Mobile technology and social media gives insurance customers improved options and customer service

According to PwC’s recent report “Top Issues: The Insurance Industry in 2012” while last year was the year of retrenchment, this year is going to be the year of the consumer, with a significant focus on improvements to the customer experience including efforts made using mobile technology and social media.

The insurance news report stated that companies are using these techniques, in order to make themselves more appealing to customers and have themselves stand out from their competitors in order to broaden their share of the global market.

It indicated that technological innovation is important to all levels of information in insurance, from capturing it, to interpretation, as well as integration and sharing.

The US insurance advisory practice co-leader for PwC, Jamie Yoder, explained that one of the biggest challenges that will be faced this year and from now on by insurance companies “is capturing and interpreting data from a growing number of structured and unstructured sources, including but not limited to social media, policy-holder behavior and telematics.”

Yoder went on to say that insurance companies that have started using advanced analytical techniques for taking advantage of an improved understanding of their customers, are able to better design their products to meet the specific needs of the customers, and to provide the entire customer experience with important enhancements.

By implementing mobile marketing strategies that include social media as well as mobile optimized websites that allow consumers to obtain instant information and quotes no matter where they are, insurers are making themselves much more appealing to those insurance shoppers.