How insurance companies can improve customer experience with a mobile app

Modern digital products dominate in an ever-growing list of industries providing people with a comfortable customer experience (CX). Given the prevalence of mobile devices that will increase, it is mobile apps that carry the day among numerous high-tech solutions. However, when in some domains (like banking or medicine), this software type lives up to users’ expectations, other fields remain behind. Yet consumers count on the same level of CX from apps in other niches, and insurtech products are no exception.  

Addressing challenges in insurance via mobile apps

Many insurance companies find it hard to keep up with the fast pace of contemporary IT-driven civilization and adequately respond to the challenges that crop up nowadays. What are the obstacles they often face, and how can mobile apps help overcome them?

• Underutilized mobile channel. Unlike its close relative banking industry, the insurance sector largely neglects mobile apps. Few companies have them (for instance, in the USA, this number doesn’t exceed 11%), and the CX they provide is substandard in many cases. 
• Cumbersome workflow. The insurance sphere is one of the most regulated industries in the world. It relies on tons of paperwork for the internal routine and servicing clients. Digitalization of shop floor procedures will help streamline the former. Launching mobile apps will drastically enhance the customer experience – from contracting to quoting both in life and health insurance. 
• Dependence on legacy know-how. Like in many other fields, insurance organizations tend to stick to the software they are used to, being reluctant to take innovations in their stride. Yet, the mobile experience can’t be ignored today, so developing a mobile app is a must-have measure needed to stay afloat in the smartphone-reliant world of the early third millennium. 
• Absence of a connected ecosystem. Often, the insurtech solutions an organization employs are standalone on-premises endeavors. Yet, to make the most of digitalization, it is vital to unite them all into one framework and migrate it to the cloud. A mobile app can become a part of this system with a major focus on obliging the clientele. 

As you see, mobile apps can be a game-changer in the market of insurance services. However, it is not only the fault of insurance companies that they are currently underrepresented in the industry. Consumers are also lukewarm in employing them on a large scale. How come? 

Learn more about how you can improve CX with other digital tools for insurance.

Why insurance consumers don’t like to use mobile apps

Having sufficient experience in building insurance solutions, we at DICEUS see six main reasons consumers may give insurtech apps the cold shoulder. 

Reason 1. Issues with understanding how an app works 

People may just fail to get to grips with them. The causes may be numerous – from onboarding problems to poor UX due to the too complicated UI.  

Reason 2. Issues with using a mobile app  

These may cover various aspects of the app’s operation: problematic sign-ins and sign-outs, absence of status notification, unclear bill payment procedure, etc.  

Reason 3. Lack of necessary functionalities 

The app doesn’t provide access to helpful resources and has no electronic ID storage or in-app claim reports. Sometimes, apps fail to navigate customers through their journey to the end. For instance, offering e-signature collection, they can’t provide copies of government-issued IDs and other documents from multiple sources or don’t grant binding consent to policy agreements. Thus, clients can’t complete their claims through the app.  

Reason 4. Bad UI and UX 

The second is often the consequence of the first, but sometimes the app’s interface may look unattractive, so it will just not appeal to people.  

Reason 5. Exaggerated UX expectations 

In our digitally-fuelled age, people interact with other IT products a lot. Being used to the experience they get there; they expect the same from insurtech apps and are disappointed to see no recommendations or options coupled with old-school interfaces. Moreover, PDF-based forms many insurance apps rely on are very inconvenient to read for small smartphone users, to say nothing of filling them out.  

Reason 6. Personal preferences 

Even the most tech-savvy customers may opt for contacting a call canter instead of using an app. Sometimes it can be explained not so much by personal tastes as by the inadequacies of apps that send no notifications or turn inquiry processing into a lengthy procedure.  

Despite the unenthusiastic attitude of some consumers and insurance companies, insurtech apps can usher numerous boons to all stakeholders.  

Benefits of insurance apps

What do insurance companies get by launching a mobile app?  

• Workflow automation. Thanks to apps, numerous shop floor activities are critically accelerated and simplified. Now, it doesn’t take much time and effort to take orders, process bills, collect payments, handle claims, generate insurance quotes, or finalize deals. 
• Augmenting expertise of insurance agents. As a representative of the insurance company, the agent must have all the required data at their fingertips. The app is a second-to-none crutch when they must communicate with customers regarding claim processing, quotes, special offers, and other job details. 
• Personalization of services. Having collected all client information via the app, companies can make targeted offers and unique pitches. In this way, customer retention and loyalty are significantly improved. 
• Reaching out to new generations. For modern people, a smartphone is the ultimate tool for interaction with their environment. They leverage it to do almost everything – from working and shopping to learning and having fun. There is no reason why ensuring their life or property can’t be performed along the same lines.  
• Gaining a competitive edge. The previous benefit translates into this one. If you aim not for precarious survival but for a thriving insurance brand today, going mobile is the imperative of our time. Launching a mobile app will allow you to stand out among competitors, get more leads and converts, sell more policies, and increase revenues at the end of the day. 

