Self-serve doesn't have to mean poor service - especially for today's tech-savvy consumer.
Video transcript below:
Reporter: Self-served doesn't have to mean poor service. In fact for today's tech savvy consumer, self service may be the portal to a whole new market of insurance buyer.
A common criticism about Insurance is that it is over complicated and that could be a turn off for today's online consumer. Led by moderator, Jeff Purdy, Insurance Business gathered some of the nation's top brokers for a round table on customer service.
Jeff Purdy, Applied Systems
Jeff Purdy: Clearly there are differences based on the segment of the marketplace that that you're selling into. So personal lines, small commercial, technology just sounds like it's critical and the ability to provide self-service capabilities is critical and the differentiator frankly for all of your firms. The bigger commercial and bigger opportunities, it may just be a requirement, it doesn't make the sale you know what sounds like what makes the sale is the expertise of the firm and your ability and navigate and execute well. But once you are in and have executed well, you just have to have, you have to be able to support the needs of the customer and what their expectations are and they're going to range and they're going to range from probably very low technology customers who want a relationship like this to customers who want the ability 7 by 24 to self serve. I mean you see we have a broad spectrum of requirements.
C.J. Nolan, Munn Insurance
C.J. Nolan: Well my start in this in the CSR platform, specially in the transportation side, what I have seen is you’ve got from truckers to business people in this and they look for certificates all day long every day and all those kinds of things. So my first introduction to [whole] applied systems and TAM and Epic and then of course the CSR-24 which is brand new to me which I didn't know existed even until about two years ago, you know for a, and these guys could speak more than I can because they were more established commercial brokers than I am. When I see availability that's there on the scene and now CSR-24, it's pretty enlightening for any broker who wants to utilise something on those lines and get you around and get your client more involved and you know he can start using his touch once in going in seeing things that were basically before it was forbidden for anybody to see anything about their policy, but now it’s sort of more an open dialogue about it.
Jeff Purdy: Yeah.
Danny Sgro, Jones LesLauriers Insurance
Danny Sgro: Yeah I mean because many times you know a client I think would look up some information, but it’s like okay where did I put that [paper] policy up, forget I’ll just phone the broker. Well if they have access to easy to navigate internet interface and search some basic information potentially print out their own certificates. I think that would make brokers obviously more profitable and it would allow customers to make that decision, alright so.
Jeff Purdy: We have customers now with our consumers, with CSR 24 which is our consumer access product. So it allows our customers to put portals out there for their customers. We have brokers that have run in excess of a million search through that process and there's that can do the work, the customer self-served. You know that is just pure IBTDA expansion for our brokerage customers.
Andrew Clark, Marsh Canada
Andrew Clark: Well focus is around building a better client experience whether it's personalised or commercialised. It’s ultimately meeting them where they are at and ways that they're asking for it right. You know for those clients that want to access an electronic copy thinks that we should be able to deliver that.
Jeff Purdy: Absolutely.
Andrew Clark: And you know that goes into commercial as well and delivering policy documents online and whatever it may be.
Jeff Purdy: So we're there today, what's interesting is in personalized [signing up], that’s where we refer the commercial area. But on the personal [online site] today with technology that’s there and with industry standards that are in place there are no document that can leave the insurer, be electronically transmitted to your broker management system and extended to your customer without any of you doing anything. So the renewal happens, that policy documentation is available to your customer without anyone in your office taking a step. That's powerful and you know that is extending your brand to your customer and then to extend it to the device is just another step to make it easier for them when they when you need you.
