Insurance behind other industries in digital customer experience: J.D. Power
At a time when digital transformation is expected to accelerate in the industry, insurance is lagging behind financial services and utility providers when it comes to digital customer experience, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Claims Digital Experience Study.
The research shows property & casualty insurers are behind in key performance indicators for digital experiences and adoption remains low. In 2021, only about 40% of claimants interacted with a claim estimator via digital channels and 47% made a claim using a website.
The study, which is now in its second year, is based on over 3,000 evaluations by auto or home insurance customers who had filed a claim in the last 12 months. It was conducted from June to September 2021. The study analyzed customer perception of a company’s digital channels involved in the claims process and explores the correlation between the website and mobile app updates/enhancements and customer satisfaction, as well as an overall digital proficiency analysis provided by J.D. Power digital experts.
Martin Ellingsworth, executive managing director of P&C insurance intelligence at J.D. Power said in a statement, that insurance isn’t making the significant gains in digital customer engagement that other industries are.
“The insurance claims process has not really evolved beyond the launch of digital photo estimation three years ago,” Ellingsworth said. “It’s no secret the industry has been investing heavily in back-end technology such as straight-through processing, which should help set the stage for faster, more personalized digital claims management tools. But right now, there is still a great deal of room for improvement in these functions. It is also critical to note that satisfaction is highest when claimants have options to interact via the channel they choose and not feel forced into a one-size-fits-all experience.”
Additional findings in the study include the following:
Phones still lead the estimator phase, dragging down customer satisfaction: Only 40% of claimants interact with their claim estimator in digital channels, while 49% interact with their claim estimator via the phone. The average overall customer satisfaction score among those claimants who use the phone is 861, on a 1,000-point scale, lower than in any other interaction channel. The use of video chat with an estimator is associated with the highest level of overall satisfaction at 882, yet it is experienced by just 26% of claimants.Key satisfaction metrics being missed: Digital claims management tools are hitting their key performance indicators for the estimation process just 35% of the time and for digital reporting just 40% of the time.Generational disparities magnified: Members of the Boomer generation, those born between 1946 to 1964, are using insurance digital claims tools less and experiencing lower levels of overall satisfaction than are members of Generation Y, those born between 1977 to 1994, and Generation Z, those born between 1995 to 2004.
“The insurance industry really needs to look at what leaders in the banking and wealth industries are doing with their web and mobile apps as a guide for where customer expectations have moved during the past several months,” said Michael Ellison, president of Corporate Insight, in a statement.
