Digitisation should benefit everyone in insurance industry

© Julien Eichinger – za.fotolia.com

Rhys Collins, head of African Operations at SSP, says a step-by-step approach enables insurers to retain the strengths gained from years of operating experience whilst moving to an integrated end-to-end digital model.

"Being digital is as much a matter of culture and vision as it is technology adoption. With an incremental approach focused on achieving the highest value wins first, it is easier to think digital and become digital for the benefit of everyone in the business, including customers, prospects, employees and shareholders," explains Collins.

Many South African insurers have already added some digital capabilities; however, in many cases this digital experience is only skin deep. Beneath the surface of the digital customer processes, the core back end systems are made up of legacy platforms that are creaking at the seams and struggling to keep up.

Model needs change

"The business model needs to change in order to support end-to-end digital transactions so that the customer gets consistent service across all touch points, but attempting to make this change at once is cumbersome and practically impossible. An incremental approach that sees the redesign of each process will eventually create a holistic digital experience," says Collins.

The variety of devices and channels that customers now use is expanding, a challenge insurers can overcome by ensuring their digital channels function across all devices. Recent InMobi research illustrates that mobile penetration in South Africa is 128% (this accounts for users with one or more mobile devices including tablets), with an average 114 minutes per day spent online. Smartphone and tablet usage is growing by an estimated 20% per annum and the internet is accessed more frequently from a mobile device than a PC.

Not surprisingly, PwC research identifies that mobile technology will have a major impact on the South African insurance industry over the next three years; however, at this time, slow broadband is recognised as a limiting factor for the application of mobile technology in sales and claims processing.

Consumers' demands

"All the research points to a real need for insurance businesses to go beyond reviewing and updating traditional customer journey processes," comments Collins. "PwC's Insurance 2020 report illustrated that consumers are increasingly demanding simplicity, transparency and speed in their transactions."

The relentless march of online and mobile technology is continuing to fuel this change in customer expectations, and through ubiquitous digital access and the development of social networks, insurers are able to transfer some of the power from themselves to the consumers.

Collins says the key to digitisation is to map out what you want the digital customer journey to look like, and to then review this against the existing platforms in the business and identify how they need to evolve to support being digital. The important factor will be establishing which elements of the business's processes will drive most value in the shortest time scale.