The Insurance Industry Needs a Customer Experience Overhaul

If the COVID-19 pandemic taught me anything, it’s that humanity and empathy need to be the most important part of what we do in insurance. I believe that always putting the customer first will be the not-so-secret to success for insurance companies. Fail to do this, and there will be business implications in the long run.

Doing the right thing and leading with a customer-first mindset can improve brand trust, retention and positively impact the bottom line. Now more than ever before, I ask myself and my peers to think about how the insurance industry, typically powered by a dollars-and-cents mentality, can face its final reckoning — customer relations.

According to a 2020 JD Power Associates survey, customers who experience poor service are actually eight times more likely to shop for new insurance. So, if a positive customer experience is so critical to a successful insurance company’s well-being and business survival, why has it historically been so difficult to implement?

In insurance, whether personal or commercial lines, customers want fast service, affordable prices and a company that’s easy to work with when there are questions, claims and audits. In the past decade alone, there has been a massive wave of insurtech startups that are working to disrupt the slow-to-change industry. Unlike traditional insurers, many of these insurtechs are built with a foundation of technology which allows them to move quicker and invest in other areas of the business, like customer service and user experience.

Change is happening, but it needs to happen quicker. As a business owner who needs insurance for my company, a consumer who needs insurance for myself and my family, and as a commercial insurance entrepreneur, my life is ingrained in better understanding and navigating the industry. Stemming from my experience, here are five best practices that place customers at the heart of the insurance experience:

As technology becomes more prolific, customer experience will become the true differentiator. Inspiring loyalty by going the extra mile is probably one of the most straightforward methods to growing and maintaining a successful business. Let’s make sure it doesn’t get lost in the evolution of insurance.