Some businesses – believe it or not – thrive through economic crises. It is estimated that 14% of companies improve in both growth and margins during downturns. The circumstances that emerged from COVID-19 are unlike anything we have seen before, and all things considered, the life insurance industry not only survived, but thrived. Beyond our bottom line, many companies like Protective Life discovered a tremendous amount throughout the pandemic about the way we approach customer relationships and how we can successfully leverage technology platforms.
The pandemic has drawn attention to why people should consider life insurance in the first place, causing intent to buy to be at an all-time high. Financial advisors are reporting that their clients are switching conversations from investment-related planning to asset protection. As an industry, it’s important we use this opportunity to strengthen the way we build and establish lifelong customer relationships.
We have a rare and valuable opportunity to drive loyalty with potential customers right now.
With global circumstances causing more customers to prioritize protection and seeing this mindset directly correlated into application growth, it is time to strengthen our emotional attachment with our customers. This doesn’t require reinventing the wheel – you can strengthen existing operations and creatively leverage an existing workforce to do so.
Consumers have historically had a very robust digital interaction with their banks, favorite retailers and even food services – but not insurance. Pre-pandemic, customers expected an Amazon-like experience, and the pressure to deliver that level of service was on. We turned our attention to building out capabilities and functions to allow our customers to interact with us in more instant, on-demand ways that allow them to be in control of their customer experience.
The pandemic heightened the importance of having remote and accessible digital applications at the ready. It forced customers who were late adopters to leverage these digital tools, since in-person or paper-based services were no longer an option.
Digital channels are not only faster but minimize the margin for error. If you send a paper form to a customer, they could easily miss a required field or forget to date it. They are taking the time to put it in an envelope and mail it, only to have it sent back to the customer. It is a slow, outdated process and can create a frustrating customer experience. Digital infrastructure can prevent mistakes, drive efficiency, and strengthen trust with our customers.
In the early days of the pandemic, people did not want to touch an unknown paper document in their mailbox – nor go to the post office to return a form. This ultimately helped drive the adoption of the digital tools we put into place over the past several years. Now, answering questions or solving problems via online chat, conducting tele-life interviews and completing digital forms are normal ways we engage with our customers.
At Protective, we invest a lot of time in figuring out what processes, interactions and tech capabilities will meet customer expectations and provide an excellent experience. We look at customer journeys to understand pain points and how to improve them for each customer. Because we had done this heavy lifting well before the pandemic, adjusting for COVID-19 was a much more seamless process and positioned us well for business continuity during these unforeseen circumstances.
The pandemic was (and remains) an opportunity to pair very strong human resources WITH technology to optimize the customer experience.
We continue to focus on innovation, technology and self-service tools customers need and expect. This includes e-signatures and online customer service, claim filing, payment and account management through multiple channels such as web, SMS, chat and phone. We expect to retain the significant upticks in adoption we’ve seen for all those capabilities. We do not foresee people returning to non-digital modes, but we afford them that choice as we believe it is important for our customers to be in control of how they interact with us.
When we started seeing fatality rates rise due to COVID-19, Protective knew supporting customers and delivering on our promises would remain our top priority. We adjusted our delivery method to meet customers where they were. Last year alone, we made 3.5 million customer phone calls, conducted 100,000 tele-life interviews and executed two million protection and retirement transactions.
We examined the data to determine expected increases in claims volume, then increased our staff levels to be able to appropriately respond. We ensured empathetic, qualified employees were available and conducted hiring and internal cross-training to maintain sufficient support for our customers. As volumes went down in other lines of business, we reallocated knowledgeable service-oriented employees to life claims. Thanks to these proactive measures, we were able to maintain the same timelines for the payout of claims as before the pandemic.
Protective focuses a lot on understanding customer expectations and innovating the way we do business to meet their needs. We know customers expect us to build a trusting relationship and create an effortless experience. They expect to reach us when and how they want. They want us to know who they are, what products they rely on and understand how to meet their personal circumstances.
Providing options for our customers, investing in these digital tools early and adjusting nimbly when circumstances drove customer adoption was crucial. Looking ahead, we can have the best of both worlds – complementing in-person communication with the efficiency and reach of virtual tools across sales, service and personal interactions.
