New Talkdesk Research Reveals Key Investment Areas for Improving Insurance CX

Insurers increasingly consider CX a top business priority and advanced AI tools will help drive customer satisfaction and loyalty

• Insurers recognize the direct link between customer and employee experience, and nearly all respondents say CX is a growing strategic priority (88%)

• Simplifying the customer journey is a key improvement area, as 59% of insurance CX professionals say CX friction prevents customers from renewing policies

• Automation is entering insurance CX and insurers are looking to AI to help resolve friction by making it easier to understand and predict issues

Talkdesk, a global cloud contact center leader for customer-obsessed companies, released a new Talkdesk Research report, “Building Loyalty in Insurance Through Elevated Customer Experiences.” The report shows that despite an uncertain economy, rising costs, and competitive pricing pressures, an overwhelming majority of insurance organizations (88%) view investment in customer experience (CX) as a strategic priority. The report offers insight into the biggest drivers of CX friction today, their impact on customer loyalty, and how insurers plan to leverage technology in addressing issues with both customer and employee experiences.

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“Insurance companies are siloed, and this lack of unified information is resulting in disconnected customer experiences and inefficient support,” said Andy Flynn, senior vice president of industries and global customer success, Talkdesk. “The good news is that tools such as AI, analytics, and system integrations allow insurance CX leaders to improve member experiences, while also developing the insights and programs that can help drive increased share of wallet. Whether launching self-service capabilities or empowering associates through information access and targeted training, insurance CX leaders will soon reap the benefits of digital transformation.”

Loyalty hitches on improving both employee and customer experiences

Today’s economy is creating a perfect storm for insurers as cost pressures, staffing issues, and customer expectations are all growing exponentially. Luckily, these companies recognize the inextricable link between the employee and customer experience, with nearly all insurance CX professionals saying their contact center is a critical part of their CX strategy. The report found insurance CX teams are committed to simplifying customer experiences and empowering associates with the right tools to be as effective as possible.

• More than nine in 10 insurance CX professionals say delivering superior CX is a key driver of customer loyalty (93%). Accomplishing this starts with giving associates the right tools to better resolve customer issues. By not doing so, respondents say companies will experience a decrease in worker retention (51%) and quality of customer support (47%).
• Customer expectations for insurers are higher than a year ago (88%), putting new pressure on CX workers to improve speed, ease, and transparency in interactions.

Mitigating CX friction will help rebuild customer relationships

Insurance processes and channels can be disjointed, ultimately resulting in disconnected customer interactions that decrease the likelihood of retention. Insurers must remove friction from the moment customers navigate to or access customer service, during the interaction, and in the conversations following the initial touchpoint.

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• The claims process is the most likely to cause CX friction (73%) and it’s also the most impactful area to build loyalty since it’s one of the few touchpoints in which a policyholder will interact with an insurer.
• Friction in the customer journey can prevent customers from renewing their policies (59%), recommending the insurer (56%), and adding new or expanded policies (53%) – ultimately, hurting a company’s reputation and bottom line.

Artificial intelligence presents a unique opportunity for insurers to enhance CX

Over the next two years, insurers will take a proactive approach to launching new technologies that allow them to improve service accessibility, consistency, and overall quality. Automation will be a key investment area to improve data collection and analysis, while empowering agents with knowledge and guidance to navigate CX complexities.

• Roughly nine in 10 organizations plan to invest in CX technology within the next two years (88%) to resolve friction points and elevate the customer journey.
• AI is the number one investment area for insurance CX professionals with the objective of better understanding and predicting customer issues. Self-service tools, specifically, will become more widely available, allowing customers to resolve issues more easily (51%).

Methodology

The Talkdesk Research quantitative online survey was conducted in December 2022 among qualified customer experience professionals across the U.S. and Canada. Responses were collected from 190 CX professionals employed by insurance brokers and carriers with at least 100 employees. CX professionals represented leadership and management for customer service and support, customer experience and relationship management, CX operations, and contact center agents.

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