The findings of a recent Accenture consumer survey neatly sum up the growth challenge facing insurers:
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26 percent of customers say they have no loyalty to their insurance providers
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Up to 32 percent say they are likely to stop doing business with at least one of their insurance providers “in the next 12 months”
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26 percent would definitely shop around for better deals
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75 percent believe there is no significant difference in the products and services offered by insurance companies
Clearly, an alternative approach is needed, one that meets the growing demands of customers, positions the carrier prominently within a poorly differentiated marketplace, and allows it to command a premium for its products.
This approach is characterized by a move from conventional product centricity toward customer-centricity. It entails much more than a change in mindset, though, and the majority of insurers are constrained from adopting it because their operating model, technology, infrastructure and people are aligned with their product portfolio rather than with their customers.
A carefully crafted strategy is needed to provide the differentiated, tailored experience which is the defining feature of customer-centricity. The first step in this process is to decide what this special experience should consist of.
To gain a better understanding of how customer attitudes, expectations and behavior with regard to insurance have changed—the kinds of experience they are seeking today—Accenture recently commissioned an extensive worldwide survey. And to learn how insurers are responding to these changes, we undertook a separate survey of more than 100 C-level insurance executives.
Together, the findings reveal an industry in the process of reinventing itself.
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