At Celent's ITC Vegas Preconference Summit, two insurance experts joined me to discuss how great claims processes and quick, flexible payments can create enduringly loyal customers.
Last month eight Celent analysts spent four days in Las Vegas attending ITC Vegas (formerly “InsureTech Connect”) to share insights with insurers and technology leaders.
To kick off the event, we held our preconference summit Disrupt, Decode, Deliver – The Future Hits Fast on October 14th. This was a half-day plenary session designed for senior professionals focused on strategy, transformation, and innovation, covering topics like the evolution of the insurtech ecosystem, catastrophe management, underwriting modernization, and the emerging impact of Generative AI. The sessions included interactive panels and expert presentations.
Over the next six weeks, Celent will be blogging about each session, giving a summary of the research we presented and the insights our panelists brought to the discussion.
My session covered my recent Celent report, Behind the Wheel of Trust: How Auto Claims Shape Customer Loyalty, and I was joined by two experts on claims and payments: Ian Drysdale, CEO of payments provider One Inc, as well as a former CIO with extensive experience in homeowners and catastrophe claims, Rao Tadepalli, CEO of Digitran.
We discussed the intertwined importance of excellent processes and speedy payments in creating excellent claims experiences that can drive enduring customer loyalty. If you'd like to watch the entire session, you can find a link to the recording here.
I started the session be presenting insights from the Behind the Wheel of Trust report. This study surveyed 324 individuals who had experienced an auto claim in the past two years and found that 25% of claimaints were so happy with the claims and payment experience that they would stay on as customers with their current insurer, even if their premiums went up. Some of the highlights of the ensuing discussion include:
- Cat Claims Are Especially High Leverage: For claims related to catastrophe events, the “Loyalist” percentage was even higher, up to 39% of claimants. Rao agreed that in his experience in homeowner’s claims, cat events are especially high leverage—and also critical tests of an insurer’s claims triage processes, adjustment, and payment infrastructure.
- Flexibility Matters: “Loyalist” customers were more likely than unsatisfied customers to say that they had a choice of payment method. Ian noted that choices like this can give a sense of agency and control during claims, which are confusing and stressful.
- When Speed Is Important, It’s Critical: Another finding from the study is that the claimants who reported unsatisfactory experiences typically said speed was the most important factor in their claim. In other words, when a customer cares about a fast payment, failing to meet that expectation is a sure way to create a bad experience.
- Clear Communication Is Key: From FNOL to claims close, communication that is easy to understand shapes policyholders’ impressions of how thorough and fair the adjustment process is. Ian confirmed that One Inc has observed that quality communication makes a critical difference in customer experience. To his point, Celent's study found that it's virtually impossible for insurers to communicate with their claimants too often.
- New Payment Methods Support Faster Transactions: Digital payment solutions such as virtual cards and digital wallets are becoming more common and help facilitate faster and more flexible payments. Ian noted that virtual cards can be a critical option in cat situations where banks may be inaccessible.
- Support Human Empathy with Technical Efficiency: Rao pointed out that the human element in claims adjustment is key, especially during FNOL. But automated communication may be able to take over for things like status updates, so claimants know there is a line to their insurer even if adjustment is slow to develop.
It's always fun to write reports like these, which give a high-level view of a critical topic and help put numbers behind things everyone "knows" (things like "claims outcomes drive customer satisfaction"). At the same time, it's invaluable to get insights directly from experts who have overseen these claims processes numerous times. It was a real priviledge to sit down with Rao and Ian, and I hope their experience has been useful to you too.
My colleague Karen Monks began this ongoing series last week with a recap of her panel, Commissions, Compensation, and Change: What Agents Are Saying in 2025, and we'll continue to add more insights from our plenary session in the coming weeks.
