Asking an accountant if they work underwater sounds almost as ludicrous as asking a person who has had an "ice-cream headache" if they have suffered from sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.
While the ice-cream headache question isn't actually asked in an insurance application process, similar examples of technical-laden medical questions would not be uncommon across personal statements in the broader insurance industry.
For some time, we have heard that the application process needs to be easier, simpler and more relevant.
So we gave ourselves a challenge: to remove frustration from the process. We targeted an end goal where the personal statement process could be described back to us as simple, logical and relevant. And where possible, we wanted to save both advisers and their clients’ time.
In studying behavioural economics, we knew that more relevant questions and using more “plain English” phrases reduced brain strain, for example why don't we just use the word 'job' instead of 'occupation'.
We also wanted to use the best technology to develop an online application with sophisticated rules and algorithms that enhanced and simplified the process, including 'help text' to explain unfamiliar words and concepts.
The result? MyApply asks the right questions at the right time to the right people and the opportunity to answer questions based on sophisticated workflow decisions, resulting in a better experience for everyone. And in our latest enhancement, underwriting rules now capture additional client information upfront, which can result in same-day cover with either standard or Alternative Terms. Meaning a further reduction in frustration, peace of mind sooner, and more time for both advisers and their clients.
At its most basic an insurance contract is a promise. The client buys our promise that we will be there when they need us and they promise to tell us what we need to know. However we need to make it easy for them to hold up their end of the equation. The vast majority of people do not set out to non-disclose, but the more complicated and irrelevant the questions are, the harder we make it for to the customer to keep their promise.
Over several months of redesign, using the feedback from advisers and clients, our online engine has delivered questions that are easy to understand, tailored based on previous answers, and a result is communicated to clients as quickly as possible. At its heart it’s about simplicity, being easy to do business with, and ensuring a better, and often faster, customer experience.
www.comminsureadviser.com.au/smarterapply
