With the artificial intelligence (AI) technology that exists today, an AI-enabled single view of the customer provides insurers with an opportunity to improve the customer experience. In the previous blog article “The Importance of Having a Single View of Your Customer in 2019,” we discussed a few of ways this can be accomplished.
By injecting AI technologies such as sentiment analytics, machine learning, and predictive analytics within a single view of your customers, it is now possible to understand how your customer is feeling today and how they may feel in the future.
Knowing Your Customer Now and in the Future
Artificial Intelligence technology provides the ability to have an accurate view of how your customer is feeling today, as well as how they may feel in the future.
With the addition of sentiment analytics, machine learning, and predictive analytics, you now can understand:
#1 How the customer is feeling at present
#2 How the customer may change in the future
#3 How the customer’s behavior compares to others within the industry
All of this is possible with the existing customer interaction data your organization has today from the customer’s journey from point-of-sale through renewal.
Implicit + Explicit Data = The Total Picture
Artificial intelligence technology makes it possible to leverage implicit feedback in addition to explicit feedback to develop an accurate understanding of how your customers are feeling on an on-going basis.
By combining both implicit and explicit customer interaction data, you have an accurate view of 100% of your customers as opposed to the 8 – 10% of customers that take the time to complete a survey.
You may have said to yourself, “a large amount of data is required for this approach to work, and that's going to be a challenge.” In the past, that may have well been the case. Today, an AI-enabled single view of the customer doesn't require mountains of data. Technology has evolved to the point where you don't need "all" of the data, only the data you require.
How is the Customer Feeling Today?
Having a good understanding of how a customer may be feeling based on their recent customer interactions is made possible by using sentiment analytics. Customers want to feel appreciated and valued when they make contact, and they don’t want to have to repeat prior conversations every time they speak with their insurer.
Take the example of a Carlos, a policyholder who was recently married and added a driver to his auto policy and purchased a renter’s policy. Carlos received excellent service from his insurance carrier.
Based on Carlos’ past interaction with the insurer and his recent positive experience, the sentiment score of this policyholder is high and presents an opportunity for the insurer to cross-sell additional lines. Since Carlos was recently married, there are multiple cross-sell opportunities such as a personal articles policy for the wedding ring or the addition of a second vehicle for his wife, leading to a multi-car discount (MCD). It would be important to maintain contact as there could be the possibility for a future homeowner’s policy (bundled credit) and/or a personal umbrella policy.
How Might the Customer Feel Tomorrow?
Predicting how the customer may feel tomorrow can impact retention and presents an opportunity for insurers to be proactive.
Retention is especially crucial for policyholders that have many policies or “VIP accounts” that can represent annual premiums of $300K or more. For example, a VIP account can have policies that span personal lines and commercial lines:
- Business Owners Policy (BOP)
- Commercial Fleet
- Rental properties
- Commercial Umbrella
- Personal Umbrella
- Personal Auto
Brett owns a floral shop with multiple delivery trucks, owns the building that his business is in and rents out some of his space. He has personal policies as well. With a single view of Brett, we can see the full picture of this very important account in front of us. We know this is a VIP account that needs to be handled with extra care to prevent any upset by the policyholder. This is an account that will most likely continue to grow.
Within a single view, predictive analytics can be applied to identify:
- Policies that are at risk for non-renewal
- Policies that may benefit from the addition of related coverages
- Potential opportunities for policies needed in the future
Losing a single policy within this bundle could easily lead to the loss of more policies resulting in significant revenue loss.
As described above, Brett is a VIP customer with a BOP policy that is complemented by commercial fleet and umbrella policies. There are many other complementary commercial lines policies Brett could potentially benefit from now and in the future such as:
- Workers’ Compensation
- Commercial Property
- Additional Personal Lines
- Personal Articles
Currently, Brett may have only one vehicle but could buy other personal cars to add to his collection. He may get married, have children, expand his business, or buy other recreational toys. The possibilities can be endless, so maintaining the greatest customer service is an absolute necessity.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence technologies such as sentiment analytics, machine learning, and predictive analytics are here and available. When combined with a single view of the customer, it will provide an opportunity for insurers to optimize retention as well as cross-sell opportunities. The possibilities are endless and becoming more and more main-stream. Having a single view of your customer will help you stay on top and provide excellent customer service.
Join us on May 23rd at 2:00 pm EDT for the webinar "Transforming the Customer Journey with an AI-Enabled Customer One View" for an in-depth discussion on this topic with Jackie Vergne, Director of Customer Success at Aureus.
Click on the link below to register for the webinar:
