3 Uses of Customer Service Technology in Insurance

Our last post noted how important it is to control the initial customer interaction when it comes to customer self-service over the phone. Once you’ve got control a new challenge arises, namely what do to with that control. Our advice is to wield a scalpel in your approach rather than a hammer.

Some of the nation’s largest insurance companies use Plum technology for their voice communication needs. Insurers looking to streamline customer service processes and improve contact center ROI should take a look at how other companies are already using Plum to accomplish these goals.

Scale Customer Service without Breaking the Bank

Arrowhead’s customer service process used to be completely manual and paper-based. In an effort to boost efficiency, the company invested in a self-service solution for checking the status of open claims and paying bills.

The results were immediately apparent. Less than 10% of calls ended up being fielded by agents, where that used to be the only option. The change not only allowed Arrowhead to scale their customer service operation without requiring additional personnel. At the same time average hold time for callers decreased, which meant they could easily absorb a higher call volume.

Read the whole Arrowhead case study.

Reduce the Cost of Payment Processing

One Major Insurance Company (MIC), had so many incoming calls on a daily basis that agents didn’t have the time or resources to give customers the high-touch service they expected. MIC determined what callers’ most frequent inquiries were and used Plum technology to automate access to that information.

For example, MIC discovered that agents were processing a lot of payments manually. Rather than hiring more agents or outsourcing the task, MIC automated it. Plum’s PCI-compliant communications platform ensured that customer information remained secure.

After introducing automated payment processing, MIC saw its call containment rate skyrocket. The company also realized savings on payment processing by several orders of magnitude. Rather than spending several dollars per payment processing call, automation enabled MIC to get that down to several cents per call.

Read the full MIC case study.

Take Customer Feedback to Heart

Erie Insurance is a Fortune 500 company with millions of clients. In an effort to improve the customer service of their claims division Erie launched a customer feedback initiative. Customers access the surveys via the web or over the phone.

With the new channels in place, the number of customers responding to customer service surveys increased dramatically. (The company mailed out surveys prior to the change.) With a bevy of new data, Erie was able to more accurately measure agent performance. The company also gained insight into its sales process as a result of these surveys, which led to change and improvements on that front as well.

Read the full Erie case study.

Enterprise-level insurance companies, because of their sheer size, have a need to effectively control the high volume phone calls that come with the territory. Creating a phone-based customer experience that is easy to use and efficient is a great way to build up the trust between company and customer. Part of that involves giving customers the information they want, fast. No matter what combination of self-service/live agents or in-house/outsourced voice-based customer service you have, Plum gives you the control to maximize both the cost and efficiency of those processes, all wrapped up in a great customer experience.