Claims of Innovation Ring True
Insurance Networking News, February 1, 2010
At a time when technology continues to progress at a nearly exponential rate, it's relatively common to hear the word "innovation" bandied about. Whether extolling the virtues of the latest version of a product or lauding the hottest corporate strategy or marketing campaign, there's always at least some minor upgrade, feature or tactical tweak worthy of note. But sometimes an innovation goes beyond the "nice-to-have" and delivers a real "wow" factor. In the case of Esurance and its online self-service claims experience, it definitely falls into the latter category, which is why the company was voted runner up in Insurance Networking News' 2009 INNovators awards.
Seeking to revolutionize its online claims self-service offerings, the San Francisco-based online auto insurer devised a plan to develop a customer experience that wasn't fraught with the same tedious trappings as its competitors - static forms, lack of branding and no additional services offered to the policyholder. On their end, they wished to rid themselves of rudimentary data capture, significant re-keying, manual handoffs and lack of assignments.
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To this end, the insurer's claims and technology departments sat down together to brainstorm about what could be done. Eventually, they reached a consensus on enhancing the online claims experience so it would at least mirror, if not surpass, the level of service provided by their already successful call center, all while further refining the process.
"The idea was that Esurance customers are extremely Web-savvy," says Chris Holcombe, the company's claims self service manager and project manager for this enhancement, "and that they do everything online without ever needing to pick up the phone, despite having the option to do so. But at the time, there was simply a manual, one-page form that provided very little to them - both in terms of the customer experience, and from us from an efficiency standpoint. So, we felt that we could absorb more first-notice-of-loss (FNOL) claims online as opposed to having them call in, all the while providing that same level of service as the call center but with an online application."
It was at this time that Esurance turned to Innovation Group, Newton, Mass., for help with implementing their new plan. Esurance chose the services and solutions provider for its FNOL technology, which is embedded in the Web site design, and allows Esurance to maintain a consistent experience across its entire Web site. Innovation Group's solution provides flexibility for a range of different customer interactions due to its business rules capabilities, scripting engine and its ability to integrate with third parties. For example, Chicago-based CCC Information Services Inc., was also synergized with the insurer's loss reporting unit application, as well as Esurance's own E-star repair network.
"Their mentality was, 'Let's not just build something that will be a placeholder for 24 months until the insurance industry catches up with other vertical markets where self-service expectations are very high, like they are with Amazon.com,' says Greg Powers, Innovation Group's CMO and VP of sales. "'Let's do it right the first time.'"
Once all the technology was in place, Holcombe worked with the marketing group to develop the front-end look and feel of the Web site. In the end, the entire process - from the loss reporting unit application to the online application - took two years to get up and running.
ROADBLOCKS
As with any project of this magnitude, there were numerous impediments along the way. In addition to the usual worries about project management, getting buy-in from all parties involved, timelines, delivery dates and ensuring constructive communication, the biggest concern, according to Powers, was devising a customer experience that would satisfy the masses. He says the tolerance level of policyholders reporting a claim online is lower than it would be through an alternative channel, such as a call center. With call centers, he says, people are more apt to remain on the phone longer to answer questions about their claims. So they asked: How do you combine outstanding customer experience with a certain level of brevity?
"Because of the conditional reflexive questioning in the application, we've done it really well," Powers says. "Depending on their answers to specific questions, the business logic will suppress any seemingly non-relevant questions. This way, we can tailor the process so we capture just the right amount of data while still providing that 'wow' experience, and it doesn't have to take 30 minutes."
Another challenge, according to Powers, was usability. Because Esurance was introducing first-of-a-kind functionality, they wanted to ensure the system would be intuitive enough so that first-time users could utilize it without any outside support.
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