When looking for an insurance company that is up to date with the issue of digitization and customer service, the field of different insurance providers quickly thins out. The survey by IDG Research also confirms this impression.
A key conclusion of the survey: Customer satisfaction and service are not the focus of the insurers. Digitalization for the purpose of increasing efficiency, optimizing processes and reducing costs, however might be. Better understanding the customers is apparently considered one of the highest digitization hurdles. Responding to individual customer needs does not appear to be one of the industry's strengths – but at least the industry admits that.
Below is a brief summary of the key findings of the study on digitization in the insurance sector. You can also download the entire study.
Key Findings
A lack of understanding of customer needs as the biggest barrier to implementing the digitization strategy
Digitization is quite relevant, as statd in the corporate strategy of insurers. However, its implementation is bogged down by a lack of understanding of customer needs.
Opportunities for digitization: Higher efficiency and cost reduction as a priority
Most companies cite more efficient and optimized processes as well as operational cost reductions as the biggest advantages of stronger digitalization. Customer-related benefits such as a better customer experience or gaining new customers appear to be secondary.
Services: Customers want completely digital claims reporting - insurers are well positioned for digital interactions
Insurers clearly are able to meet their customers' main expectations for digital claims reporting and for concluding policy contracts online. In the future, you may want to invest more in a uniform customer journey.
Customer-oriented? Approximately two-thirds of insurance services and products can be used digitally - but too often via several user accounts
Two-thirds of the products and services of the insurers can currently be viewed or processed digitally. In (too) many companies, however, several user accounts are required to do this. There is also a need to catch up with the digital processes for policy conclusion.
Simple authentication as the most important means of improving user friendliness
A simple, strong authentication and a customer platform for all services to improve the User Journey.
Conflict: Security as a barrier to user friendliness
More than two-thirds of companies see security measures as a major obstacle to agility and user friendliness. Nevertheless, they consider the integration of security into DevOps to be important.
More flexibility: Microservices as a central tool for modernizing legacy applications
The vast majority of companies still use legacy monolithic applications. With the help of microservices, they want to modernize them in stages and increase flexibility.
Study on digitalization in the insurance industry 2021
You can read all the study results, further analyses and exciting insights in the detailed version of the study.
You can also read an interview with Roman Hugelsdorfer, Managing Director Application Security at Ergon Informatik AG, on the topic of 'Integrated solutions instead of spot solutions'.
Blognews directly to your inbox
The Airlock Newsletter informs you continuously about new blog articles.