No doubt protecting customers’ sensitive and confidential information AND also providing better customer service are two important activities to insurance companies. Therefore, insurance companies could benefit from implementing a secure text messaging solution within their communications arsenal. Whether it’s health, car or homeowner’s insurance—here’s why secure texting for insurance not only protects data but also can improve customer care and ultimately save insurance companies time and money:
① Compliance with Industry Regulations
Especially if you’re a healthcare insurance company then you must comply with HIPAA, but even if you’re not its still best practice (read our whitepaper about X). End-to-end encryption keeps messages secure, user identification ensures that only the right individuals have access to message data, and message archiving is important for auditing purposes. Non-compliance can lead to serious fines, so as the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
② Provide Rapid Assistance
Instead of customers calling an 800 number and waiting minutes, even hours to speak to a customer service representative, customers can send a secure text message within seconds in case of an accident, and receive a response almost immediately that help is on the way.
③ Submit Claims
With a secure text messaging app, customers can submit claims to their insurance agent. No need to download forms from the internet, or send photos by mail. Via the app, uploading documents, pictures and forms is instantaneous AND secure.
④ Better Customer Care
Just as customers can submit information via the app, insurance companies can provide status updates about claims processing, or any other transaction. By the same token, insurance companies can also send out reminders about important events such as policy renewals or appointments scheduled, reducing the amount of missed appointments. When customers feel like they are “in the loop”, they are less likely to call customer service, and also remain with their current providers rather than look elsewhere, ultimately saving the insurance company money.
⑤ Targeted Promotions
Insurance companies can use the app to send out targeted promotions based on the customer’s data. For example, let’s say the customer’s policy is about to expire, the company can send a message with something like this: “Hi John, we’re noticing that your policy is about to expire. Would you like to meet with an insurance advisor about your policy and how we can tailor it to your needs? Respond YES to schedule an appointment.” With a text message, the threshold level is much lower because it doesn’t “demand” much of the customer, leading to a much higher response as opposed to a phone call or email.
Productivity & Collaboration Tool
Furthermore, insurance companies can use a secure text messaging solution as their intra-office communications tool. Eliminate the email inbox clutter, and encourage different departments to update each other about customer files, improving productivity and team collaboration.
It’s not that a secure texting app would replace other forms of communication between insurance agent and customer, but considering that almost 64 percent of adults in the United States own a smartphone according to the Pew Research Center, insurance companies would be providing a standard form of communication that customers would expect their insurance provider to offer. Knowing that their information is protected with a secure app, and that they can get in touch with their insurance agent at any time of day, customers are bound to be satisfied…satisfied customers leads to a 2.6 more profit than somewhat satisfied ones. That’s something to think about.