Automation is a growing trend within the insurance industry and some advisers might feel that this could replace their role. In fact, automation will only aid the adviser, allowing them to deliver a more personalised service.
Nowadays, many people are looking for the quick wins in all aspects of life. Anything that can speed up the process is seen as a positive and companies are fighting to meet that customer need.
One way to make any process faster is to add automation. For example, when filling out a form online, many websites will ‘auto-fill’ fields based on information you’ve previously entered, such as your address, based on just your postcode.
Over the last few years in insurance, we have seen automation being more widely adopted with third-party data being used to complete large parts of the process. What was once a tedious and drawn out process is becoming more streamlined and efficient.
Often, insurance is seen as a necessity, but not a priority and people aren’t willing to take the time to understand the requirements, instead opting for the fastest and cheapest route. If it’s easier for people to self-service their own needs, some advisers may be concerned that there won’t be a demand for their business any more. However, this certainly isn’t the case!
Advice hasn’t lost its appeal
In a recent survey, conducted by Source, almost 40% of respondents said that broker advice is within their top five priorities when selecting an insurance policy. So, although our perception is that customers like to take ownership of sourcing their own insurance, they still value the input of an expert and would prefer to receive guidance.
To the layman, insurance can be a minefield. There is a lot of terminology (often deemed ‘jargon’) and understanding what cover limits are required can easily confuse people, particularly first time buyers. This is where your expertise is needed.
Your client could complete their own application, but they’d actually likely spend more time trying to determine what cover they need. Automation might help reduce the number of fields they’re required to input, but it won’t explain what excesses they should volunteer, what levels of cover they need or what policy is right for them. You can help guide them through the application process, using your industry knowledge and experience to aid their understanding and answer their questions. Having an expert on side will put their mind at ease that they’ve chosen the right policy for their needs and provide confidence that their home is fully protected, should the worst happen.
Automation with Source
With the aim of keeping pace with advancing technologies and fulfilling customer expectations, we recently added property data auto-population to the quote journey. Our latest update will automatically pull through data from multiple verified sources, so you and your client don’t need to spend time searching for the (sometimes) tricky property information, such as year of build and property type, allowing you more time to get to know your clients and learn their needs.
This is just one of many updates happening over the coming months, in an effort to make the journey simpler and smoother, enabling you to build stronger relationships with your clients and in turn, gain more business.
If you’d like to learn more about working with Source and the ways they can support your business, contact your regional sales manager today https://www.thesource.co.uk/contact-us
Lee Denton is associate sales director at Source Insurance