Insurance is a tough business – there is a lot of regulation, products have limited differentiation, and customers have many choices. On top of this customer expectations are being driven high by other industries, and insurers are expected to up their game.

The modern insurance customer expects  

• a fast response with empathy because when they need to connect with their insurer it’s generally urgent,  ‍
• simple interface with real-time updates on claims like they are tracking their food delivery,  ‍
• smooth policy purchasing journeys like they have on eCommerce apps, and  
• a personalized experience with convenience across all channels, whether digital or traditional, like a hospitality company.

In the highly competitive landscape of the insurance industry, customer experience (CX) is a critical differentiator and a key driver of success. As insurers navigate the complexities of an increasingly digital world, the significance of delivering exceptional CX has never been more pronounced.  

In 2024, the insurance sector will continue to evolve rapidly, propelled by technological innovations, changing consumer expectations, evolving industry dynamics with the growing trend of embedded insurance, and managing geopolitical uncertainties.  

Against this backdrop, understanding the importance of CX and the factors influencing it is imperative for insurers seeking to thrive in this dynamic environment. At Twimbit, we have collated the key CX trends that the Insurance industry needs to watch out for in 2024:

1. Gen AI adoption to become mainstream – Personalization & Productivity will be the focus:
While 2023 was the year of hype and interest in the promise of Generative AI, 2024 will be the year of AI adoption & pilot projects. Implementations of AI and Gen AI across different departments and functions will start to happen and AI adoption will become mainstream.  

In 2024, we expect insurers to start using AI for:  

• Hyper-personalized marketing initiatives and campaigns
• Self-service AI Chatbots that can answer questions about policy details, eligibility, and processes
• Enabling insurance agents as well as customer service agents with insights on the customer and assisting them with next-best actions and recommended responses
• Faster claims processing with quicker case handling and reviews as well as introducing automation of certain elements in the claims process
• Better risk assessment and predictive analytics to help with underwriting policies that are more personalized but also priced accurately, mitigate potential losses, and improve profitability

Many of the AI use cases from a CX perspective will be “behind the scenes” i.e. enabling the agents and making them more productive or personalizing the campaign based on user behavior. As Gen AI tools mature and confidence in them increases, we will begin to see customer-facing AI use cases gain momentum as well.  ‍

2. Bridging Digital & Contact Center - Orchestrate a Seamless Omnichannel Experience:
Insurers have traditionally struggled with good data management to be able to deliver a seamless experience across channels, especially in Asia as insurers set up separate entities in each country and have localized products to cater to the needs of their market.  

While there has been a lot of investment in digital transformation projects by insurers in Asia over the last few years, we expect more investments as insurers build their modern CX tech stack to become more customer-centric.  

We will continue to see the shift towards a more open and cloud-based CX tech stack across CRM, Contact Center, Customer Engagement, Digital Self-Service, and AI & Analytics tools allowing for easier channel and data integration and hence better personalization and customer experience for the consumer.  

With better data management and a modern CX tech stack, insurers will be able to harness the power of data analytics and automation and can personalize interactions, anticipate customer needs, and deliver a superior experience regardless of the chosen channel.

3. Delivering Empathy – Investing in the Human Touch
While the need to build a great digital experience is critical as it enables a quicker and more convenient service option for non-urgent insurance customer journeys, the Insurance sector cannot ignore or divest from the human touch needed to deliver empathy to create a superior customer experience. The insurance sector has a low frequency of customer interactions, which makes it even more critical to service each interaction with empathy.  

Having a good Employee Experience (EX) is a critical enabler for a high NPS or CSAT score for an Insurer. Investments in training the agents (both the contact center as well as the field insurance agents), enabling the agents with the right tools to better understand the customer & their issue, and optimizing the service operations to improve agent effectiveness will need to continue in 2024 to deliver great CX.  

4. Building a Strong Partner Ecosystem – Embedded Insurance:
The insurance landscape is witnessing a paradigm shift from standalone products to embedded offerings seamlessly integrated into everyday consumer journeys on mostly digital ecosystems. Insurers are forging strategic partnerships with various industries, such as automotive, healthcare, airlines, and retail/eCommerce companies, to embed insurance solutions directly into relevant products and services. This ecosystem-based approach not only expands market reach but also enhances customer engagement by embedding insurance within contexts where it adds tangible value, thus simplifying purchasing decisions and increasing coverage uptake.

Having a wider ecosystem of partners will enable insurers to have a better reach and deliver better CX, as it will make it easier for consumers to purchase insurance products as part of their journey with the partner.  

The challenges that insurers will need to address with the growing trend of embedded insurance are their ability to collect meaningful data on the consumer, be able to recommend and offer a more personalized product & experience, and support & service the products sold by the partners with the same level of contextual background that they might have about their direct customers.  

5. Building Brand Value – Focus on ESG & Customer-Centric Values:
The Twimbit CX framework includes Digital Experience, Service Experience, Employee Experience, and Brand Experience. Building & communicating the right brand values is very important to attract and retain customers.  

As societal and environmental concerns continue to gain importance, insurers are recognizing the need to align with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles and prioritize customer-centric values. By promoting sustainability, social responsibility, and transparency, insurers can differentiate their brand, build trust with customers, and attract a socially conscious consumer base. Furthermore, by placing the customer at the center of business operations, insurers can cultivate meaningful relationships, drive loyalty, and position themselves as trusted advisors in an increasingly competitive market.

The state of CX in Insurance in 2024 is characterized by innovation, collaboration, and a relentless focus on meeting evolving customer expectations. By embracing emerging technologies, investing in omnichannel strategies, prioritizing personalization, cultivating strategic partnerships, upholding customer-centric values, and orchestrating a holistic experience, insurers can navigate the complexities of the digital age and thrive in an era defined by unprecedented change.