Insurers Need to Step Up Their Game in Digital Interactions

The typical U.S. consumer has gone digital, preferring to use channels such as email, Web and social media to interact with favorite brands. These interactions are frequently completed via mobile devices and the consumer expectations surrounding the complete experience continue to intensify. That’s great news for those on the cutting edge – not so great for those in the insurance sector.

As the omni-channel customer experience continues to evolve throughout the customer service industry, companies are using 3rd party remote call monitoring to do more than just record calls. Today’s companies want to capture the entire customer experience and measure performance across all channels. But according to new research from multichannel customer engagement software provider Eptica, insurers in the U.S. are dropping the ball when it comes to digital interactions.

As highlighted in a recent Contact Centres piece, insurers in the U.S. are stuck in an analogue world. Companies in this sector appear to be able to answer only 28 percent of inquires across digital channels, and 14 percent failed to respond successfully on Web chat, social media or even email. For U.S. insurers, email continues to be one of the more successful channels, although average response time is still nearly two days.

When reviewing data from Eptica, it appears that U.S. insurers could learn a lot from their U.K. counterparts. Any 3rd party remote call monitoring put in place there would show that insurers are answering 54 percent of questions via digital channels, with 80 percent sent via email and 45 percent via the Web. When consumers send an email with the hope of a response, U.K. insurers are taking just 28 hours and 4 minutes, on average, to respond.

According to Olivier Njamfa, CEO and Co-founder of Eptica, “The insurance industry is at a crossroads, with the rise of digital disrupting traditional ways of doing business. To succeed in this new world insurers need to prioritize the digital customer experience, yet the Eptica study shows that they are struggling to adapt and move away from analogue channels. Digital doesn’t just benefit consumers, but also drives greater efficiency and enables innovation – it is therefore time for insurers to learn from their peers in other industries and apply best practice to their operations to meet changing customer needs.”

The findings of this survey suggest that even with 3rd party remote call monitoring, U.S. insurers aren’t truly capturing the desires of the customer base, or they are failing to implement the right strategies for change when they do. Too many providers in other industries are continuing to raise the bar when it comes to the standard customer experience across digital channels. Without a clear strategy for change that will result in improved interactions, these companies will continue to see lower margins and frustrated customers. 

Edited by Alicia Young

Share this Page