2 min read
2021 has been an intense year for everyone. The pandemic threw a curveball at everyone, forcing adjustments and new ways of thinking. COVID-19 enhanced operational problems and compelled industries to redo the way business was done so that value could still be delivered consistently, albeit in a smarter way.
Below, we list the three key learnings we observed this year from watching insurance businesses pivot in an uncertain environment and still succeed.
2021 Lessons for the Insurance Industry
Addressing vulnerability requires a change
We observed an increasing urgency to address vulnerable customers’ needs. COVID-19 was a primary factor in bringing this change and gave a big push that increased the relevancy and need for addressing the concerns of the most vulnerable demographics.
According to the FCA’s Financial Lives 2020 Survey, the pandemic has augmented the need to take action, since it significantly increased the number of vulnerable customers in the UK in February 2020 by 15%.
Spixii has collected a track record of positive feedback from vulnerable customers thanks to its accessible chatbots powered by solid Conversational Process Automation (CPA). It allows companies to build a system that addresses customer needs 24*7 with accuracy and efficiency. As we move into the after-effects of the pandemic, insurers will have to learn how they can meet the needs of vulnerable customers with CPA and chatbots.
Affinity partnership is a game-changer
With affinity partnership and embedded insurance, insurers can leverage other brands and be contextual (for example British Airways offers travel insurance with Allianz as an add-on within their travel quote journey). Affinity partnerships, thus, have a huge potential to expand insurance organisations’ effective reach. However, a flexible technological stack is needed to grasp the opportunity in a timely manner.
As with aiding in addressing vulnerability, Conversational Process Automation (CPA) platforms can help acquire flexibility as well. They help to create great value for the affinity partners’ customers. Learn more about onboarding affinity partners with the best-in-class experience.
FCA requirements imply a substantial digital change
One of the latest FCA policy statements (General Insurance pricing practices remedies: feedback to CP20/19 and final rules) introduced stringent new requirements in relation to pricing. Among them, one of the changes is to reduce the use of widespread price comparison tools and direct more traffic and queries to insurers’ websites.
These changes cannot be made without technology. There is no tool that is more capable of optimizing internal operations and the results that can be achieved from them, other than technology.
For more insight into how you can implement FCA-mandated changes, you can read the blog: How to address new FCA pricing practices.
What matters is what we do from here on
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
The world, as a whole, is not going back to what it was before the pandemic. It has discovered new ways of working, shopping, connecting, and taking care of necessities. If businesses want to stay relevant, they will need to roll with these changes. If they want to do more than that and excel, they will need to be creative and take responsibility for innovating with these changes. Thanks to technology, though, the door is open for all. Whether they choose to take the opportunity or not, is up to the businesses themselves.
