You have probably been persuaded to purchase insurance on multiple occasions – for health, life, vehicle, or your new business. Often, we push the thought of insuring our most important assets to the back of our minds, convincing ourselves that it is not important right now. Unfortunately, we only realize the true value of insurance when things go wrong.
The same concept can be used with insurance companies and their approach towards integration. Most insurers don’t realize how crucial it is for them to integrate and automate their systems and processes until thousands of dollars and countless hours have been wasted managing multiple, disparate sets of data inefficiently. We call this outdated data management method “swivel chair integration”, which refers to people spinning their office chairs between desks to capture data, which ultimately leads to them spinning out of control!
In the insurance industry, everything from sales, policy management, claims, and underwriting has to be managed. This means investing in multiple systems to manage different types of data which can become confusing and labor intensive if left unmanaged and unautomated. If these systems don’t communicate with each other, Insurers are bound to experience problems as their company grows.
One of the major challenges caused by having disparate and siloed data, is being able to create a great customer experience that leads to high levels of customer satisfaction. The reason for this is the inability of many insurers to effectively utilize the huge amount of data at their disposal when servicing existing clients and prospects.
Insurance companies need to use their expansive data to know more about their clients, more so now than ever before. This ensures that each interaction with the end client cements the relationship. So how is integration enabling insurers to provide an outstanding customer experience?
A substantial amount of time is consumed capturing client information. This process is usually performed manually by sales representatives. The time spent manually transferring information from a CRM system into a policy solution, and then emailing onboarding policy documents to each client, could be better utilized prospecting new leads and generating more revenue for the company. By integrating systems and creating an environment where data can flow harmoniously between business applications, insurance companies can streamline the application process and automate data flows to make client onboarding less cumbersome. Integration has the ability to increase productivity while cultivating stronger, lasting relationships as sales representatives can focus on building rapport and servicing the clients' unique insurance needs.
Insurance companies are always trying to find ways to simplify the quoting process and provide customers with more precise pricing. Many customers nowadays avoid having to answer a long list of questions to obtain a quote; the fewer questions the better. Especially if you already have that data in other systems! Their main focus is on convenience, speed, and simplicity. Through integration, insurance companies can access third-party data that clients have provided authorized access to - such as vehicle details, property characteristics, and medical records. Integration also allows Insurers to leverage data from other solutions the organization already utilizes - all through a single platform without having to switch between multiple applications, thereby saving the customer massive amounts of time, reducing the amount of manual effort required from sales representatives, and avoiding the possibility for error.
Imagine accessing a client’s policy and being able to view all the details surrounding their claim, from the date that the claim was submitted, to the current position of the claim within the claims process, all the way down to the finer details, like who the client last spoke to and what was discussed during that conversation - all from the moment you begin interacting with them. Through integration, this becomes a reality. It is no secret that clients hate having to repeat information that they have previously shared. The use of an integrated claims management system provides claims administrators with centralized access to pertinent claims information needed for them to make the claims process as stressless and effortless for the client as possible.
If a client has been with an Insurance company for years it's only fair for them to assume that their insurer has a good idea of who they are by now. Integration creates a 360-degree view of the client’s relationship and experience with the company. It enables Insurers to provide the best customer experiences across all their channels, by creating a unified view of all customer touch points. Knowing who your client is, allows you to provide value-added services, like a vehicle insurance company sending a warning SMS to clients regarding a forecasted hail storm in their area, or a health insurer reminding a client to collect their chronic medication from their nearest drug store. Insurance companies are beginning to realize that they need to look deeper within their company architectures to create a holistic 360-degree view of customers. This enables the organization to exceed the customer's expectations and ensure customer satisfaction.
By investing in modern data integration and automation systems, like Synatic, Insurance companies can rapidly integrate large amounts of data to create a unified system that allows each component of the company to communicate succinctly. Insurers now have the opportunity to take advantage of the vast amount of customer data at their fingertips to jump-start their transformation journeys and lay the foundation for a true customer-centric business.
