The Experience Economy’s Impact on the Life Insurance Market

Introduction

In today’s hyper-competitive life insurance market, understanding what customers want and more importantly, what will capture their interest and engagement is essential for continued success. A “one size fits all” approach is no longer acceptable as different generational cohorts have very different wants and needs.

That said, what are the prerequisites to consider and understand to capture client attention and engagement? In this week’s blog, we will examine the “Experience Economy,” the needs and wants of today’s generational cohorts, and explain how this translates into sales engagement and long-term customer loyalty for today’s life insurers.

Experience Economy 101

The experience economy is one where companies intentionally use their goods and services to
engage individual customers in a memorable experience that speaks to them. For life insurers, that means implementing a multichannel strategy with differing customer journeys informed through insight, as well as such technologies as machine learning, predictive analytics, and AI. These tools are important prerequisites when serving and engaging a customer base across the generational spectrum. By engaging customers across the generational spectrum by appealing to their specific wants and needs, insurers can become recognized and trusted brands with a loyal and consistent following.

 The Generational Needs Spectrum

Different generational cohorts have differing behavioral needs, wants, and expectations, as seen in the following chart:

Chart 1: Generational Cohort Needs, Wants, and Expectations

Before we look at these differing demographic needs, wants, and expectations, let’s consider an analogy relating to on-line news. Originally, online news sites contained content that editors felt was of interest to readers overall, despite them not knowing exactly what readers themselves wanted in their news feeds. Was it current affairs, financial news, sports, or local news? These days, individual readers receive “targeted” content based on the information provided through previous interactions with the news app. Algorithms push financial services news, current affairs, and sports news to my feed as I tend to read these items as well as local news.

The behavioral needs and expectations of customers tells us that each demographic cohort engages differently, and, in the life business, this is further complicated by the fact that life customers are long term and move throughout the demographic spectrum over time.

The Experience Economy at Work

With increasing numbers of providers, insurers, and their customers now engaging with each other through digital channels, insurers have the opportunity (much like on-line news sites) to provide targeted information and services in a personalized way. It is important to “serve” customers in the way they want and feel comfortable, as not all customers will be 100% digital, preferring instead to speak with someone. (This is especially true for older demographics who are typically not digitally savvy.)

This is also where customer insight is so important in the development of targeted engagement strategies. For example, we know price, choice, simplicity, and relationships (social and friend influenced; here social media is of growing importance) are key drivers.

Understanding what influences potential customers to engage with you and your products requires an understanding of their behaviors and triggers. Older generational cohorts tend to weigh heavily on price, brand reputation, peer opinion, and through undertaking their own research and ultimately buying in brick-and-mortar stores. Younger, more tech-savvy cohorts tend to shop online for everything, trust influencers, and social groups.

So, what does this all mean for life insurers? Quite simply, to engage and retain customers by having a deep understanding and appreciation of the different needs, wants, and expectations of each demographic to succeed in the experience economy.

The Final Word

The experience economy is here to stay. It’s changing how today’s life insurers go to market, influence their buyers, and engage different generational cohorts throughout the customer journey. The key takeaway is that in the experience economy, it is personalized experience that trumps all other sales methodologies. The most successful insurers will be those that capitalize on the opportunity to differentiate and put their customers’ individual needs front and center to win their long-term trust.

To learn more about how Sapiens’ CoreSuite for Life & Pensions solution enables rapid and responsive experiences while creating seamless workflows, click here.