The insurance industry has met significant disruptors in recent years. Advances in technology and the migration to a digital landscape have changed the sale and management of insurance products. Significant trends include customized policies, a shift to online purchasing, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence — all of which aim to enhance the customer experience. To remain competitive, each company must find innovative ways to engage clients, including the use of virtual assistant for insurance agency customer service.

This article covers the top five trends to watch in 2024, equipping your agency to thrive in the digital age.

1. Customer-Centric Distribution Models

Advances in technology have produced a more educated, informed consumer. To satisfy increased demands from these more sophisticated clients, insurers must become more customer-centric. 

Changes to Insurance Distribution

Digitization of the insurance landscape is causing a strategic shift regarding insurance distribution. Brokers and agents are no longer the sole point of customer contact for sales and claims. Technology is being harnessed to distribute the sales and claims adjustment processes across digital platforms, creating an increasingly immersive and customizable experience.

Typical Customer Experiences

The typical customer experience across most industries includes high-quality products and services that are simple and easy to access. The public has become accustomed to contacting businesses via a quick interaction from multiple device options and receiving real-time, personalized responses to their inquiries.

Innovative Ways to Enhance Customer Service

To meet the expectations of customers in the current environment, insurance companies must provide opportunities to serve their needs through multiple channels. They must also obtain a 360-degree view of customer needs while maintaining a higher level of visibility and support across all products and stages. A virtual assistant for the insurance agency is a high-tech solution to this issue.

2. Digital Convenience

Increased public comfort with digital platforms through multiple media has provided the insurance industry with the opportunity to improve the level of customer convenience.

Digitizing Purchases

Consumers have demonstrated an improved comfort level in purchasing insurance through digital media. They are increasingly adept at using technology to gather information before solidifying their insurance purchase, but many transactions that begin through online channels funnel into a personal interaction before the sale is complete.

Digital Intake and Applications

To harness this shift in consumer behavior, insurance agencies should construct a strategy for digital customer acquisition, utilizing leads from a balance of SEO campaigns, aggregators, and traditional channels of advertising or referrals. The virtual assistant for insurance agencies provides an excellent bridge by collecting needed data through automated channels.

Customer-Friendly and Safe Interactions

Brokers should utilize technology in the onboarding and servicing aspects of their customer relationships, including workflow solutions for entering data and processing claims. To maintain positive relationships, ease and safety must characterize these processes.

3. Technology Innovations

Advancements in technology have impacted the insurance process from top to bottom. As innovation grows in sophistication and capability, customers can expect to experience more high-tech resources, such as virtual customer service representatives (CSRs). These CSRs improve the ease and quality of customer interactions with insurance agencies.

Optimized Customer Service

Self-service options are providing increased convenience to insurance customers. Self-service portals automate sales, claims management, accounting, and other critical functions.

Operational Efficiencies

In addition to self-service touchpoints, straight-through processing (STP) helps with faster insurance transactions through electronic transfers. The automation of invoice processing and employee onboarding through a virtual CSR helps with operational efficiencies.

4. Back-Office Process Enhancements

Insurance agencies are increasingly focusing on improvements to back-office systems. Virtual CSRs can help in this regard, supplementing the human workforce, digitizing repetitive tasks, and providing back-office support. Your team can spend less time on day-to-day operations and more time on client-facing services and new business generation.

A recent survey revealed that 30% of U.S. insurance firms review their back-office processes at least twice yearly. While legacy technology has created a burden that is expensive to remedy, insurance agencies are investing in technology to streamline claims and administrative tasks. A virtual assistant is increasingly responsible for collecting data to improve middle- and back-office operations.

5. Personalization

The increasing use of virtual CSRs in the insurance industry is improving opportunities to personalize the customer experience. Virtual assistants for insurance agencies collect customer data through multiple touchpoints and utilize the results to improve personalization in the following ways.

• Predictive recommendations to improve risk analysis and accuracy of pricing decisions
• Tailored communication to improve personalized messaging across a large and diverse customer base
• Personalized coverage options based on individual consumer data to improve customized customer experiences

Capitalize on Emerging Trends With Virtual Assistant For Your Insurance Agency

As customers become more accustomed to the ease and convenience of technology in multiple areas of their lives, change-resistant industries like insurance will need to adapt to survive. Emphasis on customer service is becoming more critical. The diverse skill sets of virtual CSRs will continue to play a crucial role in navigating the changing insurance industry landscape.