How insurers are using technology to PROVIDE AN IMPROVED MULTICHANNEL EXPERIENCE Eighty percent of service organizations are adding new channels or providing more options in existing channels. BASED ON RESEARCH FROM
Expanding business by OPTIMIZING THE MULTICHANNEL EXPERIENCE Insurance customers expect multiple ways to research, purchase, and access their personal insurance information and services. They also strongly prefer to receive certain services through the channel of their choice, at a time that is convenient to them. To meet these preferences, insurers seek to provide the customer with an omnichannel experience offering a variety of features across a range of channels while working to connect all this information behind the scenes. Optimizing each of these channels requires different technological and business approaches that will offer unique benefits. An online portal can give customers a quick way to handle simple transactions while social media strongly influences buying decisions. Mobilizing your customer and your workforce can speed claim processes and improve your customer s experience. CEB, a leading member-based advisory company, conducted research on what customers want from insurers and how insurers can best improve the multichannel experience for those customers. The following white paper, sponsored by Verizon, is CEB s unaltered study in its entirety, Optimizing the Multichannel Experience in Insurance.
CEB TOWERGROUP OPTIMIZING THE MULTICHANNEL EXPERIENCE IN INSURANCE Insurance customers generally purchase a new insurance product or service after learning they have a need for it or due to a life event. Insurance customers are less influenced by an attractive product offering or dissatisfaction with an existing product. While the insurance purchase decision is unique within financial services, insurance customers are similarly demanding multiple channels to research, purchase, and access their products. Particularly within the insurance lifecycle, customers move across channels to suit their various needs. Varying Channel Preference Across the Customer Journey Percentage of North American Insurance Customers by Channel Preference for Specific Activity, 2013 2% 3% 2% 2% 9% 3% 3% 2% 22% 30% 37% 20% 38% 23% 35% 25% 46% 16% 23% 27% Mobile Mail Phone Online In-Person Learn About a Product or Service Purchase Use or Access Receive Customer Support n = 527 Source: CEB 2013 Customer Experience Survey STAFFED CHANNELS MOST INFLUENTIAL IN PRODUCT SELECTION As insurance customers move through the product lifecycle, they show clear preferences to receive certain services from staffed rather than digital channels. Customers rely more on the contact center than any other channel when assessing insurance needs and clarifying product attributes. Seventy-four percent of customers found a staffed interaction, either in person or by phone, to be the most helpful source of guidance in the purchase process. The growth of digital channels requires greater visibility of client actions across channels for insurance agents and contact center staff. Unified desktops provide a cross channel interface for contact center staff. As insurers deploy emerging technology, like telematics devices, contact center agents must understand the customer experience in each channel and with every device to provide effective support. Source of the Most Helpful Guidance When Purchasing a Product or Service Percentage of Insurance Customers, 2013 Contact Center Agency In-Person, but Not Agency Website n = 210 Source: CEB 2013 Customer Experience Survey 2014 The Corporate Executive Board Company. www.executiveboard.com E-Mail Web/Mobile Chat Mobile Application Social Media 1% 0% 6% 6% 9% 18% 25% 36% 13
CEB TOWERGROUP DIGITAL CHANNEL GROWTH BOOMING Insurance customer demands are increasing and necessitating more options for interaction from carriers. According to a recent CEB survey, 80% of service organizations are increasing choice in service interactions by adding new channels or providing more options in existing channels. ONLINE Insurers are rapidly investing in portal technology with 76% planning to do so before 2015. Portal technology provides a strong competitive advantage for insurers, as well as a strong online experience that can improve sales and customer interactions. Online portals provide secure environments for customer interactions, including the ability to send messages, upload documents, verify premiums, and make payments. Customers prefer the digital channels, both online and mobile, for simple transactions. MOBILE Customers are demanding digital interactions with their insurers, and carriers are responding. Twenty-five percent of insurers are dedicating 9% or more of their IT portfolio to a mobile strategy. Mobile capabilities are useful for both customers and insurance staff. Customers benefit from mobile applications by leveraging device peripherals to add Consumer