After hours of doing battle with frustrating online forms, captcha loops, and AI chatbots, many fans finally managed to secure Oasis reunion tickets in late 2024. This arduous slog ultimately underlined that customer expectations are rarely aligned with reality. Insurance claims can often feel eerily similar, littered with endless forms and subpar digital systems. For many consumers, the process has become a ‘Wonderwall’ they just can’t climb.
The Oasis experience put a spotlight on customer expectations internationally, with pressure mounting on all industries to adapt. To understand how insurers can keep pace with these shifting dynamics, FinTech Global‘s Harry Slade spoke with three industry leaders shaping the next wave of digital transformation: Peter Ohnemus, CEO of dacadoo; Sebastian Gruber, co-founder and CEO of hi.health; and Nadia Hitman, VP Marketing at Air Doctor.
While missing out on concert tickets is frustrating, the consequences in insurance are far more serious.
Customers expect the same speed and clarity everywhere they go online, and the gap between what they experience elsewhere and what insurers deliver is widening fast.
According to a recent study by Insurity, 22% of consumers now avoid filing claims altogether because the digital process is too frustrating, and 64% say they’d switch providers for a smoother experience.
Air Doctor’s Hitman puts it plainly, “When someone is sick abroad, they aren’t thinking about policy language, they just want someone to help, quickly and clearly.”
Ohnemus, CEO of Swiss HealthTech dacadoo, adds a broader perspective, “The last best experience a consumer has sets the expectation for future experiences regardless of the industry.”
Insurers that fail to meet that bar risk losing trust, and market share, before they even realise the rules have changed.
Balancing speed and human oversight
The pace of change in insurance is relentless. Long chastised for its lack of technological evolution, the changing face of consumerism across the globe has now necessitated a change.
Gruber, co-founder of hi.health, explains, “Customers now expect insurance to operate in real time… Integrated payment cards… remove reimbursement entirely, offering transparency at the moment of spend, reducing fraud, and boosting satisfaction.”
While speed is essential, it is only one part of the equation. A claim processed instantly is valuable, but there is a risk of ‘middle-child syndrome’. If the customer feels ignored, and therefore ultimately disconnected from the process, the experience will turn sour.
People still want to feel understood. “Nobody wants to feel like a ‘case’,” says Hitman “They want real care, fast and without admin friction.”
This leaves insurers battling to balance automation with reassurance, creating systems that work efficiently while still acknowledging the human side of the interaction. It’s key to remember, while technology can always streamline a process, it cannot add the raw human value of empathy.
Ohnemus emphasises the importance of this integration, as he clarifies that insurers who “augment their human experience with strong digital tools will win.”
Breaking free from legacy systems
Even the most agile insurers struggle to meet rising customer expectations when held back by outdated systems. Legacy infrastructure, fragmented processes, and regulatory constraints can turn even minor updates into months-long projects, leaving claims slow, difficult to understand, and frustrating for policyholders.
Gruber highlights the challenge, “Legacy reimbursement models, complex integrations, regulatory pressure and limited data infrastructure remain major obstacles. Real-time service requires global acceptance, strong fraud controls, and significant change management across claims and operations.”
This is ultimately leading to severe operational pressures mounting for insurers. Rising medical costs, older traveler segments, and fragmented journeys mean even well-intentioned insurers struggle to keep claims fast, transparent, and customer-friendly.
Solutions exist, but they require careful integration. As Hitman explains, “Air Doctor allows insurers to offer real-time, trusted, localised care without major infrastructure change. We integrate into their existing ecosystem and help them modernise the experience quickly, safely, and with measurable impact.”
Strategies for keeping pace
In this brave new world, proactiveness is proving to be the panacea of all ills. Insurers who anticipate needs and act proactively create experiences that feel effortless.
Ohnemus underscores the advantage of early movers, “The pace of change is truly exponential and early adopters that learn and improve their customer experience will quickly gain market share and become the leaders in insurance.”
But intent alone isn’t enough. Keeping, or even setting the pace, demands practical levers that translate anticipation into action.
Gruber points to ways insurers can turn data into insight, making each interaction faster and more transparent, “Embedding payments into the claims journey, treating transaction-level data as a strategic asset, applying precise digital controls, and partnering with specialised platforms are key steps. Investing in global acceptance and modernising workflows helps deliver the fast, transparent, effortless experiences customers now expect.”
But while data and processes can streamline experience, they will fall short without the right mindset, with culture and human-centric thinking remain decisive.
Hitman highlights how this can transform these technical gains into real loyalty, “When insurers adopt that lens, journeys become simpler and intuitive. Communication becomes timely rather than reactive. The experience becomes something that reassures rather than overwhelms. Brand trust becomes a real asset, not a slogan.”
Finding the oasis
While historically, insurance has struggled to feel personal, the modern consumer has forced true change across all industries, whether it it’s a coveted concert ticket or a much-needed claim,
Hitman puts it plainly: “The shift begins with a mindset change: stop thinking policyholder, start thinking person.”
Insurers who adopt that approach, combining speed with empathy and anticipating customer needs, can turn a once-frustrating process into a true oasis.
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