Nationwide betting home work will prove value of digital innovations

Like major companies across the U.S., Nationwide executives in the early part of 2021 were discussing the process of repatriating some work-from-home employees to the office as the COVID-19 pandemic receded. That’s when inspiration struck.

As they were granting more of their employees the ability to permanently work remotely, Nationwide leaders realized that a similar shift was happening around the country, and that these employees -- who were also consumers and policyholders -- were going to have new insurance needs.

“We had this ‘a-ha’ moment where we realized that we have about two thirds of our staff that are going to be permanently working at home, and that there's an opportunity to think about how to build a solution for folks who are going through the same thing,” says Beth Riczko, president of personal lines P&C for Nationwide. “We’re thinking about customer journeys, being member-centric and use the product and digital assets of the organization to meet those customers where they are going.”

In April, Nationwide started developing a work-from-home bundle of homeowners, auto, and identity theft coverage. The bundle is available online-only -- with the goal of capitalizing on increased digital comfort among post-pandemic professionals -- and also is tailored to the needs of that group.

While homeowners coverage contains many standard coverages, the auto insurance component is membership in Nationwide’s behavioral-based usage-based insurance product, SmartRide, and it also includes identity theft coverage reflecting a larger digital footprint among workers at home. Riczko says that the experiences associates had when they switched to work-at-home informed the decision to include the identity component.

“We saw a lot of people last year who were victims of identity theft, in Ohio, related to unemployment claims,” she says. “When you meet people who've had their identity stolen. You start to realize, ‘I need to make sure I've got that coverage.’”

Nationwide also offers a per-mile UBI program, SmartMiles, which customers can convert to if they want, but the onboarding process for SmartRide is a little easier at the moment while still providing savings for the cohort.

“It's really about creating the bundle to make it fast and easy for somebody to get a quote,” Riczko says. “As digital and direct capabilities have evolved in personal lines, the ability to customize packages and bundles of coverage that match the consumer's needs at a point in time and deliver them in a timely manner has been made possible by technology.”