Seamless Customer Experience Key To insurance Companies

COVID-19 has disrupted systems around the world creating a new dilemma for insurers across the world. The new unprecedented and unchartered waters of COVID-19 have presented challenges with questions on how best to lead their clients, disrupted by COVID-19, to recovery.

According to International Finance Corporation (IFC), insurance companies should focus on digital to improve data, products, and excellent customer service to their clientele, enable online payment of claims and premiums, and support agents in their COVID-19 response.

Insurance companies should invest in better Customer Relationship Management systems (CRMs) to ensure better customer experience and better capturing of customer data.

This means having a clear understanding of the customer journey and choosing to make significant changes such as shortening a process so that a customer has access to products or services within the shortest time.

It is also becoming clear that the ‘customer is king’ principle is alive now more than ever. Today’s customers will easily access information and decide where to buy at the touch of a button. The power of a consumer has been more visible driven through social media depicting an era where companies will have to be responsive to customer concerns and being authentic about their products to survive. Companies that master this will most likely weather the storm and survive long after the global pandemic having attained customer loyalty.

Investment in better and efficient online sites will be crucial, as customers will be looking to transact online. Insurance companies should therefore improve and correct online payment forums to ensure a great online payment experience for their customers. Supporting agents in their COVID-19 response is also vital. Insurance agents are an integral part of the insurance companies and ensuring that their COVID-19 response is up-to-date and appropriate will ensure synchronization between the two.

Singling health insurance, companies will need to win back the trust of their customers. With insurers adamant on covering COVID-19, customers will be wary about taking up insurance with the notion that ‘it is not beneficial, and they will still have to pay for their bills’. This leaves a perception gap that insurers will have to clear and create relationships that will lead to their customers trusting them again.

A company is only as good as its people. For the customer experience to be seamless, a firm must hire the right people and equip them with the necessary skills to drive the business. This would then translate into high productivity and a unified approach towards elevating the customer experience. Once the service delivery standards are understood and shared at all levels of an organization, providing excellent service becomes a reality.

According to Joseph Kamiri, CIC General Manager, Marketing and Customer Experience, the company is banking on digital to ensure a seamless experience for our customers. ‘In the months following, we will be launching various portals across our business that will enable our customers to make their transactions hassle-free. This investment is also geared towards our vision of becoming a world-class provider of insurance and other financial services. CIC is committed to providing great service to our customers as we look forward to a world post-COVID.