Channels of electronic communication between insurers and their customers – German market.

Building strong and positive relationships with customers is very important for insurers when it comes to creating a competitive advantage. Customer loyalty is extremely valuable; according to many estimates, acquiring a new customer can be many times more expensive than retaining an existing one. At the same time, customers are often willing to change insurers because of inconveniences they may experience when contacting them. This is particularly important given that a typical customer contacts their insurer only a few times a year on average.

That is why developing the right processes is so important, as they facilitate efficient communication with customers. For these processes to work properly, insurers need to plan and implement various contact points through which a customer or prospect can obtain the necessary information, contact an insurer’s employee or agent, and submit documents.

One of the most important contact points is the website, which serves as an insurer’s digital business card. It should be clear enough for users to easily find the elements they need and support a positive user or customer experience.

In recent years, the Internet has become increasingly important as a communication channel. Websites have become more advanced while also becoming more user-friendly. Just as important as the content itself is the ability to create a positive user experience, meaning the overall impression a user gets while interacting with a product – in this case, a website.

Review of insurance websites in Germany

For the purposes of this article, five websites of leading insurers operating in the German market were reviewed. The analysis included an expert evaluation of UX in terms of website clarity, ease of finding communication channels, and access to modern communication methods such as online forms, chatbots, virtual consultants and more.

The analysis focused on how easy it was to find elements directing users to contact points, where these elements were located on the website and, in practical terms, how many clicks were required to reach the appropriate contact page.

Generally speaking, the analysed websites were of high quality. They were clear, and it was easy to find relevant subpages about particular products, claims reporting and other services.

The websites also scored highly when it came to contact points. On all five websites, contact options could be found easily and intuitively within seconds, without the need to navigate through multiple subpages.

Naturally, this information was presented in different ways. Some websites had a clear, separate section on the homepage with options such as “Call us”, “Write to us”, “Report a claim” and “Find an agent”, while others displayed only a helpline number or a link to a dedicated contact page.

Communication channels available from the homepage

1. All five insurers displayed a telephone number that was easily accessible from the homepage. For four of them, telephone contact appeared to be the preferred communication channel, as it was highlighted in one way or another.
2. One insurer also offered customers the option to leave their contact details and request a call-back.
3. Each website provided an easy way to find an intermediary or insurance advisor.
4. Three out of five insurers made it possible to access the page where a customer account could be created directly from the homepage.
5. Only one website offered live chat.
6. Only one insurer provided an online form for general product enquiries.

Reporting a claim

1. All five insurers provided a telephone number, either a general number or a dedicated claims line.
2. Four out of five insurers made it possible to report a claim online. The available solutions varied in sophistication, from simple forms to dedicated pages with more advanced user interfaces.

Key conclusions from the website review

1. Most insurers appeared to prefer more traditional forms of contact, particularly telephone communication. This was reflected in the prominence of phone numbers compared with other communication channels.
2. Agents remain a very important communication channel in the German market. This was demonstrated by the strong emphasis on functionality that helps customers find an agent.
3. It is also worth noting that three insurers allowed customers to create an online account. Due to the limited scope of the review, it was not possible to analyse the functionality of these accounts in detail. Nevertheless, customer accounts appear to be an effective tool for communication and building customer loyalty.
4. Only one insurer offered live chat, or at least made it easy to find on the website. Similarly, only one insurer provided an online form for customers to submit general product enquiries.
5. No elements facilitating online sales or directing customers to services offering this option were identified on any of the analysed websites.
6. Almost all insurers enabled customers to report claims online. However, due to the limited scope of the analysis, it was not possible to assess the subsequent claims handling process or determine how it differed from a traditional claim initiated by telephone.

One disadvantage observed in the German market was the limited availability of modern communication channels, particularly solutions enabling direct online communication through the website or live chat, including chatbots.

This is somewhat surprising, as these communication channels can help insurers reduce employment costs by lowering the number of helpline operators required and creating more opportunities for specialist roles. They also make it easier to track customer activity and analyse the information customers provide in order to improve service quality. Analysing text data from chats or online forms is generally easier and less time-consuming than analysing recordings of customer calls.

Of course, the communication channels available to insurers depend to a large extent on the capabilities of their IT ecosystems. This may indicate that reliance on more traditional channels results partly from technological limitations and the inability to integrate the multiple IT systems required for comprehensive multichannel communication.

Processes behind effective customer communication

Proper modelling of business processes and the creation of the right digital ecosystem are extremely important for ensuring efficient customer service and a positive experience after contacting an insurer. A number of such processes can be considered.

For example, even when providing the most traditional customer communication channel – the helpline – an insurer should ensure:

1. appropriate technical infrastructure capable of handling incoming calls seamlessly;
2. processes and procedures for events that may generate significant workloads, such as hurricanes or floods causing a high number of claims to be reported within a short period;
3. the necessary IT back-office support for helpline operators, including:
   • tools and materials that enable operators to be trained quickly for their responsibilities;
   • solutions that allow customers to be identified efficiently;
   • access to the data necessary to serve customers, while ensuring that access is limited to the information required;
   • access to relevant databases and second-line support for cases that fall outside the operators’ expertise or are particularly complex.

Designing an online customer service process

When designing an online service in which customers enter data directly on the website, for example when reporting a claim, several elements are particularly important:

1. Creating a clear form with fields that have an unambiguous meaning for the customer and validating key fields.
2. Ensuring a high-quality user experience so that the service is convenient, does not take too much time and does not generate unnecessary errors or problems that might cause the customer to abandon the process and switch to the helpline.
3. Ensuring proper integrations between the website where data is entered and the core systems to which it is transferred, for example a claims system when reporting a claim or a CRM system in the case of a sales enquiry.
4. Building a process that ensures comprehensive customer service, including the necessary communication with the customer and clearly defining who contacts them, when and with what information.

Combining business, IT and UX expertise

Naturally, the conclusions and observations above only highlight part of the issue. Developing a properly functioning business process requires cooperation between specialists from several areas.

Business analysts need to collect requirements while taking all stakeholders into account, design the processes and test how they work. IT engineers and architects need to ensure that the necessary software and integrations are implemented correctly. UX specialists are responsible for designing a user-friendly front end.

For this reason, it may be beneficial for an insurer to work with an external partner that can draw on experience from projects across different markets and cooperation with leading software providers specialising in the insurance industry. Such a partner can support the design and implementation of an appropriate solution.

Author: Marcin Pabiś, Consultant at Sollers Consulting

Marcin has extensive experience in the insurance industry and has worked on multiple projects in claims handling, product management and compliance. At Sollers Consulting, Marcin is responsible for product development in R&D.