and Distributor Portal Technology Percentage of Global Insurance Executives, 2013 My Company Plans to Invest in Portal Technology by 2015 Portal Technology's Value to My Company is High Portal Technology is Important to My Company Portal Technology is Important to My Company Due to the Competitive Advantage it Provides n = 194 Source: CEB 2013 Technology Adoption & Investment Survey documentation for claims, remotely paying bills or checking balances, and securely communicating with carriers. Carriers benefit from a mobile-enabled workforce that speeds claims processes, untethers staff from their desks, and improves customer service by increasing staff familiarity with devices and mobile applications. SOCIAL MEDIA Social Media is becoming the channel of influence for insurance customers. In a recent CEB survey, 26% of insurance customers used social media to investigate a product before purchasing. Eighteen percent used social media to better understand a product they had recently purchased. Social Media can inform an insurance customer s purchase decision. After researching through social media, 1 in 3 customers chose a different product. Nearly half of customers told someone else what they had learned, making social media a powerful sales and marketing influences for insurers. 2014 The Corporate Executive Board Company. www.executiveboard.com 30% Chose a Different Product or Service 21% Did Not Buy or Use Any Service 27% Asked More Questions from the Salesperson During Purchase 50% 65% Ways Social Media Influenced Your Insurance Purchase Percentage of Insurance Customers, 2013 42% n = 210 Source: CEB 2013 Customer Experience Survey 76% 73% Told Someone Else What I Had Learned 24
Customers expect more options for interacting with insurers. Providing these options across physical, online, mobile, and social media channels is a challenge, but also offers opportunities to improve the customer experience and gain greater visibility into customer activities. Our solutions can help you improve the multichannel experience and succeed in a world of increasing cyber threats and intensifying competitive pressure. Don t settle for solutions that just meet challenges; get solutions that provide you with competitive advantages. With Verizon, you can learn to manage risk, understand your customers, and transform operations in ways that drive growth and increase performance. Improve the Customer Experience Drive Growth and Business Performance Manage Risk Omnichannel strategy Expansion and innovation Security Web/digital experiences Operational efficiency Compliance Customer intelligence Workforce productivity Operational continuity Platforms Intelligent Networking Advanced Communications Cloud M2M Mobility Security Verizon Solutions: Managed Services Customer Interaction Solutions Secure Application Delivery Risk Monitoring and Management Digital Experience Optimization Operational Transformation Technology Compliance Customer Analytics Enablement Productivity and Collaboration Defense and Continuity Professional Services Verizon s expertise in Intelligent Networking, Cloud, Security, M2M, and Mobility, plus our Managed Services and Professional Services, allow us to offer solutions to address customer needs in these important areas. SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS AROUND THE WORLD Verizon is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government, and wholesale customers. We manage and protect systems for many of the largest insurance institutions around the globe. We build, manage, and deliver an integrated suite of global technologies that help enterprises implement and accelerate their business strategies. We re a trusted partner to many of the world s largest companies nearly all Fortune 500 companies use Verizon technology and services. Find out more about our innovative solutions and how we can help you enhance your multichannel offerings. Visit verizonenterprise.com/industry/finance/ or speak with an account representative today. CEB, a leading member-based advisory company, equips more than 10,000 organizations around the globe with insights, tools, and actionable solutions to transform enterprise performance. By combining advanced research and analytics with best practices from member companies, CEB helps leaders realize outsized returns by more effectively managing talent, information, customers, and risk. Member companies include approximately 85 percent of the Fortune 500, half the Dow Jones Asian Titans, and nearly 85 percent of the FTSE 100. More information is available at cebglobal.com
verizonenterprise.com 2015 Verizon. All Rights Reserved. The Verizon name and logo and all other names, logos, and slogans identifying Verizon s products and services are trademarks and service marks or registered trademarks and service marks of Verizon Trademark Services LLC or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. WP16387 5/15