With rising costs, supply chain disruptions and other economic factors weighing heavily on multi-line insurance companies, customer retention becomes a business priority. If all insurers pass cost increases onto the consumer in the form of higher quotes on price comparison websites, one way for insurers to differentiate from the competition and achieve retention goals is to provide added value to the consumer.
This blog will focus on how value is accomplished through developing a deep understanding of the customer, incenting customers to renew and being more open to cross-sell and upsell opportunities, particularly with all else being equal (i.e., price).
Minimize Risk, Increase Value with a Deep Customer Understanding
The insurance industry is all about trying to minimize risk, of course. Multi-line insurers assume risk by providing quotes on aggregate sites knowing only basic, self-provided (and often inaccurate) information about a customer. Increasingly diversified product portfolios make it more difficult to develop an in-depth knowledge of a consumer, with the risk that policies or deductibles may not maximize profit.
For insurers, there are many challenges with developing an understanding of an individual consumer. Beyond the common lifestyle changes (employment, physical address, marital status, children), marketing and operational challenges include situations such as a mailing address different than a property a customer or prospect wants to insure. Or when a single policy may cover multiple people, such as with a family auto policy.
Developing a deeper understanding of a customer or household accomplishes multiple objectives. Risk is minimized because an insurer knows a customer’s precise needs, and can thus tailor coverage on an individual and/or household level. There is a cost savings component by eliminating marketing inefficiencies, i.e., using the right email/address for a policyholder, knowing the needs of a household, etc.
A third accomplishment, and equally important as mitigating risk and cost from a retention standpoint, is that an insurer delivers value to the customer. Ideally, a customer who has built a relationship with an insurer based on a first-party data exchange will trust that an insurer knows his or her needs, translating to a far superior customer experience than one would receive on a free-for-all price comparison website.
A Personal Understanding, a Personalized Experience
A personalized experience that drives loyalty will entail relevant product offers, timely renewal notifications, and attractive cross-sell and upsell offers. A consumer who intuits that an insurer values their business will provide more first-party data, trusting that it will be used to further enhance a frictionless experience. Perhaps the insurer will automatically adjust a renewal quote based on a new household dynamic, as an example. Or an insurer that knows a customer has an open claim will put a hold on marketing activities until the claim has been resolved.
The key for an insurer to maximize the use of first-party data is to take all customer data into consideration in developing a single customer view that is accurate, trustworthy and up-to-date. The Redpoint Golden Record is a unified customer profile that compiles customer data in real time from all sources, combining all possible identifiers and a complete transactional history into a fully resolved identity of a customer or household. Using probabilistic and deterministic matching and persistent keys, the Golden Record provides a contextual understanding of a customer or household over time.
Because the rg1 platform makes the Golden Record accessible to all users and all applications, the unified view can be shared across marketing and operations, giving the business a single point of operational control. With a single point of control, an insurer can interact with a customer (or household) with a consistent voice across multiple product lines, reducing friction while also helping to guide a customer journey. Does the customer have a policy up for renewal? Is there an open claim? Does the customer have a new driver in the household? Is the customer in the process of moving?
A call centre agent who accesses a Golden Record during a call with a customer will have all information about the customer at his or her fingertips. With this updated single customer view, the agent will see the complete portfolio, know what is up for renewal and be able to advance cross-sell or upsell offers that are hyper-relevant to the customer’s situation in real time. By using the Golden Record to interact with consistent relevance across an entire portfolio, and in the precise cadence of a unique customer journey, a brand demonstrates to the customer that he or she is more than just a number. Mutual value is created from building and strengthening a relationship based on first-party data, a value impossible for a price comparison website to equal.
If price was the only factor customers cared about, insurers would only care how low they could price a quote and still remain profitable. But as with any other industry with a brand-consumer dynamic, the reality is that customers want to be understood, and they expect that understanding to be reflected in a personalized experience.
By investing in the customer through a purpose-built Golden Record, insurance companies prove ROI through reduced costs, more efficient marketing, a single point of control and, importantly, a loyal customer base appreciative of being treated like an individual.
Related Redpoint Orchard Blogs
Take a Personalized CX to the Next level with Advanced Identity Resolution
A Bountiful Harvest: Continual Identity Resolution and a Pristine, Profitable Golden Record
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