With the world being forced to stay indoors and social distance, now is the time for insurers to focus on digitalising as we have “reached a tipping point”, according to digital experience platform ManageMy.
In a new post, the company states that while stock markets are falling and a lot of companies are heading into tough times, some companies have actually seen their share prices rise. “The common ingredient? They sell technology that delivers vital services smoothly, efficiently and safely,” ManageMy said. Delivery companies like Amazon are seeing a lot of activity as they no longer have to compete with retailers operating through physical stores.
It is hard to predict the outcomes of the coronavirus but ManageMy said, “One thing that is certain is that insurers, like so many other businesses, will need to change how they interact with customers – forever.”
The digitalisation of the insurance space has been gradually happening over the past decade. Replacing legacy systems is not an easy task which can be done overnight. However, a lot of insurers have been barely surviving by implementing a “hybrid dinosaur” which is mixing old and new. While this has been fine in the transition period, it will not be acceptable as time goes on and ManageMy believes “we’ve reached a tipping point.”
One of the problems is that insurers are holding on to outdated mentalities. These include that digital is only a niche channel, risk management cannot be done remotely, call centres are the core of sales support and servicing, customers don’t want to engage with insurance brands, and claims are too complicated to be assessed remotely. These are just no longer true.
ManageMy went on to explain that insurers need to digitise their operations across selling and upselling, policy servicing, and claims functionality, because customers will not wait for them to become digital in their own time.
“The result? Customers get the insurance services they so desperately need – without problematic in-person and call centre interactions. They enjoy a personalised user-experience and, like the insurer, capture the significant cost savings of digitized processes. It’s not the old way – but it is the way of the future.”
The coronavirus has accelerated the need for digitalisation and companies need to act now.
“Today, insurers are grappling with more than the outmoded high touch, contact-centredependent business model,” ManageMy said. “The underlying issue is the age-old industry problem of being slow to move. Coronavirus and its consequences take that luxury away. Only those insurers with a well-developed digital capability will survive. Because only those businesses can keep their people and customers truly safe.”
