Driving change: the future of customer service in car insurance

The car insurance industry, like many others, is changing—quickly. With the rise of telematics-based insurance models, the way consumers approach and have relationships with their insurers is evolving just as quickly.

Telematics utilizes advanced technology such as sensors and certain data collection devices to gather real-time information about a driver’s behavior, vehicle health and location. With a wealth of data, telematics-based car insurance companies can be better equipped to deliver a new level of personalized (and proactive) customer care—evolving from the traditional insurance experience. 

As telematics-based insurance reshapes the customer experience from a reactive process to a more proactive one, we want to understand how insurers can best navigate this new landscape. 

With help from our HiRoad Customer Care leadership team, we’ll dive into the world of telematics-based car insurance and highlight the pivotal role customer care plays in ensuring a smooth and rewarding journey for every customer.

The value of customer care in car insurance

Take a quick moment and think about the last time you searched for a new restaurant, hotel, car model or car insurance provider. What’s the one thing you’re interested in? Here’s a hint: it is usually accompanied by stars. 

That’s right—reviews. Reviews are everywhere and they can make or break your desire to give a business, well, your business. And in most cases, when you search for car insurance reviews, you’ll likely see a running theme of customer service.

For many businesses, including car insurance, the customer service experience is an integral part of its success. Over the years, the expectations of customers (like you) have evolved. With telematics and usage-based car insurance, policyholders may be seeking more than just basic dial-option phone calls. You may be seeking transparency, fairness and engagement from their insurers, emphasizing the importance of exceptional customer care. 

Loyalty is everything in the insurance space. With personalized attention, quick issue resolution and proactive communication, insurers can foster a sense of loyalty that extends beyond transactions. 

Empowering customers through technology

The age of digitalization. Where would we be without it? Technology plays an integral role in our day-to-day lives from how we access news to how we interact with businesses. For car insurance companies, communications tech has introduced tools such as chatbots and automated interactions. 

Technology and automation can be considered an opportunity for insurers. It’s an opportunity to help customers and customer care teams with simple tasks or questions like “what’s my bill this month?” This allows teams to develop and devote time to more complex and personal one-on-one interactions with the customer.

“It [technology integrations] have to be done right. If it’s not, it’s a frustrating experience for the customer—so there’s a fine balance between efficiency and service.”

– HiRoad Customer Care

As a customer, you want answers quickly to your questions. It’s natural to feel that way. But you also want the

right answers and to be directed to the right place. So between an insurer and customer, striking the right balance can be a constant challenge.

For an insurer and its customer care team, it’s important to realize that as advanced as technology can be, there needs to be human interaction. While it might be simpler to rely on automation to take care of customers' needs, the overall customer experience shouldn't suffer for that convenience.

Meeting customers at the channel of their choice is crucial. While some customers prefer communicating with customer care in chat, others prefer talking on the phone or social media. As you consider telematics-based car insurance, certain processes such as simplifying the claims procedure, policy renewals and information updates can make your experience with customer care a good one. 

Building trust and empathy

You’ve likely heard that car insurance is something that you need to have because you were told you have to have it. But you may not fully understand your policy completely until that need comes up, which can be a pain point.

Keeping an open line of communication and educating customers at the beginning is crucial for establishing trust. When you speak with your insurer, pay attention to how they address your needs, concerns and emotions during critical moments. For insurers, these are moments that are pivotal to business success and customer retention.

Customer care for insurance has the unique role to harness empathy like no other—it's everything in this industry. Empathy can be a shared experience between a representative and customer. For example, filing a claim for the first time after a car accident.

Customers aren’t alone feeling the pangs of filing a claim after an auto accident, we’re insurance customers too. “This shared experience creates a natural empathy with customers, and acknowledging it with them is important.”

The future of customer care in insurance

The future of customer care in the insurance industry is bright. As insurers implement a customer-centric culture, your needs as a customer are more readily understood. For insurers, creating a strategic feedback loop can lead to strong customer relationships.

Here’s what that kind of feedback loop looks like. 

“Customers share our frustrations, their needs and wants—which feeds directly into the business. The business is then able to act on it the best they can. Ultimately, resulting in the customer recognizing changes based on those frustrations, needs and wants.”

– HiRoad Customer Care

At HiRoad, we make it a point to incorporate a feedback loop that helps ensure our customers are listened to and heard. If you're interested in working with an insurance team that puts empathy first, we're ready for you.

The information in this article was obtained from various sources not associated with HiRoad®. While we believe it to be reliable and accurate, we do not warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information. HiRoad is not responsible for, and does not endorse or approve, either implicitly or explicitly, the content of any third party sites that might be hyperlinked from this page. The information is not intended to replace manuals, instructions or information provided by a manufacturer or the advice of a qualified professional, or to affect coverage under any applicable insurance policy. These suggestions are not a complete list of every loss control measure. HiRoad makes no guarantees of results from use of this information.