Digital Insurance Strategies: Q&A: Ian Hood: Harnessing digital potential

Ian Hood took on the newly-created role of chief digital officer at RSA this month, with a remit to set the strategy for the insurers’ global digital operations. Ahead of the Post Digital Insurance Strategies conference, where Hood will speak, we spoke to him about the future for the digital landscape and how insurers can harness its potential.

Do you think the insurance industry is embracing digital insurance strategies? How has the landscape shifted?
Insurers have completely embraced digital. Many companies are taking it very seriously – not just in the traditional online and web space, but also in their use of data, personalisation, social media and mobile device access.

For me, big changes in the landscape revolve around a real shift to mobile browsing and improvements in the online – and indeed, the end-to-end customer experience.

The industry is paying much more attention to joining up customer journeys rather than operating in silos. Use of data has also evolved significantly and it’s likely to be the next big differentiator for insurers; telematics is a good example, but the same [data explosion] will happen for people, pets and houses as machine-to-machine technology really starts to take off.

Do you think the role of chief digital officer will become more common?
Absolutely. With more insurers taking digital seriously it’s essential that someone be responsible for the overarching strategy.

In terms of digital insurance, is the industry being led by the consumer? How can companies gauge what consumers want?
A lot of what we do is led by our customers. For example, we react to customer demands through research, data and analytics, direct feedback, web chat transcripts, listening to calls and monitoring the insurance industry, as well as other industries for new developments in customer experience. However, we’re inventing on behalf of our customers too. As Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” So, we have to develop a similar mindset when thinking about new products and services in insurance.

In terms of bringing digital offerings to market, what is the best way for insurers to do this?
Insurers need to be much more nimble in their approach. Gone are the days when multi-year programmes are put in place and nothing is produced until the very end. Technology is evolving rapidly and companies need to bring digital offerings to the market more frequently.

Are omnichannel services the future?
Omnichannel services are the present and the future. Any business with multiple channels needs multiple access and entry points to those channels for its customers, intermediaries, suppliers and employees. Whether through a call centre, online, mobile or social media, companies must have a strong grip on all channels. The functionality offered and the consistency of experiences provided is critical to avoid poor experiences that will subsequently damage the entire customer journey and, therefore, your brand and business.

What kind of role does social media play in a digital strategy?
It’s essential that businesses don’t just look at social media as a marketing tool. It can be used in many different ways – for us, it plays several roles. We recruit individuals through channels such as Linked In, use Twitter and Facebook to help with claims prevention by disseminating warnings and advice to customers as well as using these channels to answer customer service questions. On Facebook, RSA and More Than combined have more than 70,000 followers – the second largest follower base for a UK financial services company. We’ve achieved this by prioritising building a community by sharing useful and valuable information and tips over directly promoting products. On Twitter, we have more than 7000 followers and on Linked In over 45,000 group members.

Has the digital insurance/social media explosion been a help or a hindrance to insurance companies management of their reputations?
In my opinion, it’s been helpful. The more ways our customers can conveniently contact us the better, and anything that ensures a business manages its reputation through great customer service is good for all concerned.

The emergence of social media also gives insurers more ways to communicate with its customers and help build a long-term relationship with them, which again is a positive.

What kinds of new technology are emerging that will help insurers deliver better customer experiences and grow their businesses?
A lot has already emerged but there is more to come such as wearable devices, driverless cars, home and pet telematics, the ‘internet of things’ and use of bigger data sources and analytics. Alongside this, task automation, which will make businesses more efficient behind the scenes, self service capabilities for customers and new systems which are quicker to develop and test, as well as cheaper to run, will dramatically improve the customer experience.

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This article was published in the 22 January edition of Post magazine.