Insurance is a necessary part of life, and something that many people don’t like dealing with. This is largely because they feel they don’t fully understand it. But insurance companies can help themselves improve their appearance in the eyes of their customers in a variety of ways.
It really all comes down to providing a positive customer experience in insurance. And if you (and your insurance group) haven’t been considering how to create a better experience in the insurance industry, then now is the time.
Improving Customer Experience in the Insurance Industry
First things first. It’s important to note that improving customer service doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel. You probably just need to tighten a few spokes. We have put together some simple ways you can improve the customer experience in your insurance business without upending your workflows.
Check out the following ways to improve your insurance company’s customer experience.
1. Listen
Sure, this sounds like an obvious thing, but it’s more impactful than you might realize. To be clear, listening is not the same as hearing. Anyone can hear someone talking, but listening is absorbing what someone is saying. It’s respecting their point of view and situation.
When people are calling insurance companies, they likely have something important on their mind. At least, it’s important to them. It might be a routine matter for someone in the insurance industry, but for the customer, it might feel like a pressing matter.
Listening to them fully can improve their customer experience because they will feel taken care of. Some refer to this type of listening as active listening. This is the most important part of customer service in any industry. And this is especially the case in the insurance industry.
Let your customers say what they need to say, and consider all the aspects of what they’re saying. Listen to the tone of their voice, and to the amount of concern in their questions. These details play a role in understanding where your customers are coming from. And this will help you better respond to their call accordingly.
2. Organize
You likely have a plan of action in place for handling customer interactions. But, when was the last time you did a pressure check on this strategy? Again, it isn’t about reinventing the wheel. Just tightening the spokes.
When someone calls, is the same person always answering the phone? What about when emails are sent to the company? Do all emails go to one email address to be faltered and redirected? Or do emails get sent to their respective parts of the company?
Having a strategy in place is crucial. But fine tuning that strategy every once in a while is a good idea as well. Go through your plan of action and organize the workflow. See if there is room for improvement, which there usually is.
Additionally, getting input from your customers is a good idea. After all, improving customer service is only measurable by the customer’s satisfaction. Therefore, ask them what is working best about your workflow, and ask them what is working not so well.
You will be surprised how honey customers can be when asked to weigh in. They feel trusted in these situations and understand that you are trying to improve for their benefit. Therefore, find the weak spots in your workflow and better organize your system for improvements.
3. Answer
Again, it might seem obvious that you need to answer a customer’s request, but it goes beyond that. Even if your office is closed, for example, you should have someone available to answer the phone. Remember, when customers call their insurance company, it’s because they have something important on their minds.
Ease their mind by making sure the phone is answered at all hours of the day, seven days a week. This doesn’t mean that their insurance issue or question will be solved or addressed right then. But it does mean that the customer knows their issue is being handled.
And that is a much better feeling than leaving a message and hoping it was received. This is true for any type of insurance company. But, it might be even more true for health insurance customer service.
At the end of the day, when people call their insurance company, they expect someone to be on the other end.
Professional Answering Services
The three items mentioned above are simple. But more importantly, they’re efficient. They address customer expectations and can improve overall customer experiences in the insurance industry.
To take it a step further (and make it simpler), a professional answering service can satisfy all of these things. By partnering with a professional answering service company for insurance agencies, you will improve your customer experiences from the get-go.
A professional answering service will never miss a call. Regardless of the time of day or week, if a call is coming through, it will be answered. Additionally, these professionals understand how to listen to a customer. These professionals are trained to do exactly that.
And of course, you have systems in place for where calls should be directed, etc. A professional answering service won’t change this. They will adapt their services to your workflows, not the other way around. Therefore, you won’t have to add any steps to your process.
Having a professional answering service in place also frees you up both mentally and professionally. You will never be worried about your customers, for one thing, because you know they’re taken care of. You will know that every time they have a question or concerns, their call is answered.
On the other hand, you are freed up to focus on the job at hand. Without the distraction of the phone ringing, you can tackle the work that needs to be done without interruption.
Call or schedule an appointment today, and learn more about how a professional answering service can improve the customer experience in your insurance company.