More insights on the topic: Interview with the former CEO of Willis Nordics on how technology impacts insurance.

What are the perks of insurance apps for policyholders?

• Real-time service. People can get in touch with agents whenever necessary via the communication channel they find convenient. This ability is mission-critical after an accident when the client can upload photos of the damaged car or house and submit a claim in no time.  
• Instant access to policy details. Customers can look through the document anywhere at any time to ensure what the policy covers, what payments are due, when the policy expires, etc. 
• Helpful guidance. A person may be interested in other related things, like how to file a claim, what to do after an accident, etc. All such information can be furnished through the single interface of the app, even in the form of step-by-step instructions.  
• Online consultations. If something isn’t clear, people can apply for the consultation without visiting the brick-and-mortar insurance institution.  
• Seamless policy changing. Thanks to the app, people can notify the company about their wish to alter the policy in one click and facilitate the entire process immensely.  
• Keeping abreast of updates. Insurance organizations can inform their clients about the latest news, new offers and discounts, changes in pricing, and other developments to keep them in the know 24/7. 

All these assets can be maximized when you know what features an insurance app must contain. 

Learn more: How to improve customer experience in insurance industry

Sample features of an insurance app

The roster of features depends on the subject matter of insurance. 

Health insurance functionalities 

• Buy different health insurance plans 
• File a claim and track the status 
• Save diagnoses and doctors’ reports in Medical Records 
• Get telemedicine services 

Vehicle insurance functionalities 

• Buy vehicle insurance 
• File and monitor claims 
• Send photos/video of damages 
• Make an appointment with the technician for vehicle repair at the nearest car service 

Travel insurance functionalities 

• Select coverage and buy travel insurance 
• File a claim and track the status 
• Use self-service capabilities 
• Get 24/7 customer support 

Travel insurance functionalities 

• Select coverage for damages and liability 
• Buy property insurance 
• File a claim and track the status 
• Renew policy automatically 

Whatever features you need for your insurance app, you should pay close attention to the CX the solution provides to oblige the policyholders and bring you the most value for your money. 

Learn more about our services for insurance.

10 essential steps to improve CX for insurance companies

As a seasoned developer of mobile apps across various industries, DICEUS recommends following the algorithm of app creation honed to encourage more people to use insurance applications.  

Step 1. Set up business goals you’d like to attain with the app  

If you decide to create an app just to have it, the endeavor is doomed to defeat. Instead, you should have a clear vision of what you are going to improve in your business by launching the app. 

Step 2. List all the problems you have to solve 

These may relate to the workflow aspects that need reinforcement of the existing solutions whose performance isn’t adequate to solve issues you encounter. Or they may focus on CX to remove the bottlenecks in people’s interaction with the service provider. 

Step 3. Interview customers to get their side of the story 

Since customers are your chief priority, you should understand the pain points, needs, and frustrations they experience while being involved in ensuring their life or property.  

Step 4. Create buyer personas and customer journeys 

Once all information is collected, you can shape an image of your client with their demographics, habits, tastes as well as expectations they have while using an insurance app. Customer predictive analytics can be highly instrumental in making this picture as complete as possible. After that, you can chart a roadmap where all moves a user makes running the app are listed. 

Step 5. Create requirements for the app and its wireframes 

Armed with the knowledge received before, you come up with the requirements for the app that relate to the tech stack, resources, functionalities, etc. These become a ground for creating a wireframe that is the scheme that presents the screen layout and the hierarchy of information it contains.  

Step 6. Audit and rethink data flows and architecture 

All the information obtained at the previous stage should be leveraged to introduce changes to the app architecture to align it with the projected scheme of customers’ interaction with the app. Ideally, they should face a minimal number of screens on their user journey. Thus, developers must envisage what actions trigger certain screens and what the consequences are when some button is pressed. 

Step 7. Develop the features 

Now is the time for coding when developers implement the devised plan to get a working prototype.  

Step 8. Get feedback from users 

This stage is known as usability testing, when the prototype is tried by colleagues, friends, and family. It provides an independent opinion of users who test how the app works and feels.  

Step 9. Use metrics to evaluate customer awareness and satisfaction 

In case the testing audience is large, you should apply specialized metrics that will enable you to gauge how positive the CX of users was. 

Step 10. Build an app 

When you have a functional sample and know what to aim for, you can tackle the app development process hammer and tongs. 

Final thoughts

Keeping in step with the global advent of mobile devices, organizations across a number of industries launch enterprise apps that allow them to streamline their workflow and extend their customer reach. Unfortunately, insurance companies are still slow in the uptake of this trend, so you have all chances to become a trailblazer in the niche. 

The DICEUS team has the requisite experience and skills to build a custom insurance app for your organization that would contain the range of features you need and display excellent performance at a moderate price.