By Eileen Potter, VP Insurance Marketing at Smart Communications 

Recently the Smart Communications team attended the 2023 Duck Creek Formation conference. After reflecting on the insights, trends, and especially the conversations we had over the event, we’d love to share them with you. Spending time at a partner’s customer conference is particularly energizing and is a great opportunity to discuss the latest developments in insurance technology and strategy.  

The theme for this year’s conference was “Building Together,” with timely sessions focused on how human experience will drive the next era of insurance by building meaningful interactions that foster trust, earn loyalty, and create lasting value. In this article, we’ll dive into our takeaways from the event and further guidance for insurers looking to remain customer centric. 

Focus Areas for Insurers to Remain Customer-Centric  

1. Build Greater Trust 

For insurers, building trust starts with effective communication throughout the policy and claims lifecycles. In today’s connected world, that means taking advantage of cloud-based technology that will enable you to drive a digital-first customer experience strategy.  

Customers want to feel secure and confident in their insurance company, and one of the best ways to build trust is through clear communication, including being proactive in reaching out to customers when there are updates or changes that might affect them. Insurers should be responsive and accessible when customers have policy questions or concerns, and most importantly, make the claims process as smooth and hassle-free as possible, from FNOL to close. 

2. Communicate Clearly  

Customers buy insurance to protect themselves and their assets, and they expect their insurance company to be there for them when they need it. Your customer communications should reinforce the value of your policies and the protection they offer, including easy-to-understand explanations of policy language and coverage limits. Additionally, part of the value and protection is to educate them on ways to minimize risk and prevent losses. 

3. Deliver More Human Experiences 

In today's world, customers crave authentic, personalized experiences. They want to feel like they're dealing with a real person, not a faceless corporation, and they want empathy – especially when they have a claim. Your customer communications should reflect this desire for a more human touch, including giving your policyholders options for how they can interact with you. And make sure to personalize communications whenever possible, using the customer's name and referencing specific details about their policy.  

Conclusion

The accelerating pace of change in the industry combined with the current economic environment is challenging insurers to reimagine the way they do business, including how they interact and communicate with their policyholders. By focusing on these key areas, P&C insurance companies can create long-lasting relationships with their customers and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Our partnership with core system providers like Duck Creek enable us to help insurers build technology ecosystems that will deepen customer relationships, drive loyalty, and deliver amazing customer experiences.

Customer communications is not just part of our company’s mission – it's all we do, and we believe this is why more insurers selected Smart Communications as their CCM partner in each of the last five years than all other CCM providers combined. Learn more about our partnership with Duck Creek.