Insurance organizations using ‘antiquated’ communications tech: report

Many insurance companies aren’t supporting modern communications in their businesses and for interacting with customers, despite many saying such multichannel communication is a priority, according to a report sponsored by GMC Software Technology.

The survey of 90 insurance organizations, conducted by Forrester Research, focused on customer communications through things like letterhead, invoices, campaign e-mails, correspondence, marketing materials, policies and statements.

The results suggest that most in the industry are communicating with their customers using “antiquated approaches.”

About 40% of the industry is delivering “good cross-channel communications,” according to GMC. However, most aren’t able to communicate effectively with their customers using mobile or other consumer-friendly technology.

“Despite a further 30%  investing in new solutions to address the problem, a worryingly large 30% has no adequate mobile support and does not seem to care,” GMC said.

“This is short-sighted since the research showed cost savings of ten to more than 20% for 82% of firms,” the company added.

Further complicating matters is the lack of IT infrastructure and security issues preventing insurers from embracing multi-channel communication, GMC suggests.

“Currently, insurance companies’ IT systems are complex and not yet focused on maintaining multichannel consistency, improving personalisation, updating regulatory language, revising templates or altering business rules and logic,” the company says.

For the property and casualty sector in particular, the online experience is becoming more important to consumers than the “human element,” the report notes, referring especially to quote comparison websites and online account opening.

Success in transforming the communications process will come from strong internal leadership, the report suggests. The report also recommends insurers “build a road map to corporate communications solutions that separate communications infrastructure from core systems.”

The full report is available for download on GMC Software Technology’s website.