Not so long ago, it seemed like insurers operated in a siloed world shrouded in mystery, with policyholders often feeling left in the dark about their coverage, claims status, and insurers’ pricing models.
But, with the advent of the digital age, a powerful transformation has taken place within the industry. Policyholders now find themselves in a world where insurance information is straightforward and readily accessible—a development that has completely overhauled the policyholder experience, from policy underwriting to claims processing.
In this post, we will delve into the evolution of information transparency in the insurance world. We’ll discuss how this real-time data access has become a game-changer for policyholders, agents, and insurers alike.
The Digital Transformation of Insurance
As with most other areas of the economy, the insurance industry is undergoing a digital transformation. At this point, nearly every corner of insurance operations has been impacted by increased digitization, including underwriting, customer service, risk management, and claims processing.
Technological capabilities will continue to advance over the coming years, bringing yet more change for insurers to reckon with. The insurance space hasn’t always been quick to move with the times. However, growing competition from new market entrants and changing policyholder demands are leaving insurers no choice but to adapt or get left behind.
These advances are ushering in a new era of the policyholder experience, helping insurers provide more efficient and relevant interactions with both existing and potential policyholders. At the core of this enhanced experience is the ability to offer real-time insurance information that empowers and informs policyholders.
The Power of Real-Time Access to Insurance Information
A consistent problem for many policyholders has been the lack of access to clear, real-time insurance information. Whether they’re looking for information on their current policy coverage or seeking a new provider, consumers often feel like they’re not getting the full picture from insurers or that they’re not aware of the legal loopholes that could leave them without coverage.
Unclear messaging, industry jargon, complex pricing models, and red tape have contributed to a feeling of mistrust in the industry, which has led to a clear rift between insurers and policyholders. According to a recent report by IBM, 42% of customers don’t fully trust their insurer.
Luckily, with the help of insurtechs and advanced technology, insurers are gaining the ability to offer real-time information to their policyholders for more efficient and proactive service. This is a driving force behind a more dynamic, transparent, and responsive insurance industry that is better able to meet the evolving needs of policyholders.
Benefits for Policyholders: Transparency and Control
Offering policyholders real-time access to insurance information comes with a number of advantages for consumers, insurers, and the industry as a whole. This practice will foster more trusting and long-lasting relationships with policyholders and can lead to better organizational efficiency for insurers. Here are some of the top benefits that real-time information access can provide.
Better Policy Understanding
First and foremost, having real-time access to insurance information keeps policyholders more informed about their coverage. This transparency helps them better understand their coverage, deductibles, and any exclusions so they don’t get any nasty surprises when they need to make a claim.
Having more clarity around coverage details reduces confusion among policyholders, and makes them aware of what is and isn’t covered under a given policy. In turn, this can foster greater trust with their insurers as consumers feel more empowered, and reassured that they are not being taken advantage of.
Further, policyholders will feel well-informed about their insurance status when their policy is up for renewal. In other words, they can take prompt action if needed to maintain continuous protection without interruption and avoid any inadvertent lapses.
More Convenience
Policyholders can now enjoy more convenience and an overall better experience with their insurers. They can receive real-time updates on policy changes, coverage details, and premiums right from their devices. If they have any questions or inquiries, they can contact the provider immediately through a chatbot or messaging service, boosting policyholder satisfaction.
These added access points mean that policyholders can manage their insurance policies from anywhere using a website or app, and review their coverage, make a payment, or request policy changes without needing to visit a traditional office or make a phone call.
Some insurers may even have the ability to provide instant quotes to consumers and complete the underwriting process online, providing the convenience and rapid decision-making that is often expected by consumers in today’s hyper-digital environment.
Faster Claims Processing
Another clear benefit of insurance transparency is that it can expedite the claims filing process. This can benefit both policyholders and insurers. It reduces the administrative burden on the insurers, as well as helping reduce any friction that policyholders feel during an already stressful time.
Before digital real-time access was possible, policyholders would need to file their claim on a physical document, mail it in, and wait to hear back from the insurer. Or, they would need to reach out to the provider during business hours. Now, policyholders can quickly file claims online from anywhere at any time, and insurers can assess them and approve payout in a much shorter time frame than was previously possible.
Stronger Cost Controls
Better insurance transparency empowers policyholders financially. Nowadays, before taking out a policy, policyholders can shop around and receive real-time and accurate quotes from a number of providers to ensure they’re finding policies that align with their budgets, among other factors.
This is an important consideration, as many policyholders put a large emphasis on price when researching insurance policies. In fact, 74% of American consumers have shopped around for insurance products at least once. Among those consumers, 76% said they saved money by doing so.
Thus, offering better transparency around price can help policyholders make better coverage decisions they feel more confident in. Insurers who fail to offer such information may not even be considered by budget-conscious consumers.
Peace of Mind
An intangible benefit of better insurance transparency is the peace of mind policyholders gain. When they feel informed and in the know about their coverage details, claims status, or premium pricing, they won’t feel preoccupied about hidden fees, loss of coverage, or misleading details that can leave them financially liable.
Gaining access to real-time insurance information lets policyholders feel confident that they have adequate coverage and are prepared for any unexpected events that may come their way.
Operational Efficiency
On top of the clear benefits to policyholders, there are plenty of benefits for insurers, too. At a base level, better connectivity with consumers through real-time information access eases the administrative work insurance teams must fulfill.
By offering self-service portals for policyholders to inquire about a quote or file a claim, or having AI-powered chatbots that can respond to customer questions and inquiries about available policies, insurers can save valuable time and resources and devote them to other more strategic tasks. Plus, they can do this all while providing the enhanced digital policyholder experience that is expected in the modern marketplace.
The Role of Technology in Empowering Policyholders
Over the years, technology has played an integral role in providing real-time access to insurance information to policyholders. It is what spurred the entire digital transformation movement across the insurance industry and enables insurers to provide instant, accurate, and data-driven services to policyholders.
For one, insurers’ websites have become self-service web portals where policyholders can log in, access policy information, make changes, and file claims at their convenience. This user-friendly interface means sensitive policyholder data remains secure, even as payment details and other personal information is stored and processed on the site.
Mobile apps have also become a major source of real-time information access for policyholders, giving them the ability to access coverage details and policy information from anywhere via their tablet or mobile device.
More advanced technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics have contributed to the scalability and accessibility of insurance information in real time. As technology continues to advance, the capabilities of insurers to provide transparency and personalized information for their policyholders will keep advancing as well.
Build Policyholder Trust with Insuresoft
Prioritizing transparency and real-time information sharing with policyholders is one important method for building trust and loyalty in today’s competitive market. Though this hasn’t always been feasible on the side of the insurer, the technological advancements of recent years have made this possible now.
Insuresoft has a variety of tools to help insurers provide policyholders with greater access to information. For starters, our customer communication management platform helps insurers build trust with both agents and policyholders through real-time communication features. Insurers can use this tool to provide on-demand insurance documents for policyholders and agents, so they can access important information at any time.
We also have cloud-based self-service portals for agents and policyholders so anyone can view their policy status, claims information, forms, and billing from anywhere. At Insuresoft, we know how important it is in today’s market to empower policyholders with transparency and clarity, which is why we have developed the tools to help insurers deliver what consumers want and expect.
For 30 years, Insuresoft has been offering a COMPLETE system that can handle all your P&C lines of business. Diamond Platform covers Policy Admin, Claims Management, Billing, Portals, and more, all built on Microsoft .NET Core technology. Deliver your customer promise, and give policyholders the experience they want today — before they demand it tomorrow.
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