Loyal customers are the lifeblood of many businesses, and the insurance industry is no exception. A happy insured will renew their policy every year, promote the carrier to others and cost far less than a new customer to service. A great experience can turn a customer into a promoter with a lifetime value that’s three times that of a passive customer, according to Bain & Company research.

The trouble is that building strong customer loyalty is a real challenge for insurers, largely because they have little contact with their customers. One of the few times when there’s an opportunity to make an impression is when a claim is made, so it’s imperative that the customer experience is good.

Nowadays that increasingly means delivering on expectations about ease of access and transparency.

Expectations in the Digital Age

The world has moved beyond fixed business hours, phone calls and meetings. Millennials expect 24/7 access to their accounts, a choice of digital channels to communicate through and a clear claims cycle that keeps them informed. These expectations have been set by a new wave of tech giants offering instant cloud services, customer-centric ecommerce and responsive communication through social media.

The death of paper trails, inaccessible processes and long delays isn’t just good for customers, it also allows insurers to capture more data, analyze and model customer interactions, and find new ways to serve them. Exceptional customer experience is fast-becoming the primary route to differentiate one business from another and gain a tangible competitive advantage.

Improving the Claims Process

When it comes to evangelizing the need for digitization in insurance, “there’s nothing new under the sun,” to quote Ecclesiastes. And perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves with so much talk of automation. But there’s always room to streamline processes. It’s here, at the moment when a policyholder first notifies the insurer, that carriers have the obligation to make a lasting impression.

Where else should innovation begin if not at first notice from a claimant?

Making the experience easy, especially during a time of high stress for the insured—whether it’s the aftermath of a car crash or a household flood—is a shortcut to establishing loyalty with real longevity. Focusing efforts here offers a far greater potential return on investment than a push for customer acquisition.

Insureds should have access to a portal where they can report pertinent claims information and check on the progress of their claim anytime, day or night, on any device or channel they choose, from anywhere they happen to be. Much of this process can be automated, with claimants entering information into the system themselves and uploading supporting evidence, instead of being questioned by a claims adviser or meeting with an investigator.

The claims cycle should be as clear as possible, and insurers should be communicating every step of the way, sending confirmations, reminders and updates via the customer’s preferred digital channels.

It’s worth noting that 61 percent of policyholders said they would prefer to use digital channels to check the status of their claims (citing an Accenture survey) and 53 percent would not recommend their insurers to friends and family without the ability to use digital channels.

What the Customer Wants

Digitizing the claims cycle enables much faster processing of claims and reduces costs for insurers while increasing customer satisfaction. In a time of crisis, people want claims settled as quickly as possible so they can get their lives back on track. It’s crucial that insurers are accessible and make some effort to understand and cater for the customer’s specific needs.

Allowing customers to communicate directly through mobile apps or web portals, with two-way communication through email, text message or even social media, is vital for true accessibility. Automate as much as possible and elevate to agents only in certain circumstances when it’s required.

A swift resolution is good for all concerned, so wherever possible customers should get real-time answers to their queries. It also makes sense to involve them directly with the decision-making process and connect them with service providers who can deal with the different aspects of their claim. The same systems that keep agents abreast of the latest developments can serve updates to customers, so there’s real-time transparency for everyone involved in the claim.

The advantages of a dynamic digital claims cycle that’s easily accessible and digestible for customers are clear. Forward-thinking carriers can streamline their systems, speed up claims processing, cut costs and boost customer loyalty all at the same time.