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It is no secret the 21st century is the digital age. Everything is expected to be at your fingertips. With a click of a mouse or touch of the screen, most people can obtain everything from groceries to medical care to even modes of transportation. Therefore, it would only make sense that people want to conduct all transactions, including legal transactions, insurance transactions, and any other service transactions with ease through digital means, never having to leave the house or the comfort of their pajamas and slippers.

As the digital age moves forward, more and more options are becoming available online for the purchase of any type of insurance product. Many people simply log in to a website, never having contact with a live human being or even knowing where a local office may exist. While this may seem ideal for many business models as well as consumers, the truth is, insurance is complicated. It requires a live person, on the other hand, to help explain issues that may arise, Yet, consumers can have the best of all worlds if your insurance company chooses to enter the digital age without leaving behind the age of customer service and satisfaction.

The Website

In today’s marketplace, insurance companies are forced to be all-encompassing. There are many Baby Boomers and Gen Xers that are purchasing all types of insurance, preferring the old-fashioned methods of meeting an agent face-to-face and conducting business through a trusted insurance broker who is available to answer questions and aid in submitting claims. However, there are just as many, if not more, Millennials who are changing the way in which people buy and utilize insurance. The website is a key component to this process.

In order to attract millennials to your website, you must follow these easy steps:

1. Create a chat function. This allows Millennials to chat with an agent online any time of day or night. The user never needs to pick up their telephone to have a conversation.
2. Offer all forms, quotes, and information through your website. Millennials do not want to email for a quote or request a form to be sent to them. They want information available at their fingertips that can be easily completed on the website and sent to the appropriate parties with the click of a button.
3. Keep your website completely up-to-date. Make sure any information and resources you make available are the most current and accurate pieces of information. Once a piece of information is proven to be outdated, millennials will typically assume that you are not able to keep up with the fast-paced world in which we live and they will move on.

Related: Getting Millennials in the Mix

There’s an App for That

Smartphones have changed the way people shop, conduct business, and communicate. Therefore, it is not enough to have a functioning website. You will only capture a small number of clients with your website. Instead, you must have a mobile-friendly website which means it’s easy to use and read if it is brought up on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. In addition, many companies have created apps to help make their user interface as mobile friendly as possible. Statistics show that 69% of consumers use a mobile device to research a product or service before they make a purchase. Of that sixty-nine percent, 93% will go on to make a purchase of a product or service based upon their mobile research.

These statistics show that any insurance company not operating a mobile-friendly website that offers ease of use, and a responsive customer service is losing a large sum of business. Not being accessible through mobile websites and apps means that the insurance company is losing potentially millions of dollars of business. Furthermore, over 87% of insurance companies receive the majority of their business through current and previous client referrals.

Offering an app for your policyholders is fairly easy in today’s technologically advanced world. For ease of use, it is beneficial to ensure your app has the following interfaces:

1. Make sure your app offers a chat feature. If a prospect is looking to work with you, they may have questions and wish to chat with you immediately.
2. Make sure clients can submit a claim through the app, inclusive of photos and any other necessary documentation.
3. Ensure that a quote and application for insurance can be submitted through the app. Do not make anything inaccessible wherein the prospect or client needs to go to the desktop website or pick up the phone. This will decrease your profitability.

Additional Electronic Services

To round out the need for electronic services, insurance companies are finding a need to offer as many electronic services as possible. These include items like the ability to upload any necessary documentation as well as providing the ability for e-signatures for service and contracts.

The fact is, many companies that require customer signatures and legal documents provide these services as accepted by their perspective industries. Mortgage companies allow for docu-sign documents to be used as legal signatures. Banks are following in those footsteps as well. Many legal entities prefer upload of documents through secure websites to make it easier to collect and store and harder to lose imperative paperwork. All of these services are typically expected by Millennials and younger, computer savvy clients, to help make their lives and the process easier. The easier it is to do business with a company, the more likely the company will be on the list of referrals for others.

Being easily accessible online and through mobile apps is a guaranteed way to grow your insurance business and make yourself ready for business in the digital age. Agentero is here to help.

Independent insurance agents use Agentero to boost their revenue, save time, and deliver a superior customer experience. We integrate with your current technology to modernize your operations and position you for growth. Check out our website to learn more.

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