Many insurers are struggling to maintain consistency in their processes during remote working and are now faced with the real risk of losing customers to those with more uniformity, like insurtechs. Digital Insurance published “How Insurers Can Address Potential Chaotic Processes”  by COO and Managing Partner, John Rodgers, looking at why companies have fallen into process chaos and the importance of maintaining and driving process consistency.

“The past 18 months have uncovered a major vulnerability in the insurance industry, as companies have struggled to maintain consistency in their processes in the face of remote working. Communication processes, in particular, have suffered and as a result, traditional insurers now face the real risk of losing customers to insurtechs and other more technologically advanced companies.

Here we’ll look at how and why companies have fallen into process chaos, and the importance of maintaining and driving process consistency and how they can get there.

The pandemic set the stage
Historically, many industrial processes have developed through the ability to communicate internally. Insurance in particular is a field that runs on a great deal of in-person training, where much expertise is gained simply by watching and learning from more experienced colleagues or supervisors. When a new employee is onboarded, the process of learning begins, off-site at a location with other trainees and on the job, often by a more seasoned staff member. On-site training, person-to-person instruction and learning consistency are how the process gets communicated across an entire company.

With office shutdowns last year and work-from-home being the only viable alternative to shuttering business completely, the virtual model of working—especially onboarding new people—has made camaraderie near impossible.

For a new hire in insurance, the ability to ask questions and share information or even receive informal advice in person is essential. Learning a company’s processes around communicating with customers, particularly in an organic way, is a far bigger challenge to do remotely.

In this new environment, people are working in virtual rooms, cut off from the ability to check in with a colleague at the next desk if a question comes up. This can create a gap in learning and result in inconsistencies in how processes are managed. In short, process chaos.”

Read the full article here.