Outsourcing insurance processes has been growing in popularity across the industry. From underwriting to claims management, nearly every part of an insurer’s back-office operations can be outsourced to a qualified team of experts without any compromise to policyholders’ experience.
Competition is heating up in the insurance space, and with it, policyholder expectations continue to evolve and shift the way insurers view their customer support teams. At the same time, insurers are seeking out ways to improve their efficiency and streamline their operations, which is where outsourcing comes into play.
As insurers look to improve their customer support functions for better policyholder satisfaction and loyalty, outsourcing this business process allows them to focus on their core activities. Plus, policyholders can receive expert levels of support from qualified customer support professionals.
The Changing Landscape of Insurance Customer Support
Consumers today are looking for a personalized experience with insurers. From customized policy options and pricing to personalized customer support interactions, policyholders don’t want insurers to take a generalized approach to their service.
In this way, customer support in the insurance industry has evolved over recent years to keep up with consumer demands. At the same time, the increasing accessibility to policyholder data makes it even easier for insurers to provide targeted and personalized support for policyholders’ unique circumstances.
Insurers don’t have the luxury of staying stagnant if they want to retain their competitive edge. In fact, 78% of consumers have backed out of a purchase due to a poor customer service experience. This should provide a warning to all insurers who have overlooked the importance of customer support to their bottom line.
Over recent years, insurers have faced rising pressure from growing competition in the space, a rapid pace of technological development, and ongoing staffing shortages. To stay efficient and competitive and essentially do more with less headcount, many insurers are turning to outsourcing customer service. This strategy also gives them a way to streamline their internal operations while still offering an excellent policyholder experience that builds loyalty and trust.
Benefits of Outsourcing Customer Support
There are numerous advantages that can come from outsourcing customer support services. From better accessibility for policyholders to lower operating costs for insurers, customer service outsourcing provides benefits for all parties.
Scalability and Flexibility
One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing customer service is that these teams offer more flexibility and scalability than an in-house team would. They can quickly scale up or down as needed to meet surges in demand, helping insurers adapt following a catastrophic event or pare down during the slower seasons.
When managing an in-house customer support team, it isn’t a quick and easy process to hire and train more representatives when demand spikes. Plus, if this is only a temporary demand surge, insurers will face elevated overhead costs to keep these staff members on board until the next spike occurs.
In many cases, dedicated customer service companies, like Covenir, will provide 24/7 support in multiple languages, making their support services even more accessible for a global policyholder base. This robust service isn’t typically something that insurers can offer with their limited internal resources.
Specialized Support for Complex Insurance Products
Another key advantage to customer service outsourcing is that it gives insurers access to specialized support. Especially for support on complex insurance products, insurers need to have skilled and qualified representatives available for policyholders to speak with regarding their coverage questions or concerns.
Offering support on intricate insurance products isn’t something that just any personnel can handle. So, if you don’t have the capacity to train and develop a specialized customer support team internally, outsourcing this process could be your best bet for ensuring an outstanding policyholder experience and building a high-performance team.
If this isn’t offered, policyholders can be left feeling frustrated when they don’t feel like they came to a satisfactory resolution. This may cause them to lose loyalty to their insurer if they feel like they weren’t able to speak with someone knowledgeable about their situation.
Cost Savings
There is a fee for outsourcing customer service. However, insurers can often realize meaningful cost savings by eliminating labor-related costs like benefits and training and the corresponding software and tools to support customer service tasks.
Plus, the fee paid for outsourced services is often less than the wages that would be paid to an internal customer support team. Outsourced providers are often able to leverage economies of scale between the various clients they serve to keep pricing reasonable yet still offer a high-value service.
Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
Outsourcing customer service can improve policyholder satisfaction and loyalty in several aspects. For one, outsourced teams typically have a greater capacity for customer support and can address policyholder needs faster than an internal team would be able to. Greater speed of service can boost satisfaction and foster policyholder loyalty to their insurer.
As we’ve mentioned, outsourced customer service teams are often highly trained and skilled for specific insurance products. This means they can offer more targeted and specific advice that can help policyholders resolve their issues effectively. In turn, this can leave policyholders more satisfied with their interaction.
Outsource Customer Service to Covenir BPO
As you can see, there are many reasons to partner with an insurance BPO like Covenir for outsourced customer support. Our team of specialized customer support agents offers knowledgeable, empathetic, and on-brand service that your policyholders have come to expect from you. We don’t just support your team; when we work together, we ARE your team.
We understand how important customer service support is to your reputation and ongoing success in the industry. Covenir can help foster your policyholder relationships to uphold your brand promise as if it were our own. Some of the highlights of our outsourced customer support service include:
- Onshore inbound and outbound service via phone, chat, or email
- Quick resolutions without transferring the policyholder
- Support in 175 languages
For more information on our customer support service and to see how Covenir could be the right fit for your needs, contact us today to get started.