Why P&C insurance companies need to invest in claims customer service now

When someone makes an insurance claim, they’re under a lot of stress. Maybe their son just totalled the car or their house caught fire. It’s already a very bad day. Filing a claim might be the last thing on their mind when the unexpected happens. And if the claims process isn’t simple, it can add frustration to an already stressful time.

Enduring that kind of bad experience can mean the end of a customer relationship. More than half of consumers will leave a brand after just one bad experience, according to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report.

Why insurance companies need to invest in the claims customer experience

With tight competition from a crowded market, P&C insurance companies need to pay attention to their customer experience – or risk losing customers altogether. According to research from MoneySuperMarket, millions of drivers simply let their insurance policy renew automatically. When asked why they stayed, 25 percent said they shopped around but couldn’t be bothered to switch. That’s a tenuous situation for any insurance company because it means these customers aren’t loyal, they’re just content with the status quo. If a customer needs to make a claim and the experience is poor, they are likely to leave for another insurance provider.

Most of the time, customers want to make a claim online. They want to click a few buttons and not speak with anyone unless they have to. So, make it easy for them to help themselves. Make sure you have an easy-to-understand walkthrough of how to report claims on your website. Add a “make a claim” button so customers can quickly get started on their own. AI-powered chatbots can help triage questions and point to help centre articles for answers, saving your customers and your agents time.

But if your customer needs help, make it seamless for them to connect with a human. Customers may have never filed a claim before and feel overwhelmed, so a little guidance can go a long way toward creating a positive experience. Customers want to reach you on the same apps they use to communicate with friends and family. So be where they are – on messaging apps like WhatsApp, live chat, phone and email.

What happens when insurance companies elevate CX?

• Lemonade: using AI to disrupt the industry

  Since launching in 2015, Zendesk customer Lemonade has disrupted the insurance industry with a focus on customer experience. The insurtech company serves over 1.5 million customers in the US and parts of Europe, with hassle-free renters, homeowners, car, pet and life products. But it’s Lemonade’s lightning-fast claims process and laser focus on CX that sets them apart.

  Thanks to the power of AI and behavioural economics, Lemonade is able to pay out a claim without paperwork within three seconds. For context, the industry average is 30 to 45 days. Lemonade is not just using technology to speed up the claims process and save costs. The company also aims to make the whole insurance process easier and better for customers.

• Lincoln Investment: simplifying customer support and increasing time to resolution

  Lincoln Investment is a financial services company that is committed to a people-first approach. As the company began to grow, it realised that email-based advisor help desks wouldn’t cut it in the long term. After partnering with Zendesk, Lincoln Investment replaced 18 individual help desks and cut its first response and resolution time in half.

  “If we’re not able to effectively service the advisor, we stand in the way of business entering our door” says Guru Rao, VP of applications development at Lincoln Investment. “Having a seamless help desk solution that works across the enterprise, and can quickly surface roadblocks and allow us to remove them, is a huge benefit”.

• PURE: delivering better employee and customer experiences

  In an industry filled with 100-year-old organisations and traditions rooted in paper forms, ink signatures and notary stamps, PURE Insurance is looking to digital technologies to drive success.

  Since 2016, PURE has used Zendesk to elevate the employee experience – from standard IT support to complicated data and platform improvements. To gain an even greater edge with Zendesk, PURE engaged Zendesk Assist professional services to boost its change management strategy.

  “Zendesk helps reduce friction in our ticket escalation process by empowering teams to collaborate and share information smoothly, which creates a better experience for agents, brokers, and customers” says Howard Muhlstein, VP of infrastructure services at PURE Insurance.