Morning Briefing: US insurers stuck in an analog world says study

US insurers stuck in an analog world says study… Unica offers new flood insurance product… Study shows comparison site usage lower in North America…

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US insurers stuck in an analog world says study
America’s insurance industry is lacking when it comes to providing customer service on digital channels.

A new study by digital customer interaction firm Eptica evaluated 100 leading US insurers and found that they were able to answer just 28 per cent of customer queries across digital channels.

It says that 14 per cent of insurers failed to respond successfully to queries on email, social media or online chat. Even with the most successful channel, email (37 per cent response) it took an average of nearly 2 days to get a response.

“The insurance industry is at a crossroads, with the rise of digital disrupting traditional ways of doing business,” said Olivier Njamfa, CEO and Co-founder of Eptica. “To succeed in this new world insurers need to prioritize the digital customer experience, yet the Eptica study shows that they are struggling to adapt and move away from analog channels.

However, the report differs from the recently published findings of a customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power which showed that, when it comes to life insurers, many customers especially younger Americans, are still keen to interact through in-person interaction.
 
Unica offers new flood insurance product
Unica Insurance is now offering a flood insurance to its homeowner, condo, seasonal homeowner, tenant and rented dwelling products.

The program called WATERtight offers coverage for damage caused by overland flooding, ground water, surface water and sewer backup and has been made possible by a catastrophe model from Aon’s Impact Forecasting.

“Impact Forecasting’s data has been critical to improve our understanding of the flood risk in Canada which has become an increasingly important focal point for the industry as we seek new ways to mitigate future loss,” explained Unica’s president and COO of Unica. “Equally, it has enabled us to offer protection from flood damage for an affordable property premium for families and businesses alike.”

The model covers 98 per cent of the population of Canada and has allowed Unica to calculate its primary rates by identifying the flood risk around individual properties.
 
Study shows comparison site usage lower in North America
The use of comparison websites for auto and home insurance products is lower in the US and Canada compared to the UK and Europe according to a new study.

Finaccord’s research reveals that while 74 per cent of respondents in the UK say they renewed an auto policy or bought one for the first time online, in Canada the proportion was just 17 per cent and the 8-country average was 46 per cent.

Use of an aggregator/comparison site was 40 per cent in the UK but in the US and Canada it was 5 per cent. Finaccord says that one of the factors for the low usage in North America is the strength of the independent agencies in the region.
 

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