The Hartford ranks first in digital experience, small biz insurance: Keynova

Small commercial insurers are starting to offer more digital self-service and policy management options for policyholders, according to Keynova.

Keynova Group, a financial services intelligence firm specializing in benchmark insights, released its 2022 Small Commercial Insurance Scorecard, which evaluates the small commercial insurance digital capabilities of the 10 largest U.S. carriers. The Scorecard is based on an evaluation of 300 objective criteria and includes trends and insights that may influence digital strategies.

The Hartford ranked first overall in desktop and mobile offerings. Progressive ranked second. Nationwide ranked third. 

The Hartford offers live chat support for small businesses and allows policyholders to make coverage changes online. Progressive allows for some online changes to certain parts of commercial auto policies. State Farm and The Hartford have demos available on how to operate the digital policy management features.

Beth Robertson, managing director of Keynova Group, says: "What I find most interesting about the Small Commercial Insurance Scorecard results are the wide disparities that continue to exist – even after the pandemic - in the digital capabilities offered to help small businesses select, purchase and manage their policies." 

70% of the carriers reviewed offer digital quoting options for most business insurance and half support quoting for four or more small commercial policy types on mobile and websites.

"Unlike large banks, carriers typically offer siloed experiences," the report states. "Small business owners may find they can't manage all their policies, or all aspects of a given policy, in one place. Disjointed experiences can suppress digital adoption, create confusion when it comes to updating business information, and make staying on top of bills and renewals more burdensome."

Only five of the carriers allow small business policyholders to report and track claims, other than commercial auto, within the same platform online where they manage their policy.

"The individuals that own and operate small businesses are consumers whose expectations are being tailored by the rapidly advancing digitization of other aspects of financial servicing, including the digital support they experience relative to their personal policies. This will quickly translate to broadened demand from small businesses for similar and more consistently optimized digital capabilities to support their business policies," says Robertson.

More key findings to note:

• Seven out of 10 of the carriers also offer educational content in Spanish and three of the firms have support agents who also speak Spanish.
  
• Three carriers automatically enroll policyholders in digital account management.
  
• Six carriers allow for digital binding of small business policies.