Digitization has dramatically impacted the rapidly changing environment within the life insurance industry, and the need to keep up with the pace of change is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. Conferences consistently have “insurance digitization” on agendas as a topic of discussion, and we regularly see related articles come through various news feeds. This topic is not only important for insurance carriers and their distribution channels as they seek new ways to improve efficiencies, but also for the clients they serve who are looking for an easy solution and need to be confident that they are pursuing the right source of financial protection for their families.

It may be an overused term, but the “customer experience” can and will determine if a sale is made or lost. Previously that “customer experience” was driven by eye contact, warm handshakes, and a supportive tone of voice - but in this new digital world, it is equally driven by technology that delivers a user experience that meets or exceeds customer expectations.

If you grew up a few years back like me, you are probably familiar with the TV show, The Jetsons. Think about how that show portrayed our lives 100 years into the future. It showed that we would have screens that allow us to talk to each other and watches that could do the same while measuring our health and medical conditions. There would be self-driving cars that needed no highways (well, we’re almost there). All of these things seemed crazy at the time…. but it did not take us 100 years to get there, most of these are available today!

The same is happening in our insurance marketplace - things around us are changing, quickly! That is a good thing, but if we don’t keep up, we will be left behind. When it comes to insurance and underwriting, customers don’t want to wait weeks for a policy to be placed, they want it now. Just like an Amazon order, if they do not have confidence their package will be delivered swiftly, they may opt to not purchase the items. Similarly, the industry is realizing that the customer experience needs to continue to improve. With the advancement of rapid issue, instant issue, or whatever you want to call it, a transformation is taking place in the way insurance products are being sold.

But how does an industry accomplish a consumer-centric digital transformation? We need to start by looking at how the consumer is accustomed to buying other products. They want to be in, out, and on their way. The insurance purchase process needs to replicate the advantages that other digital services provide by enabling a fully digitized experience including:

• Supporting accurate medical quotes at the point of sale.
• Automating smarter data collection and forms management.
• Providing an easy way to interact and collect information from the consumer in real-time.
• Providing “instant” decisions on underwriting for agents / consumer during the entry process.
• Providing digital delivery of any documents.
• Enabling quick and easy e-signature collection.

Companies are increasingly relying on “data” and “predictive analytics” to automate decision making at point-of-sale like never before. They are merging traditional and new data sources to gain an instant view of an applicant and avoid the need for additional, invasive requirements like lab tests or exams.

Getting there is challenging though - dealing with legacy systems, older technology, and creating a new data driven experience can be daunting. Do you buy or build? Do you work with one vendor to deliver everything, or do you work with a few that are best of breed and connect them? There is no right answer but when seeking out partners, look for those who actively work to gain an understanding of your organization and vision as well as those who have the flexibility and desire to tailor solutions to meet your unique needs.

Paperless Solutions Group (PSG), an MIB business, is here to help. Our eValuate PLUS is a flexible yet powerful tool that brings together the capabilities of PSG’s electronic application, requirements gathering, and eSignature tools combined with in-depth underwriting capabilities. By providing a complete data driven analysis on multiple products, we can help you:

• Make faster decisions. Achieve higher straight-through-processing (STP) rates to issue more policies instantly and help grow your business.
• Modernize the consumer buying experience. Dramatically shorten the application submission process and ensure an easy buying experience for your consumers.
• Seamlessly integrate with current systems/deploy faster: Save time, resources, and investment by integrating within current systems rather than replacing them.
• Find a best of breed partners to help you get there. PSG has worked with Munich Re’s Alitheia decision engine to provide a complete consumer experience with full underwriting decisions.

For more information about how MIB and Paperless Solutions can help support your digital transformation, visit https://www.mibgroup.com/solutions/paperless-solutions-group/