Insurance Market Pulse Survey: COVID-19 Shows Need for Digitalisation, Personalisation

For the second year in a row, Accenture and Bâloise Assurances Luxembourg surveyed more than 1,000 consumers on their current experience with insurance services and their future expectations.

The 2020 MPS revealed that in order to successfully overcome the complexities of changing consumer behaviour, exacerbated by the current global pandemic, insurers need to go digital and embed personalisation into their services.

Last year’s survey already highlighted customer preferences for digital touchpoints and their dissatisfaction with available digital channels. The onset of the pandemic, and the constraints on physical interactions, has intensified this and yet customers are still not convinced by the quality of non-human customer services their insurers are offering. For insurers to thrive, they must now begin to rapidly improve the ways in which they digitally interact with customers across web and mobile channels.  

However, simply digitalising human touchpoints is not enough. Insurers should holistically review the entire customer value proposition using a digital lens. According to the 2020 MPS, 44% of respondents were dissatisfied with becoming customers through digital mediums. This represents a threat to insurer growth because it relates to customer capture at the first step of customer journey. 

In addition, demographic preferences have a greater impact than ever before. Depending on their age group, consumers have a unique set of needs. Accounting for these preferences will allow insurers to more effectively shape age-based customer retention strategies.

In the post-COVID-19 world, insurers should start at the very core of their services portfolio by enhancing claims management for home, health and life insurance. In fact, claims management plays a prominent role when analysing why customers are currently leaving their current providers: 18% leave because their claims are not handled as expected, whilst 14% leave because it takes too long for their claims to be paid out.

Secondly, insurers must balance human experiences with efficient digital and on-demand support channels. This is relevant for a key aspect of the claims journey, i.e. filing and following-up claims. 

Lastly, according to the survey, to truly stand-out in a small market, insurers must capitalise on the first-mover advantage. Therefore, they must proactively captain their ships and pivot to evolve with speed. They must use the winds of digitalisation to sail through the mist. If not, they risk remaining oceans away from their customers.

For further details on the 2020 MPS, see sds.accenture.com/consumer-insurance-lu/.