Insurers step forward, providing better customer experience
Published: October 4, 2005
In the complex insurance industry, agents struggle to provide their customers with a positive and rewarding customer experience. A single customer may have multiple policies managed by different agents, resulting in fragmented customer data. Without a cohesive data structure, insurers are at a disadvantage when it comes to providing a satisfying customer experience.
"The bottom line is that customers will work with insurance companies that make it easier to work with them," says Kevin Kelly, managing director of the U.S. Insurance Industry at Microsoft. "Agents can provide a simple customer experience by using applications that automate much of the process. These applications enable the agents to spend their time on risk management, cross-selling, and relationship building." In other words, software solutions help insurers provide customers with a high degree of excellence in their overall experience while boosting the productivity of their agents.
Customer retention and growth are enhanced by software solutions such as those developed by Microsoft partners. These solutions make use of Microsoft technologies that are already in place in many insurance companies, for example, the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system and the Microsoft .NET Framework. By building on these existing investments, insurers can offer customers a better experience while keeping costs to a minimum.
What defines excellence for insurance customers?
Insurance customers really aren't asking for much when it comes to an ideal insurance experience. "Customers benefit whenever a business process for which they are seeking assistance (through an insurance employee or through some form of self-service methodology) is easy and non-threatening from an intellectual perspective," says Kelly.
What are customers asking for?
| • | Self-service Customers want more control over their experience. They want to be able to make changes and understand their policies without calling their agents for assistance. |
| • | Speed Customers are looking for a fast application method. Instead of answering a long list of questions they might or might not have answers to, customers want quick, simple transactions they can complete without having to dig up answers. |
| • | Rapid response Customers want rapid response times. According to Kelly, customers are steering clear of insurers who manually process their paperwork or who use automated e-mail processing systems that undergo lengthy batch transactions. "Customers want transactions that are capable of being done quickly. And they do not want to wait around for, at best, slow retrieval times," Kelly asserts. |
Microsoft partners are providing solutions to help insurers address these critical customer demands.
Partner solutions are helping insurers meet customer needs
Microsoft Insurance Value Chain partners are turning customer demands into reality using Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). When a customer makes a request using an application that supports SOA, that request is translated into XML data that can be processed by applications, platforms, and networks throughout the insurer's infrastructure. "By developing software using this innovative approach," says Kelly, "human workflow is actually abstracted during the exploration and development of the data collection and message passing design phases."
As a result of the abstraction of customer workflow, insurance applications are better able to mirror what the customer (or the employee entering data on behalf of the customer) wants to accomplish. For example, when a customer submits a claim after an automobile accident, the insurer might need to send information to the mechanic repairing the vehicle, the agency providing a rental car for the duration of the service, and the insurer of the other vehicle involved in the collision. Partner applications supporting SOA can easily abstract the appropriate information from a single claim form (completed by the customer or by the agent) and submit the information to the appropriate vendors and insurers using XML.
As customers become familiar with these automated partner applications, workflow data might indicate a shift in customer demands over time. The flexibility of Microsoft .NET enables these partner applications to be quickly and easily refocused without major development efforts. Insurers that take advantage of Microsoft partner solutions are able to offer their customers a relevant and satisfying experience based on current workflow data.
"Microsoft Insurance Value Chain partners are developing smart solutions that go beyond current customer demands," says Kelly. "By using Service Oriented Architecture and XML on the Microsoft platform, these applications can be altered as customer desires evolve. As a result, insurance customers are getting what they need faster."
