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Mobile Strategy for Sustained Customer Engagement in Insurance Industry

28 Jan, 2016
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Delightful customer experience is critical in insurance industry for successful retention of existing customers and expanding their business. With the advent of 24 x 7 on digital technologies and smart phones, it is important for businesses to have a strategy for continuous engagement of their customers through a variety of channels, of which mobile is perhaps the most important.  

Compared to other sectors, insurance industry has been somewhat slow in embracing digital technologies for customer engagement. According to a World Insurance Report, insurers anticipate that nearly one-fifth (19.7%) of their business will be generated through internet by 2018, and approximately 10.9% of it is expected to come via mobile channels, up from 1.5% in 2013.

It is amply clear that from a purely business perspective, insurance industry needs to have a digital and mobile strategy in place for successful customer engagement. Some of the benefits of customer engagement in insurance industry:

1. Compare insurance plans

With a plethora of insurance providers offering multiple plans, it’s a real challenge for customers to choose the right plan. It is a cumbersome exercise to study the multitude of plans in detail, make a meaningful differentiation, and select the right plan. An intuitive and easy to use mobile app will go a long way in helping the customers select the right insurance product, appropriate for their specific needs.

2. Pay premiums

In the insurance industry, it is an accepted norm for the customers to miss making their premium payments on time. An app that can not only generate automatic reminders, but that can also facilitate premium payment through mobile banking can go a long way in enhancing the quality of customer engagement and retention.

3. Train agents

Insurance agents are always on-the-go. They have to engage with potential customers, make a sales pitch about the benefits of a particular insurance product, and if possible try to close the sale of the policy in the first interaction itself. It is a challenge for the sales staff to deliver on these high expectations, if they are not well-trained. Insurers can leverage digital technologies, especially mobile technologies to make sure that their agents are well trained, well informed about their latest  products and services, and are equipped with all the tools to make an effective sales pitch to a potential customer. A tablet can be an effective medium for making a great sales pitch.

A properly designed mobile app can ideally be equipped with the ability to not only generate an instantaneous quote based on the customer’s profile, but must also be capable of showing the potential benefits of a specific insurance product. Going one step further, a great mobile app must also facilitate submission of customer documents for authentication through a digital signature as well as enabling the customer to make a mobile payment of premium.

4. Process claims

For policy holders, claim processing could be a taxing and time consuming process. A smart mobile insurance app can make claim processing hassle free and faster. This will help a great deal in enhancing the customer’s digital experience, and ensures satisfactory engagement and customer retention. For example, customers can use their mobile devices to take pictures of a vehicle accident and share it with the insurer through a mobile app for processing their claim.

5. Deploying mobile apps with sensors

Insurers can deploy mobile apps with sensors attached. On-board telematic devices can be used by insurers to gather information on factors such as time, distance, and speed of the vehicle. Insurers can leverage the benefits of digital and mobile technology to encourage safe driving practices, and thereby drive down the costs of insurance for all drivers.

If you have found the points in this blog useful and want to learn how you can develop a mobile app for the insurance industry with a dedicated team approach, download the free ebook.

 

Anirban Guha
Software Engineer at coMakeIT
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