What Do Your Insured Members Look Like?

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As I was changing my flight this morning, I needed to make sure that my checked bag made the change as well (because who wants to get to a meeting with nothing to wear but yoga pants and t-shirts?). During the conversation with the gate agent, I was told that the reservation system accessed through a phone call is separate from the flight system that the desk agent had access to. As a result the airport baggage folks had no idea that my flight had changed. The entire time I was working with the gate agent, I kept thinking that they needed a complete view of me as a customer. *I* don’t care that the systems aren’t integrated and sharing information, I only want my bag to make it where I’m going.

The same applies to insurers. Your members don’t care that you don’t have access to their enrollment information when they are calling about a claim. In order to provide better service to your members – you need to be able to get a complete 360 degree view of your members. If you can get a complete view of your insured members while they are talking to you on the phone – that will enable you to give them better customer service. You want to focus on your member’s experiences. This includes strengthening member relationships and fostering high levels of satisfaction to gain member’s trust and easing members’ concerns.

In many insurance companies, getting a complete picture of what each insured member looks like is cumbersome – with one system for enrolling members, another system for member benefit administration and a third for claims processing. These systems may be cumbersome legacy systems designed for an employer-focused market. These legacy systems have been modified over the years to accommodate changing market needs and government regulations. You may be able to access information from each of these systems over time through batch file transfer, reporting against the various systems or having a customer service representative interact with each system separately.

In order to be competitive in today’s marketplace with the focus changing from employers providing the insurance to the individual, you need to provide your members with the best possible service.

Imagine the confidence I would have in the airline that could easily change my flight and re-route my baggage and interact with me exactly the same whether I am speaking to someone on the phone or standing in front of a gate agent. Imagine how much better my customer satisfaction ratings would be as a result.

What do your insured members look like?

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