The world as we know it today has changed. This change also means the way customers interact and engage with insurance companies and other financial institutions has changed. And these new rules are not cast in stone. They will evolve as the pandemic situation evolves, till the world returns to normal.

With a historic shift towards remote working throughout 2020, experts believe this is just the beginning of a permanent trend. Views on priorities have refocused, and new initiatives are pivoting around enhanced digital experiences for customers, even if it means delivering them virtually. In the Insurtech sector, providers are combining insurance with intelligent technology to unlock more significant potential.

Closing the Digital Gaps

It's time to discard the adage "Insurance is sold, not bought." For aeons, insurance has been synonymous with tons of paperwork and inconvenient processes. This experience, marred with slow, manual interventions and the lack of data-driven approaches, only added to the client’s woes. With the pandemic outbreak, even though the demand for insurance has increased manifold, legacy-minded insurers need to adopt digital technologies with agility if they are to prosper in the post-Covid-19 world.

Focusing on Care and Connection

Today, leading insurance carriers are focused on examining their customer journeys and satisfaction metrics. They understand that the customers now expect to be involved and engaged. And that's why they are leveraging innovative tools to adapt to build connections and drive meaningful engagement that fosters long-term business value. The interaction is not one time but is throughout the buyer's journey. The idea is to make customers feel heard and valued. Initially, it was the individual financial advisor or agent who owned the customer relationship and decided when they needed to communicate. Today, the customers need personalized solutions that cater to their specific needs and requirements. The same is the case with the service that the customers expect. Thanks to digital channels, policyholders can get in touch with the insurer anytime, anywhere, seamlessly. If insurers readily do not embrace this change, then customers will switch to other options available to them online. The paradigm has now shifted to the customer-centric attraction market. Customers' decision-making process is ever-changing, but it will keep on evolving with the advancement. Our focus should be on decoding their decision-making process, help them through their needs with specific solutions and work to retain or convert them. They are achieving excellent customer engagement through multiple interactions at touchpoints across the entire customer lifecycle.

Boosting Satisfaction using AI, Cloud & Big Data

The enhanced speed and the flexibility that digital transformation allows help strengthen relationships. Data analytics, for that matter, will enable us to predict ever-changing customer needs. Insurers should create an engagement model that makes the customer's experience as frictionless as possible. Right from moving onto hybrid cloud technology for boosting efficiency to leveraging AI to transform the underwriting process and turnaround cycles – there are ways re-think how business is conducted. The new-age robust security solutions help curb frauds, money laundering, information leakage and phishing attacks, resulting in improved client trust. What's more, Insurers are now using big data to boost personalization – a very appropriate step for insurance where companies can access insights that can help them create tailor-made solutions for individual needs.

More than ever before, the insurance industry is becoming an increasingly innovative and customer-driven industry. These trends are just the beginning of a massive change that we will witness in the post-Covid world.

The author is Managing Partner, SE2 India

DISCLAIMER: Views expressed are the author's own, and Outlook Money does not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.