Improving the quality of a customer's digital journey

Societal trends are reshaping the insurance industry. The rise of digital technologies is transforming how consumers interact with insurers and, consequently, how the latter operates. This leads to increased automation, greater use of data and analytics, and the development of new products and services. The change in consumer behavior manifests itself in customer awareness. Consumers are becoming more aware of their insurance options, and they are looking for products that are tailored to their needs. They also expect more transparency and a better digital experience when it comes to buying and managing insurance. All the above leads to new players in the market, such as insurtechs, against whom traditional insurers need to compete on a digital level. Therefore, there is a strong need for an end-to-end digital customer journey.  

With the release of the 2nd edition of the International Non-Life Insurance Digital Customer Journey Benchmark, we at Sia Partners have assessed 85 insurance companies within 7 countries. The methodology used for the benchmark is based on a simple scoring of 60+ criteria related to 5 key steps of the customer journey, covering both functionalities and User Experience (UX). The goal was to evaluate which insurer provides the best end-to-end frictionless digital customer journey. For this we looked for key topics such as accessibility, transparency, privacy, and flexibility. Besides that, an insurer gets a higher scorer when the process is smooth, mobile-friendly, and tailored to the customer.  

The top 5 companies each come from a different country, which shows that the importance of digital maturity is widespread. Univé, Bowtie, Matmut, AXA and FWD are leading companies of the Netherlands, Hong Kong, France, Belgium, and Singapore, respectively. These players have scored highest in respect to their digital customer journey, including the information-gathering phase, a simulation, price quotation and online subscription, as well as claims management. It's worth noting that being a leader doesn’t mean that you’ll have the best app on the market. Very few insurance companies even propose a mobile application. More important is the availability of a fast and well-functioning web environment that is mobile-friendly. 

There are 6 major key takeaways in becoming a Digital Leader:

• Insurance companies must ensure that the appropriate, up-to-date digital infrastructure is in place. Say goodbye to legacy IT systems.
• Implementation of key insurance functionalities, increasing daily client interaction and enhancing the top/bottom line is key.
• Providing a smooth, intuitive, and interactive omnichannel customer journey all along the way is imperative.
• A digital end-to-end sales journey for all products as well as online product and claims management is key to becoming a digital leader.
• The development of innovative services that offer added value will enable users to have recurrent digital interactions with insurance companies.
• Find and create brand ambassadors who empower brand loyalty, favorable NPS-scoring and free word-of-mouth advertising. 

Thanks to this benchmark, Sia Partners has an exhaustive view of the digital customer journey around the world, the trends at play within insurance, future outlook, customer expectations, among much more. Our customers highly appreciate the guidance in continuous improvements made to their journey. Sia Partners is a trusted partner that can provide end-to-end assistance.  

Next Steps

1. Execution of a market study (survey) to quantitatively assess client needs 
   Identify and highlight retail (or professional) client expectations and appreciations for digital platforms through a market survey, using Happydemics, a tech-enabled research company in which Sia Partners has invested. 
    
2. Market assessment of digital investment offerings for retail clients
   Market assessment benchmark study, focused on investment platforms (or any other topic e.g. Cards, Insurance, Beyond & Open Banking and more).
    
3. Assistance in developing a digital strategy
   Listing and prioritization of functionalities to implement with key stakeholders in order to develop a roadmap for the coming years.
    
4. Identification of a ‘green’, sustainable strategy
   In general, few (mobile) banking functionalities are linked to sustainable/green finance or ESG initiatives. More ‘green’ initiatives or products could be offered. Sia Partners’ expertise with its dedicated Consulting for Good practice can assist here.
    
5. Assistance for delivery owners in an agile environment
   Follow-up on the functionality's progression and achievements, handling issues and coordinating on the next batch of features to implement.
    
6. General assistance
   With Strategy, Data Science, AML, KYC, GDPR, Project Management, Data Migration, AI, ML, Blockchain, Customer Journey, Benchmark, Branch Strategy and much more.