Improving customer experience key to changing perception of insurance

Insurers can change consumers' perception of the insurance industry by meeting their current needs rather than diving into new ideas, panelists at the Future of Insurance Conference in Chicago said.

Kyle Pretsch, COO of blockchain provider Bambu Meta, said the industry is trying to change consumers' attitudes — but while maintaining the "status quo."

Before looking ahead to the next 10 years, insurers need to look at the past three years, when customers increased their use of technology during the pandemic, Pretsch said.

"Let's figure out how to build a foundation to start meeting people where they are today before we invest in the dream," Pretsch said. "Let's invest in the things that we know work [and] let's make the simple transactions easy."

A better experience

The key to making that change is improving customer experience, said Stephanie Shields, head of employee benefits for Equitable Insurance Exchange.

"[Insurers] need to think about the customer experience, not just from our view, but from our customer's view," Shields said. "Once we start to take that into consideration, we'll build more robust products that get beyond the 'grudge' purchase."

Keeping things clear and easy for customers must also be considered, said Heidi Munc, vice president of customer experience for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Because insurance is a highly regulated industry, carriers tend to use terminology that they're comfortable with. Using that terminology with customers, however, can enhance the skepticism they have of the industry, she said.

Insurers need to "speak very plainly and do a better job of communicating what [customers are] covered for — or what the product is intended to do," Munc said.

Pretsch added that insurance needs to be something that people want to have that gives them a "great feeling."

"When that is synonymous with the purchase of insurance, we're going to see those things we want," he said. "We're going to see the revenues go up, we're going to see the cost come down and we're going see the simplification of the process."