![\"\"](\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2014\/01\/Sigma-graph.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIn order to boost customer engagement and encourage buying behaviour, Swiss Re gave a number of recommendations to the insurance industry:<\/p>\n
Simplify and innovate product design<\/strong><\/p>\nProduct simplicity and transparency are key desirables for consumers, said Swiss Re. The reinsurer suggested insurers consider offering simple, transparent products, tailored for every stage of the consumer lifecycle.<\/p>\n
One of the other issues facing the Australian market is the proliferation of add-on features and options, which Swiss Re said have sometimes been created without the insurer first having ascertained whether customers are willing to bear the associated costs, or even that they see any value in the different options. The reinsurer recommended further analysis of product design to determine the appropriateness of the benefits available and consumers\u2019 willingness to pay.<\/p>\n
Product simplicity and transparency are key desirables for consumers<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
To overcome one of the obstacles in the buying process – a drawn-out application timeline – Swiss Re advocated for a greater use of electronic underwriting and sophisticated behind-the-scenes, predictive technology.<\/p>\n
Improve communication and customer education<\/strong><\/p>\nA regularly cited barrier to the take up of insurance is a lack of education or understanding of the products available. Swiss Re suggested using simpler language within contracts, and promoting the value of insurance through claims case studies to improve consumers\u2019 ability to self-educate.<\/p>\n
The reinsurer also recommended collective, coordinated communication and education programs to inform people about the role and importance of financial planning, life insurance, and risk mitigation. \u2018Education in schools and at the workplace could improve financial literacy and thereby empower individuals in their decision making with respect to life events\u2019 Swiss Re said in its report.<\/p>\n
Innovation with distribution platforms<\/strong><\/p>\nSwiss Re argued that with the growth of the internet and mobile technology, the buying process will become increasingly two-staged: \u2018First consumers will gather information about products, prices and brands from online comparison websites and their peers. Then they will make the purchase face-to-face with a sales representative of an insurance company, a broker or adviser, or a bank.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Moreover,\u2019 the reinsurer said, \u2018life companies will be benchmarked against their competitors in social media and on comparison sites. This will increase competition and put companies with large sales divisions or expensive remuneration agreements with brokers under pressure. As a result, sales staff will increasingly be challenged to justify their value added. At the same time, the multichannel distribution model will gain in importance.\u2019<\/p>\n
Improve long-term relationships<\/strong><\/p>\nAccording to Swiss Re, social media will likely play an important role in improving long-term relationships between insurers and their customers. \u2018Good ratings and many \u201clikes\u201d not only help to attract new consumers, they also help to retain clients,\u2019 the reinsurer said.<\/p>\n
…life companies will be benchmarked against their competitors in social media<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Insurers would also benefit from engaging customers more regularly, for example, at particular trigger points in the consumer lifecycle.<\/p>\n
In addition, Swiss Re argued that there was plenty of room for product innovation that fostered loyalty, including value-adds which go beyond the traditional premium payment in return for a policy approach.<\/p>\n
Close the consumer knowledge gap<\/strong><\/p>\nFinally, Swiss Re said that there was a significant opportunity globally for insurers to become more in touch with their customers. This could be achieved by utilising existing data to identify life stage triggers and patterns in insurance buying.<\/p>\n
More research is also required to determine why consumers do, or don\u2019t consider buying life insurance. Swiss Re used behavioural economics to analyse trends for its report, and recommended this approach to insurers as a way to identify and eliminate key obstacles in the buying process.<\/p>\n
To view a copy of the full report, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The life insurance industry needs to move away from the \u2018insurance is sold not bought\u2019 approach if it is to succeed in the new world of the consumer, Swiss Re has advised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-general","headers-new"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}