As technology evolves, customer expectations rise with it. Traditional business hours can hamstring an insurance organization, especially if their competition offers 24/7 customer support. While most organizations can’t afford around-the-clock customer service agents, offering text and chat support is an affordable alternative.
Here are a few ways text and chat support improve the customer’s experience:
- Availability when customers need it most. Accidents and losses can happen at any time, with many occurring outside the typical nine to five operating hours. Most insurance customers want to start the first notice of loss (FNOL) process right after the incident occurs. If the insured has to wait the entire weekend to begin their claim, they’ll be in a state of high stress and agitation by the time they reach an agent. Offering text and chat support allows the customer to start the claim process, receive answers for their coverage and policy questions, and keep them up to date on their claim as it progresses.
- Less frustration. Customers hate calling customer service and encountering a pre-programmed phone tree. When customers experience a loss, they don’t want to navigate a convoluted voice response system to reach their destination. While text and chat services operate in a similar routing method, they can react to customer responses. Whether answering questions about policies, offering solutions based on historical data, or asking for clarification, text and chat services aren’t limited to the rigid structure of a phone tree.
- Better information intake. Filling out a long form is the last thing a customer wants to do after experiencing a loss. Text and chat support can ask questions to obtain the information necessary to start the claim. Answering one question at a time is less daunting than a form littered with fields. These services can even autofill known answers, such as the insured’s name and address, to save time.
- Superior service. Text and chat support help expedite the claim process, but they can improve the customer experience in other ways too. Insureds don’t know the nuances of the industry and may have coverage gaps without knowing it. Text and chat services can answer their questions about policy and coverage options while also making recommendations for compatible products. For example, many insureds don’t realize their homeowners’ or renters’ insurance doesn’t cover expensive items like engagement rings. If a customer asks about adding a spouse to their policy, text and chat support can inquire about their valuable personal property as well to ensure they have the coverage they need.
Text and chat services are transforming how insurance companies interact with their customers. Providing these additional communication channels eliminates pain points and provides a better customer experience. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about implementing text and chat services.