As the P&C insurance market has matured, two models now dominate: the acquirers and the retainers of customers. Performance on loyalty, acquisition, retention and cross-selling varies widely among insurers—and only a few companies excel at more than one dimension (Bain & Company). Let’s find out if your organization is one of these few companies:
- Do you have a strong, personal relationship with each of your customers?
- Are you aware of your customer retention rate?
- Are you actively working to increase this retention rate?
- Do your customers feel valued?
- Would your customers recommend you, as their insurer, to a friend or colleague?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, you are not alone. Industry research says, the average Net Promoter Score® (NPS) for the insurance industry is as low as 55. Although this confirms insurers have acknowledged the benefits of earning loyalty and have made progress, many insurance companies have a way to go. Industry leaders, like Rockingham Group, possess a score of 85.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Net Promoter Score, or need a quick refresher, NPS is a simple, actionable customer loyalty metric that supports future business growth. Success centers around selecting the right customer segments, offering them a tailored proposition, then delighting them with superior service at the key moments in their customer journey.
To aid in this initiative, SPLICE recommends insurers survey their policyholders following their First Notice of Loss (FNOL). In agreement with this, an Accenture article says:
Customers who have submitted an insurance claim in the past two years are almost twice as likely to switch insurers in the next 12 months. The very act of filing a claim makes a customer much more likely to switch insurers, regardless of how satisfied they are with the experience.
Connecting with and surveying policyholders upon their FNOL will create a better connection throughout the rest of the claims process. Leveraging the customers’ feedback, the insurance company is given the opportunity to make improvements on processes like claims submission, or future interactions like communication preferences.
Interested in learning more about the benefits of surveying? SPLICE can help. Check out our brief, “Customer Surveys Deliver More than a Score.”