforward aspects of the insurance process, but they are often taken for granted by life insurance companies. But even one bad experience for either of these may sour a customer’s opinion of their carrier forever. Thus, one of your top priorities for improving your customer experience should pertain to your digital billing and collection system.

Luckily, digitization can vastly improve the speed and quality of these transactions. Your new life insurance software can guarantee timely quotations, accurate billing, and swift renewal of policies. If your customers can expect smooth and trouble-free digital transactions with you, you’ll have won them for the long term.

It Will Boost Your Company’s Claims Management Abilities

Claims management is often a weakness of life insurance companies, but not having optimum control over claims has a steep cost. For one, the less efficient an insurance company is with their claims, the more taxing it is on their coffers. But the more immediate concern lies with the customers, who may opt for a different carrier if their claims aren’t handled properly.

Though managing claims may be difficult, mastering this aspect of the insurance process will prove your integrity to your customers. This is what will set you apart as a trustworthy and forward-thinking partner for life insurance. Use your new tools to upgrade your claims management abilities and put your best foot forward to your customers.

Final Words

Digitizing your life insurance operations may feel like a huge change to your company. But you can also look at your digitization efforts as a means to preserve your legacy. New technology can translate evergreen company values—such as a focus on customer experiences—to the current environment. So consider digitizing now and becoming the kind of life insurance provider that your customers will entrust with their futures.