Arrow left
Back to Blog

7 benefits of eSignature and digital customer journeys in the insurance industry

7 minutes

Digital signatures have changed the way insurers interact with their customers. However, the overall customer experience around paperwork remains suboptimal to this day.

It quickly becomes apparent that simply adding a digital signature to a convoluted and lengthy process that involves PDF, emails, and back-and-forth communications with the customer is not the kind of experience a modern consumer is looking for.

With today’s technology, signing a form doesn’t mean a disruption in the customer’s journey. The benefits of eSignature can be maximized when deployed as part of a user-friendly digital customer journey. Customers can sign documents, add attachments and provide information anytime, anywhere, and from any device. What could be more convenient?

When combined with no-code tools for digital customer journeys, digital signing solutions can enable insurers to:

  • Reduce Operational Overhead
  • Shorten the Sales Cycle
  • Reduce Error Rates
  • Improve Productivity
  • Reduce Bottlenecks
  • Improve Claims Experience
  • Improve Customer Experience

As customer demand for remote interaction increases, so does the pressure for insurers to provide better overall experiences. Insurers that fail to take their digital customer journeys to the next level will have difficulty thriving beyond 2020.

Reduce Operational Overhead

Processing paper is expensive. For example, the labor costs to file a single document is $20. It doesn’t matter if the form is filed as paper or is digitized and stored electronically. The price remains the same. And when we add to it high error and not-good-in-order rates of manual processes, the costs quickly add up.

Then there’s the cost of destroying paper documents after they’ve been scanned.   Whether an insurer destroys documents or outsources the work, the cost adds to a company’s operational overhead. Organizations have to ensure that data destruction laws are followed and that outsourced companies comply with federal and local regulations.  

Shorten the Sales Cycle

A client agrees to purchase a policy after a 30-minute discussion with an agent.  The agent offers to complete the paperwork for the client as part of the sales call but has to email the documents for signature.  Who knows how long it will take for the client to sign the form and return it?  Maybe, the client decides not to go forward with the policy.

Shortening the sales cycle means agents have more time working with existing customers and talking to potential ones. Combining digital customer journeys, eForms, and eSignatures in insurance lets agents complete the sale in one meeting.  No callbacks or emails are needed. Not only is the sales cycle shorter, but the back-office paperwork is reduced, freeing up even more time for customers.

Reduce Error Rates

Technically, errors do not cost insurers money. Fixing them does.  If an error is caught at the time it is made, it’s easier to correct. The longer it takes to find the error, the more costly it ends up being. The error may have rippled through several systems, taking days to correct each mistake. Customers cannot sign a document because data is incorrect, delaying a sale. Documents may simply not be in good order (NIGO). 

Deploying digital customer journeys can remind users when incorrect or missing data corrects the error before entering the system. Adding eSignature technology means forms cannot be submitted without a signature. The information moves seamlessly through the system, adding to improved customer experiences.

Improve Productivity

eSignature and digital customer journey technologies help businesses maintain operational continuity. Employees don’t have to stop to correct errors or chase a signature.  Instead of spending 60% of their time working with documents, they can focus on more meaningful work. 

A byproduct of improved productivity is employee satisfaction. Employees who feel they are contributing are happier. And happier employees mean more satisfied customers.   A recent analysis found that a 1% increase in employee satisfaction translated into a 4.6% increase in stock value.  

Reduce Bottlenecks

Without digital solutions, bottlenecks can occur in unexpected places. For example, the development of IT solutions to address the increasing demand for online solutions is stalled because of a lack of resources and outdated technology. Legacy systems are hard to integrate with newer technologies, and development can take longer. Deploying technology such as no-code platforms can relieve the bottleneck by using citizen developers to deliver digital solutions. With more digital solutions, other bottlenecks created by manual processing of paper-based documents can be eliminated.

Improve Claims Experience

Processing claims is a friction point in the customer experience. Research has found that customers who submitted a claim within the last two years were two times more likely to switch insurers than those who had not submitted a claim. Improving the claims process is an essential component to improving the customer experience.  

A customer satisfaction survey found that overall customer satisfaction rested on how much the customer trusted the company to work in their best interest. However, poor claims experience or a lack of knowledgeable agents were the reasons for dissatisfaction. In other words, customers may trust an insurer but will switch if they have a poor claims experience.

Improve Customer Experience

Using technologies to improve customer experience is at the core of digital transformation solutions. Whether it’s reducing bottlenecks or error rates, eSignature and no-code technologies can improve the customer experience. Deploying digital solutions can expedite the claims process by ensuring accurate and complete forms.  As employees are freed from processing paperwork, they can be reassigned to teams focused on the customer experience. Improved customer experience results in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Insurers can advance their digital journey by combining eSignature and digital customer journeys. Using no-code platforms to create digital customer journeys and integrate eSignatures, customer experience in insurance companies will improve, reduce errors, remove bottlenecks, improve claims processing and productivity, and increase employee engagement. These benefits translate into lower operational costs, increased stock value, and improved bottom line. 

Vera Smirnoff
