Today’s insurance customers desire personalized, convenient and quick service. Accenture’s 2019 Global Financial Services Consumer Study made it more apparent than ever that serving customers in demographic segments is not as effective as serving them as individuals. But how can insurers manage hyper-relevance to millions of customers?
The study surveyed 47,000 banking and insurance customers across 28 markets in Asia, Europe and North America. Its aim was to uncover what consumers want most from their providers, as well as major trends in how technological advancements affect consumer expectations.
Consumers have evolved and new insurance trends have emerged in our Insurance Consumer Study 2021 report.
Insurance Consumer Study 2021 report." data-analytics-module-name="aib-series-block" data-analytics-component-name="aib-series-block" data-analytics-template-zone="series-block" data-analytics-link-type="navigation" data-analytics-content-class="Content" data-analytics-engagement="1">Read our latest research
Consumers want a satisfactory experience characterized by convenience and speed. Thirty-three percent of those in the study named fast and efficient service as their most important priority, followed closely by fast issue resolution. This is even more important than products and pricing. In a world where consumers can purchase an item online within seconds, expectations for insurers are shifting.
Modern customer service is not only about providing a variety of channels to suit customers’ different needs and preferences; it’s also about offering personalized recommendations based on an individual’s interests, life stage, and behaviors. It’s streamlining processes to improve the user experience. It requires understanding each and every customer with the aid of technology. More than four in five consumers are willing to share more data in return for benefits like lower cost insurance or better, more personalized services. For example, 64 percent are interested in premiums that are based on safe driving behavior. Additionally, 48 percent of consumers expect their insurers to use their data to offer more relevant services. A one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective.
Automation, cloud and machine learning technologies can improve speed and agility, enabling insurers to digitize services and streamline processes globally. Analytics and artificial intelligence can further enhance individual customer experiences by enabling data-driven decision-making and supporting digital interactions. Accenture’s Technology Vision for Insurance 2019 report found three in five insurers (60 percent) are already using technology to build products or services that boost the frequency and quality of customer engagement, with another 35 percent planning to do so in the next year.
Maintaining trust is vital to serving consumers as individuals, as is achieving the right combination of digital services and human-to-human interaction. In my next blog, I’ll share more about what consumers want from their insurers, and how insurers can use data and customer insights to strike the balance between human-to-human and digital interactions in a way that enables them to personalize experiences and build trust.
