Celent sees a self-serving agenda made in the interest of insurers instead of a self-service agenda that is in the interest of the customer. In a world where customer service matters, meeting policyholder demands, improving customer service, and retaining customers should be on the top of any business’s list, yet respondents ranked these low in importance.
In the report Mobile and Web Self-Service Roadmaps: Where Are Life Insurers Headed?, Celent conducted a survey to explore customer self-service in life insurance by asking 17 questions related to current use and future plans for websites and mobile devices. The survey asked about current customer service volumes, availability of customer-focused websites and mobile apps, website and mobile app functionality, and future plans regarding both channels.
The primary reason life insurers will implement customer self-service is to make agents happy, with a secondary reason to improve efficiency. Life insurers cited meeting policyholder demands as the third most important reason, tied with improving quality. Improving customer service and retaining customers are near the bottom.
“Now is the time for life insurers to expand their website and mobile functionality. Today’s customers are used to a connected world,” says Karen Monks, an analyst with Celent’s Insurance practice and author of the report. “Companies that want to be competitive in the future markets for business have to abandon some of their traditional business models to meet the rising expectations of consumers and agents.”
The report also provides suggestions to life insurers on how to embrace and succeed in implementing a customer self-service strategy. This report is the third in a series about customer self-service in life insurance. Celent’s two previous reports reviewed life insurance company websites and mobile device functionality and provided an outsider’s look at what self-service capabilities were available to life insurance customers.
