Not long ago, when you wanted to buy a service or product, you’d call up local stores, ask friends for recommendations, browse the Yellow Pages, or look in the newspaper for a sale. Perhaps you researched the product in Consumer Reports. But today, the Web offers a completely different way to buy products and services and evaluate providers, and user communities play a key role.
Say you need a set of tires. Instead of going to a tire dealer, you can visit an Internet tire store, which will give many tires to choose from and a list of local installers. At the site, you can read candid reviews from customers who’ve bought the tires you’re considering. You might read that a certain tire works great on compacts but not on large cars, or vice versa.
Name the product or service, and people are going online to research and buy it, using peer reviews to make informed decisions. Consumers trust their online peers as unbiased sources, and it’s not just people in their 20s and 30s. This mindset is spreading rapidly to baby boomers and beyond.
It’s crucial for insurers to reach the growing Web-savvy demographic, and claims is a particularly promising arena. While today some insurers let policyholders report the first notice of loss online and then access their claim on the Web, that’s only the first possible step.
Insurers can do much more, and auto physical damage claims offer the biggest opportunity. Insurers handle about 15 million PD claims a year—15 million chances to make a good or bad impression on customers.
A good experience can help cement a lifetime relationship with a customer, who’ll be far less likely to shop around to save a few dollars in premiums. Poor service or inadequate communication will send the customer on the hunt for a better provider.
People want more control over the claims process, and more involvement and information. They want to know exactly what’s going on with their car at all times. Most don’t switch carriers because they weren’t satisfied with how their car was repaired. Poor communication from the insurer and/or the body shop is the most common culprit.
How can insurers leverage the power of the Web and online communities? One way is to put customers in the driver’s seat by involving them as an active part of the repair process, and letting them select their auto body shop online and report their service experience to an online community.