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In today’s competitive insurance environment, successful independent agencies have focused on building their agency’s brand. To that end, agents must focus on working with insurance companies whose service capabilities enhance their clients’ experience and their own.

A carrier’s service culture is critical to an agency’s success in recruiting and retaining customers. When insurers use technology along with “high touch” service, it drives strong word-of-mouth referrals and favorable online reviews from existing customers, which reflects positively on the agency. With that in mind, what criteria should agents use to evaluate a carrier’s customer service capabilities?

Effective chatbot capabilities to reduce or eliminate wait times for human interaction. These chatbots will ensure that agents and carriers provide prompt responses and deliver solutions through concise answers. For example, carriers should now employ enhanced bots to shorten or eliminate customer wait times. This leads to better work environments for carrier and agency service teams, lowers internal stress and reduces customer frustration.

Cutting-edge, user-friendly technology resources. These are essential as policyholders prefer to interact in their desired way. Whether via email, text or social media, they want the ability to manage transactions and inquiries without having to speak to their agent or carrier, if they choose. Features like online bill payment and access to policy documents are must-haves.

The communications need is heightened when there is a claim, and timely responsiveness and the ability to monitor the claim’s status are critical. When insureds are frustrated by “feeling out of the loop,” they will involve the agency, thus increasing the agency’s time commitment and an agency’s dissatisfaction with the carrier. To aid the agency’s operational efficiency, carriers should enable true integration into their systems, allowing agencies to track client data like claims or policy renewals in real-time.

Leveraging technology to improve underwriting. Artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance the underwriting process by leveraging satellite imagery, land record data and other third-party sources, leading to more accurate rating decisions.

For example, AI can detect hazards invisible to the human eye, such as hairline cracks in water lines, allowing for inexpensive repairs to prevent major future losses. Since consumers are often skeptical of opaque algorithms in underwriting and pricing, agents can now emphasize how AI technology proactively benefits customers by increasing transparency in the underwriting process.

Additional underwriting capabilities that benefit both agencies and customers include inspections, policy endorsements and facilitating customer Q&As. Carriers should provide easy access to consumer portals, allowing agents to upload specific documents at any time.

Proactively working to enhance the agent-carrier relationship. As agencies assess their own online reviews and other customer feedback to improve continually, they should be able to discuss challenges or opportunities for their improvement with their carrier partners. Agencies need to invest to increase their service capabilities and maximize the tools that carriers provide. Agencies also need real-time business intelligence and sales management information to inform their sales and management tactics.

Additional capabilities offered by carriers are well received by consumers, especially those that facilitate transactions with third parties. For example, new homeowners appreciate carriers that can coordinate wire transfers from title companies and real estate agents, simplifying logistics such as movers and closing details.

Delivering exceptional customer service not only boosts efficiency across the insurance ecosystem, benefiting both customers and companies, but perhaps most importantly, builds trust with clients and ultimately drives long-term customer loyalty.

Topics Carriers Agencies