Customer experience

Insurance companies that outsource customer care to third parties within the United States are apprehensive about people finding out customer service calls aren't handled within their own walls.As a result, these insurers typically require vendors to keep their relationships confidential, and they refuse to be interviewed.

When insurance companies explore implementation of top-of-the-line mobile computing solutions, many concede that laptop is technology no longer on their short list for consideration.Once regarded as a viable option for conducting business remotely, laptops lost ground to other hand-held options, such as Web-enabled wireless phones, two-way pagers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA).

Despite the growth of online self-service, call centers remain the most common way for customers to interact with companies. New technologies promise ROI by focusing on the performance of the people who deliver service to the customer-call center agents.Driving customers to the Internet for self-service is an effective way for insurers to reduce the high costs of providing information and processing transactions off-line. The fact is, most customers still prefer to call and talk to a human being-the most expensive customer-service channel.

There's no question about it: A contact center is an expensive operation. Not only has the technology become more complex and costly over the past few years, but training and licensing agents-who leave at a clip of 25% to 40% annually-impact a carrier's bottom line.It's no wonder many insurers decide to farm out some or all of their customer care functions-to the tune of $1 billion per year, according to research from IDC, Framingham, Mass.

Technology upgrades are often characterized by cautious experimentation and taking relative baby steps-especially among insurers.National Grange Mutual Insurance Co. (also known as Main Street America Group) has certainly weathered its fair share of technology trends. Founded in 1923, the Keene, N.H.-based company has established a portfolio worth more than $500 million in premium through its network of 1,100 independent agents. The property and casualty insurer serves the East Coast from Maine to Florida.

Despite many advances in agency automation over the last few years, insurance agents are frustrated with many aspects of the technology designed to make their lives easier. This is a conclusion of a survey conducted early this year by the ACORD User Groups Information Exchange (AUGIE).Nearly 9,000 agents and customer service representatives participated in the survey. And, according to the results, not only are agencies burdened by keeping their agency management systems updated, agents also are irritated by the chore of duplicate data entry and the costs and training issues associated dealing with carriers' proprietary systems.

Individuals who have experienced an auto accident or incurred damage to their vehicle often discover that the road to swift claims settlement is a bumpy, winding and volatile one.

Claims processing capabilities within the automobile insurance segment is not unlike a car itself-hitting on all cylinders is essential to ensure high performance.In 1999, Mayfield Village, Ohio-based Progressive Insurance Co. debuted TotalPro, a Web-based claims processing application that can be activated by both internal affiliates and Progressive policyholders.

Most insurance agents will admit that flood insurance isn't an easy sell. Property owners, both individual and commercial, are often aware that their policy covers fire damage, but most don't realize that it doesn't cover flood or mudslide damage.Rarely do these parties investigate the prospects of securing a flood insurance policy, which can cause disastrous ramifications because most floods don't qualify for federal disaster aid. Only floods declared national disasters by the president qualify for federal assistance, which comes in the form of a grant or a federal loan that must be paid back with interest.

Insurance industry executives are wrestling with the complexities of customer relationship management (CRM), trying to understand what it can mean for their organizations and how to proceed to adopt appropriate CRM solutions.