Markel

Sachin Rustagi

Insurtech Transformation Leader

The Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance industry, like many other industries, has undergone a significant focus on digitalization and customer experience (CX) in recent years. This shift has been driven by several factors, including the exponential growth in the use of digital technologies by customers as well as the need for insurance professionals and companies to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.

In the world of P&C insurance—especially in mid to large commercial and areas of specialty insurance, it's important to note that working with broker (B2B2C) partners is typically the core distribution channel. This can make the journey of digital experience more nuanced and complex, presenting both challenges and opportunities.

B2B2C as An Opportunity

When building a digital experience (DX) that enables effectiveness with broker partners, Insurers can also use this time to significantly improve the experience of the insured. For example, many digital broker portal business-to-business (B2B) platforms can allow broker partners to quote and bind business directly for, or with the end customer. The opportunity arises by extending such portals in becoming more of a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) platform that can also provide white-label solutions and extended sales & service functionality. This allows end-customers to make basic changes to their policy (e.g., endorsements) as well as download their policy details and other documents (e.g., declaration page). In doing so, not only does the digital experience of the broker partners increase, but also that of the end customer, or insured.

Digital Experience Can Impact Internal Users

In terms of how DX strategies and actions are treated internally, we often see digital leaders focus on outward and downstream initiatives. This leaves another opportunity to increase focus on inward and upstream initiatives that can positively impact internal operation teams and workflows. Important business functions such as underwriting who are required to evaluate and approve new business can be dragged down by legacy systems and out-of-date workflows. By introducing digitally enabled workflows to your B2B2C digital platform, it can empower your end users to transact much more easily and faster with real-time communication and automated triage capabilities.

From Service to Sales

As a multi-national and performance-focused company, Markel Canada International treats digital experience not only as a tool for operational efficiency, but also to grow distribution. One of the primary benefits of a strong digital experience for P&C insurance companies is the ability to acquire and onboard new customers more effectively. With the widespread use of digital platforms and mobile devices, customers now expect to be able to access information and complete transactions quickly and easily. By providing a digital experience that is optimized for web-based or mobile devices, P&C insurance companies can ensure that they are reaching their prospective customers where they are and providing the convenience that they have come to expect.

In the world of P&C insurance—especially in mid to large commercial and areas of specialty insurance, it's important to note that working with broker (B2B2C) partners is typically the core distribution channel.

In addition to reaching customers, digital technologies also allow P&C insurance companies to streamline internal processes and improve efficiency. For example, digital claims processing can significantly reduce the time it takes to process a claim, allowing your company to better serve its customers and improve customer satisfaction. Digital technologies also help insurance companies more effectively manage and analyze data, which can greatly accelerate and sometimes automate the underwriting of small businesses and simplify risks.

The importance of digital experience can be seen from the scenario where a customer can quote, bind, and issue their insurance policy online and even fully process their claim digitally, including the first notice of loss (FNOL). With the integration of advanced technologies like AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), P&C insurance companies are now able to provide enhanced customer service, which will help meet the needs of the modernized and digital insurance customer.

Key Technology Functions

Some key technologies that P&C insurance companies are using to improve their digital experience include:

 • Mobile & Web (+API) optimization: More customers are using web-based or mobile devices to access information and complete transactions. To provide a great digital experience, P&C insurance companies need to ensure that their websites and applications are fully optimized. This can also include using API frameworks to accelerate digital connectivity and help expand embedded insurance opportunities.

 • Customer relationship management (CRM) system: Enterprise CRMs can help store and manage customer data, track customer interactions, and automate marketing and sales processes. This helps marketing, sales, and distribution teams to not only service their insureds better with relevant and timely information regarding their policy or risk, but also empower their broker and agent partners in real time with personalized data and trends.

 • Cloud-based systems: Cloud-based systems can help P&C insurers scale their digital infrastructure more easily and reduce capital IT costs. By moving their systems to the cloud, insurance companies can also make them more accessible to employees and customers, allowing them to access information and complete transactions from anywhere/remotely.

 • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): AI and ML can help insurance carriers automate processes and make better use of the data they already have access to. By using these technologies, they can improve the speed and accuracy of claims processing, sophisticated pricing, and personalized rating, better predict risk, and provide service chatbots.

By adopting some or all of these technologies and strategies, insurance companies can look to improve the digital experience they offer to customers and gain a more competitive advantage in the marketplace.