How to Attract Returning Life Customers
In my last blog, we considered the requirements and demeanour of individuals entering the insurance market for the first time, as global economies begin to emerge from COVID-19. They will have seen the stark reality of uninsured events such as loss of income, disability and death and will understand the need for some solid insured contingency.
The anticipated re-growth of the market in 2021 will not just be new entrants. It will also include those returning to the market after trimming their expenditures during the pandemic months. They will also have concluded that insurance protection has a significantly higher priority than previously. They too, will be reviewing the financial consequences of being unable to work or worse still, losing a breadwinner. These are the most fundamental of life Insurance coverages.
With the insurance market anticipated to grow by 5.6% during 2021, which insurers will attract the contribution of these market “Returners”?
If you’ve cancelled a policy with an insurer previously, you don’t automatically return when you decide to re-enroll. You can go to a comparison website to get a rate driven result, but at the same time, you’ll be confronted with quite a list regarding what is and what is not covered.
Life insurance Returners are going to be marginally more familiar with these insurance terms than our first timers. Equally unfamiliar to both will be the more COVID-19 driven aspects as part of the process than before.
learn more about the shift in group life & pension
What will the Returner be looking for? Likely they will be familiar first hand with advice which may or may not have been a great experience. Returners will likely start at the website, and current thinking suggests you have ten seconds before they are lost, if they are immediately overwhelmed by tons of products and insurance terms.
Then comes the pop-up, just as you’ve started reading a point of real relevance and interest the section gets obscured by an untimely message.
If the website visitor has gone this far and wants to ask for a quote, it requires entering your details, email and mobile. But instead of a quote, you may you get a message thanking you for your enquiry and saying that one of their advisors will be in touch.
Frustrating customer journeys such as the one above cause interested returners to bounce off your page and continue their search elsewhere.
The so called “Golden Year” of 4.4% growth in 2019, is different from the 5.6% rebound re-growth expected year of 2021. When on a “insurance re-establishment” mission you want concise information with progressively increased levels of advice as their journey progresses and as they agree to it.
The “we are calling you now” syndrome is mostly an unsuccessful approach. Rather an incremental storyboard that leads the way and graduates introduction of advice forms that are available including guided, part robo, full robo and (virtual) F2F. Same message as before with “ease of purchase assisted by graduated advice” being in focus.
For insurers, it’s a process of differentiation by alignment, starting with what the enquirer is first presented with, how it is structured and how it is supported throughout the journey. A smooth transition of an acceptable level of support through to purchase with no distractions will keep the attention focussed and the customer engaged.
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Dave Punter David Punter is an insurance practice consultant at Sapiens. He possesses nearly a quarter century of experience helping insurers, particularly in the life & pension sector, maximize their technology, automate processes and succeed.