New Research Reveals the Most Commonly Asked Questions by Customers During the Claims Process

Report Reveals Key Trends that Can Help Carriers Anticipate Customer Needs, Driving Customer Satisfaction and Efficiency

Hi Marley, creators of the only digital collaboration platform built for the P&C insurance industry, today unveiled research that explores trends among consumers’ most frequently asked questions during the claims process.

Poor claims experiences drive customers to switch insurance carriers, so carriers must constantly look for ways to improve customer satisfaction. Hi Marley analyzed 1,040 claims in its database to identify the most frequently asked questions, who they involve and how carriers can get ahead of these inquiries.

The research found that the root cause driving inquiries fell into five main categories:

Process Explanation/Next Steps– 31 percent of inquiries resulted from an unclear understanding of the process and next steps

Ad Hoc Request– 30 percent of inquiries related to a specific issue or topic

Informational Only– In 18 percent of the inquiries, the customer did not ask a question, but required a response or acknowledgment

Expectation Setting– Unclear expectations drove 13 percent of the questions

Scheduling– 5 percent of the inquiries related to coordinated schedules for either a call, meeting, appraisal or other needs

Response Timeliness- The customer requested an urgent need for a response in 2 percent of claims

Hi Marley’s latest research reveals how anticipating these frequently asked questions can help carriers improve the claims experience, boost efficiency and save time.

For example, customer inquiries requesting acknowledgment of receipt or confirmation of information they sent to the carrier appeared 244 times, resulting in 823 messages back and forth to resolve the inquiry. If carriers proactively acknowledged receipt before a customer asked, they could save three messages per conversation, on average.

The research also revealed that while 65 percent of the inquiries only related to the individual posing the question, 35 percent involved other parties. The remaining inquiries are spread among different categories, including police department, other carrier, towing and salvage, appraiser, contractor and bank. However, Hi Marley found a significant number involved the body shop (48 percent) and rental car provider (25 percent).

The study dives into each category, including looking at commonly asked questions related to body shops and rental cars and how carriers can proactively provide information, quickly answer questions or ensure they are not asked in the first place.

“One thing our analysis reinforced is that claims consumers want to be heard,” said Mark Snyder, Principal Consultant and Claims Subject Matter Expert at Hi Marley. “We found that a significant number of inbound inquiries could potentially be avoided—and ultimately reduce cycle times and costs— by adjusters being a little more proactive, thoughtful and detailed in terms of initial explanations of the claims process and setting of customer expectations.”

To read the full findings, please download the report: Deliver a Better Claims Experience by Uncovering Frequently Asked Questions.

Source: HiMarley