赢中小型商业保险市场

Traditional products on the shelves do not solve forcurrent customer needs. An innovative customer-focused mindset needs to be brought to the tablewhen developing new, innovative SMB products.Carriers need to provide simple translations ofinsurance products to customer interactions. Smallbusiness buyers act more like personal lines customersthan middle market customers in their desire forpersonal relationships and emotional connections.Creating these connections and truly understandingcustomer needs allows carriers to create sticky andeffectiveproducts.5. Streamline the digital journeyEvery carrier is on their own digital journey and the focuson customer experience has surpassed product andbrand as differentiators. Unfortunately, carriers are stillbuilding this capability and the work in progress is slow.If carriers pause their systems capabilities (which worksin traditional agent-facing “9 to 5” models) for regularmaintenance after hours and over weekends, they loseout on a big majority of the direct submissions — asmost SMB customers shop 24/7. Being able to providea robust digital experience relies heavily on utilizingstraight-through processing (STP). Today, STP rates arestill low, meaning human touchpoints are still neededand present in most transactions due to legacy systemsand processes. This results in a clunky experience forboth the customer and carrier. The more streamlinedthe digital journey becomes the more of a competitiveadvantage the carrier willgain.6. Improve the customer experienceThe number of intermediaries in commercial insurancecomplicates both the buying process and the revenuemodel. Customers simply do not possess the confidenceor the proper information to always make well-informeddecisions. Some still prefer face-to-face interactions whilebuying because they don’t have the broader information,experience or tools. They are looking for advice in whatis currently a complicated process and want a personalconnection that they can trust when making decisionsfor their business. Simplifying the value chain, reducingThe small and medium market offers carriers profitable opportunities andalso supports corporate socialresponsibility 2. Customize your approach —no one-size fits allSmall business is not one segment, it is hundreds ofsegments put together. Streamlining the experienceand designing products for one segment (for examplecontracting) is not going to solve for issues in theretail segment. Solving for small business is a complexendeavor and requires a customized approach. Carriersoften create products that feel like they are one sizefits all, but that is simply not the case. For example,a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) is designed to fit themasses — meaning they fit veryfew.3. Retro-fit products do not meet SMBmarket demandsThere have been half-hearted attempts at productdevelopment to solve for actual gaps in the market, allmostly coming up short. Most products are constructedfrom a retrospective lens (for example, loss costsare classified by SIC codes — standard industrialclassification), and prior loss experience in middlemarket. Some create new endorsements for additionalcoverages needed (for example, food spoilage for agrocery store) but most do not, leaving the policyholderwith protectiongaps.Pivoting to the future, insurers must develop productsintertwined with the DNA of small and medium-sizedbusinesses (SMB) rather than the middle market.Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) is a prime example of alarge risk product being watered down to fit the needsof SMB insureds. Dozens of rating variables and non-related questions often leaves insureds heavily overorunder-insured, confused, andfrustrated.4.Develop new products with a customerfirst mindsetThe SMB customer profile is unique and different frommiddle market customers. Small business ownerstypically have less than three years to generate aprofitable business and are more likely to go out ofbusiness than to file a claim. Most SMBs have lessthan fiveemployees.Oliver Wyman – A business of Marsh McLennan aggregators, marketplaces, and price comparisonwebsites. So, the consideration to solve becomes howcarriers can deliver a personalized experience thatmaximizes value for customers through technology —without breaking thebank.9. Fuel data capabilitiesThird-party data when used correctly, fuels new productdevelopment, offers price transparency, improvespass-through rates, and enables customer selectionandretention.When identifying and solving for data needs in thissegment, carriers need to take a holistic view. Carriersshould invest more in capturing data across theirmultiple underwriting platforms, reporting dashboards,claims databases — with the ability to seamlesslyintegrate data with third-party datasources.Availability in the small commercial sector is lowgiven the nature of churn in the segment. Even aftertriangulating multiple data sets across the vendoruniverse, carriers often find match rates to be lessthan desirable. Almost all th