A new report from Capgemini, Life insurers can grow market share by facilitating agents’ ease of doing business, points out that growth in mature life insurance markets has been flat for 16 years and suggests providing digital agent’s tools to distribution networks as a solution to the problem.
“Life insurers are elevating and expanding their distribution strategies as they look to combat flatlined market growth and decreasing consumer interest in life products,” they write. “Insurers that support agents with advanced digital tools will attract new talent to the industry and increase agent relevance with a younger customer base.”
The challenge is notable: Capgemini says penetration in mature markets has declined from 5.4 per cent in 2007 to 3.6 per cent in 2023. Similarly, the industry’s share of all consumer assets has declined from 7.5 per cent to 5.8 per cent during the same period.
Empowering agents
To adapt, 95 per cent of insurers surveyed by the consulting firm were committed to enhancing agents’ digital experiences and 65 per cent were invested in empowering agents to improve customer service.
“Customers find interactions with insurers less efficient, convenient and personalized than in other industries,” they continue. “Despite policyholder expectations for transparency and tailored experiences, only 28 per cent of life insurers prioritize customer centricity through hyper-personalization.”
Personalized conversations
To be successful today, they say agents need to be everywhere the client is and available when the client needs them, equipped with client information that will help them move purchases forward. “Agents are now more reliant than ever on insurers to provide advanced digital capabilities,” they write. “An agent who is equipped with the right digital tools and instantly accessible client data can have personalized conversations about which life product best suits each customer at that moment.”
They also recommend providing the same tools to independent agents as captive agents: “Life insurers, captive agents and independent agents all benefit when everyone operates from a single digital toolbox,” they add. “Complexity and disconnect grow when captive agents are equipped with one set of tools while independent agents have another set, and ultimately, it’s the carrier’s bottom line that suffers.”
The report also recommends comprehensive agent training. As for deciding which tools to use, the report concludes saying “it’s best to start examining the top agent and broker pain points, and then allow these issues to lead your solutions journey.”
