3 Ways Insurers Can Leverage the Cloud to Close Gaps Between Customer Expectations and Their Experiences
By: Ruth Fisk, VP of Insurance Strategy at Smart Communications
Although the insurance industry has centuries-old roots, the world in which we currently live requires a modern approach to the technology, systems and processes insurers use to provide a great, end-to-end customer experience. Thankfully, there are such solutions on the market that can bridge the gap between customers’ expectations and their experiences with insurers.
While insurers have undoubtedly evolved the way they deliver products and services to customers, there’s still a fair amount of work to be done as technology becomes increasingly sophisticated and customers’ behaviors – and expectations – continue to evolve. In fact, Deloitte indicated that “In setting strategic plans, investment priorities, and budgets, insurers should therefore strive to maintain the momentum of creative adaptation established over the past few years, accelerating upgrades in systems, talent, and culture while becoming increasingly proactive, innovative, and customer-centric.”
It’s clear that organizations interested in staying ahead of the game must leverage best-in-breed technology solutions to digitize and optimize key touchpoints across the end-to-end customer experience. As insurers set their priorities for 2023 and beyond, we explore three ways insurers can deliver on customer expectations and provide the experiences they expect:
1. Use Pure-Cloud Solutions to Power Core Operations
Legacy platforms lack the necessary interoperability that’s needed to power core operations used by most insurance organizations. What’s more is that outdated systems offer limited APIs, making them incapable of integrating with key elements of a sophisticated technology stack. Ultimately, a lack of integrations can negatively impact the customer experience as insurers won’t have the necessary data across multiple customer touchpoints. This inhibits the ability to provide personalized, omnichannel communications and garner deep insights into how, when or why customer expectations are not being met.
On the other hand, pure-cloud solutions help to modernize IT operations—a key initiative insurers need in order to adapt more quickly to changing market demands and deliver more value to policyholders. Equipped with a suite of API integrations, solutions like the Smart Communications Conversation Cloud offer insurers the ability to connect all data, applications and history. With actionable data at their fingertips (made possible by using cloud solutions and strong APIs), insurers can realize the scalability needed to deliver personalized interactions across all devices and channels—a feat that is impossible to achieve with a manual approach. This also helps insurance companies prepare for the future and increases their internal efficiencies..
Interested in learning more about how Smart Communications can help insurers deliver SMARTER customer conversations in the cloud? Read the white paper for more.
2. Cater to a Digitally-Savvy Customer Base
Meeting the demands of today’s (and tomorrow’s) digital-savvy customers requires insurers to adopt the technology and processes that power agility and scalability. In a recent report, Tom Super, head of property and casualty insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, stated, “The bar just continues to get higher for customer expectations around digital. And while many insurers are hitting the mark on the digital basics, few are using digital in new ways to drive growth and engagement.”
Organizations should continue investing in the delivery of two-way, interactive conversations that make possible a customer-centric experience which transcends the typical, one-way transactions most customers are accustomed to. Historically, insurers considered the print/direct mail communications they delivered very carefully—a method that was used to convey the brand and its product or service promise. Given the digital-native customers of today, insurance companies need the ability to deliver impactful, personalized and relevant conversations (two-way) in real time. This is a distinct shift from one-way, paper-based transactions (that is, no longer using the best-in-class printed piece) to digital interactions that will make or break a customer’s experience.
3. Prepare to Remain Agile
While there will always be a level of ‘unknowns’ in the business world, operating as an agile organization is a necessity. To do so, insurance companies need to focus on recruiting top talent, remaining compliant, becoming customer-centric and partnering with modern solution providers that remain on the cutting edge of technology and integrate with core systems of record in the insurance space. By bringing together best-of-breed technologies, enterprises can better respond to market demands in an expeditious and scalable manner.
As insurers explore technology options, one way to adopt a more digital-first approach in the near-term is to invest in low-code solutions. Adopting low-code, cloud technology is a competitive edge that can offer insurance organizations:
- Operational efficiency
- Speed to market
- Cost reduction
- Improved quality
- Effective use of resources
But, the biggest benefit of low-code systems is that they can be implemented quickly and without added burden to internal IT departments. To be an agile organization that is positioned for the future, insurance leaders will need to continue prioritizing innovative investments.
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Conclusion
Smart Communications is proud to see the growing investment in innovation across the insurance industry. As we anticipate the 2022 Guidewire Connections event in Las Vegas later this month, we’re excited to discuss the capabilities that more than 100 Guidewire customers have invested in to deliver SMARTER conversations across the complete customer lifecycle. There are several opportunities to engage with us at the show, including:
- Join Smart Communications in the Ecosystem Demo Theater to watch live demonstrations of “Ready for Guidewire” offerings from PartnerConnect Solution partners. These solutions — developed by members of the world’s largest P&C insurtech ecosystem — are available in the Guidewire Marketplace.
- Accelerating the Time-to-Value of Digital Platforms: Elements of Cloud-Native Success on Monday, October 24 at 1:15pm PST | Co-presented by Ruth Fisk, Vice President of Insurance Strategy at Smart Communications and Ralph Severini, Global Leader of Insurance Alliances at AWS, attendees will learn how leveraging cloud-native applications and integrations is critical to a foundation for future growth.
- The Digital CIO: Taking Digital Innovation to New Heights with SmartCOMM