What Does the Next Generation Want in their Insurance Customer Experience?

Did you know that in the next several years, Millennials and Gen Z’ers will comprise roughly two-thirds of the American workforce?  That means here soon, the majority of working individuals will have been born after 1980!

As these newer generations flood the workforce, they are also beginning to make other major life decisions like buying a car, house, or—you guessed it—insurance. 

Younger, tech-savvy consumers who’ve grown up with modern technology are demanding easier, faster, and all-around better products and services from every area of life including insurance. As consumer retention pressures rise,  insurance providers need to find ways to meet demands for top notch customer experience and digital transformation of their insurance business if they want to win over the tech savvy new wave of potential clients..

What does the next generation want from their insurance providers?

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

Increased digitization and automation

As kids, Millennials and Gen Zers were constantly exposed to new technology. It’s hard to find a young person today who doesn’t at least own a smartphone, if not several high tech gadgets. Growing up with smart technology means newer generations are accustomed to the speed and efficiency of online shopping and mobile apps, so it makes sense that they expect the same qualities when it comes to buying insurance. 

The legacy systems many insurance companies still use won’t impress the newer generations with their slow speeds and inability to integrate. New consumers will gravitate toward insurance providers with updated, digital systems and processes which allow for easier use and instant gratification. It’s time to embrace insurance tech solutions—not only for the ease of business, but for the sake of client acquisition and retention.

To match the increasing digital expectations of the newer generation, insurance businesses across the industry should consider updating their tech stack to include:

• Digital insurance platforms for carriers and agencies
• Automated insurance compliance workflows
• Integrated insurance technology systems 

Exceptional customer service

Contrary to popular belief, a tech-forward approach to business doesn’t negate the need for exceptional customer experience. All generations, including Millennials and Gen Z, value customer service when making purchasing decisions. 

According to Simeon Spearman, Senior Manager of Customer Insights and Research at Zendesk, 62 percent of millennials say they would switch to a competitor after one bad customer service experience. Millennials, in particular, value immediate response times and quick, accurate solutions when reaching out to customer support. And while they want these solutions delivered via technology, they also demand live agent contact, meaning no more waiting 45 minutes on hold with a chat robot before speaking to a real human.

Insurance carriers and agencies should consider implementing the following in their businesses to help optimize their customer experience and keep the whole machine running smoothly:

• Real-time customer service
• Fast onboarding and policy servicing workflows
• Efficient insurance compliance processes 

Much of this can be achieved through adopting a streamlined compliance management system, like AgentSync. 

Convenience

If it wasn’t already clear from the previous two points, convenience is a huge factor for newer generations when it comes to insurance. These customers place a high value on having an elite insurance customer experience at their fingertips, using a mix of both modern technology and real-people contact. 

Younger generations look for insurance providers that make processes like filing a claim or receiving a quote work specific to their unique needs. Offering individually tailored services and experiences is just as important, if not more, to their purchase decision as the price is. 

It’s important to remember that convenience isn’t just a front-end experience—it’s powered by backend operations. To deliver on customer expectations like fast quotes and claims, insurance carriers and agencies should consider:

• End-to-end insurance compliance automation
• Centralized compliance data management platforms
• Scalable insurance regulatory technology solutions

Attention to environmental and social change

Speaking of waste, the environmental and social impact a business has is an important factor for younger generations as they decide where to buy their insurance. Socially and environmentally conscious consumers realize the impact their business (or non-business) can have when it comes to creating change and are taking matters into their own hands by investing in companies with strong environmental and social impact plans. Insurance agencies (especially larger organizations) that don’t take steps to reduce their carbon footprint and speak out against injustice will likely lose market share and customer retention as the importance of these factors on young people’s purchase decisions continues to increase. Additionally, transparency in audit-tight compliance processes and records can go a long way to earning client trust—and thereby, retention. 

How can we adapt to changing insurance consumer values?

Give your insurance marketing a facelift

Don’t worry, as an insurance professional, you don’t have to start posting on TikTok to appeal to the next-generation workforce (phew!), but you might want to consider advertising there. I’ll let you in on a little secret—I was born in 1998, which officially makes me Gen Z. My peers and I are rarely on Facebook but are heavily influenced by ads on other social platforms like Instagram and Youtube. Just the other day an ad for Lemonade, an insurance company aimed at newer generations, caught my eye when it played before the video I clicked on. 

You might offer everything the newer generations are looking for when it comes to buying insurance, but how will they know that if you aren’t meeting them where they’re at? The digital transformation of your insurance business can start right here: with how you are approaching advertising, to reach the clients you want.

Improve your insurance customer experience through digitizing your business

Arguably the biggest key to gaining young people’s trust and business is to be open to change. The way the insurance industry operated 50 years ago is not the same way it should be operating today. The world has changed so much in that time and any insurance company still using out-of-date systems and processes is not going to be a top pick among new consumers. 

It’s time for the insurance industry to do away with old legacy systems and embrace digital transformation. Industry leaders need to listen to the growing concerns of new consumers not only when it comes to their insurance needs, but also when it comes to their social and environmental values. They need to adapt to these needs and values and more importantly show new consumers that they care through a top tier insurance customer experience. 

What step should I take today to modernize my insurance business?

Industries across the board are actively transitioning to meet the needs and wants of the next-generation workforce. While that may look different across industries, when it comes to insurance, what young people want is a provider who is just as tech-savvy as they are, is available when they need help, and isn’t afraid to speak out about their values. 

Providers who embrace digital transformation and create competitive advantage through modernized systems are the ones positioned to thrive. While it may seem daunting to embrace all this change, the insurance companies that meet these new standards through modernizing their businesses with insurance tech as well as adapting customer service to suit the values of younger consumers, are the ones that will stick around.

Whether your agency, carrier, or MGA/MGU is staffed with millennials and GenZ’ers or any other generation, streamlining your producer onboarding, licensing, and compliance can help attract and retain the talent your business needs to thrive both now and in the future. Investing in agent retention through modernized operations is essential for distribution success. See AgentSync in action today and schedule a call to see how we can help you update your insurance business.