Insurance claim innovation uses texting to speed up claim process

In 2020, the pandemic forced insurance carriers to change how they do business with their partners. While brick and mortar offices were closed and everyday activities severely restricted, we all had to change the way we meet customers’ needs but still offer the same level of care and service.

Fortunately, according to J.D. Power, most insurers actually increased their claims processing speed during the pandemic. In turn, there was an increase in the percentage of policyholders who said they would definitely renew with their carriers compared to before the pandemic. This is important because it demonstrates that efforts to improve claims service translates directly to increased customer retention.

It’s particularly great news for Nationwide partners, as we are dedicated to making the claims process exceptionally easy and convenient for your customers.

One of the ways we’ve innovated the insurance claim experience is with conversational texting.

Easy and convenient claim process

In May 2020, we released conversational texting that enables a customer to connect directly to their assigned claim representative from their smartphone. Although several carriers are sending automated texts to share information, we’re one of the first to use it for customer-initiated dialogue and two-way interaction. If your customers have questions or need help, they can just text us.

What do we know about texting as a preferred communications method?

• 92% of US adults carry text-enabled phones¹
• 85% of customers prefer receiving texts over phone calls or email¹
• 75% of customers are frustrated when they can’t respond to a text from a business²
• 95% of texts from businesses are read within three minutes of being sent³

Encourage customers to opt in

When a customer reports a claim, they can opt to communicate with their adjuster through text. The name of their adjuster, along with their claim number, is sent to their phone. No more paper or pen is needed to share repair or service contact information. If the customer loses the number, they can simply send a freeform text to CLAIMS and it will be intelligently routed back to their adjuster.

Customers initiate more than 5,500 texts a month

Texting for insurance or claims purposes allows customers to reach out and follow up when it’s convenient for them. If they’re in a loud restaurant or busy airport, they can choose to send or respond to a text when making a phone call might be difficult. It keeps the claim process moving forward by eliminating phone tag between the customer and claim representative too.

We are rapidly evolving this capability and will soon introduce photo and video sharing.

Digital Focus, Human Touch

Empathetic person-to-person interaction is one of the most important aspects of claim handling, and its core to our mission of protecting people, businesses and futures with extraordinary care.

That’s why we’re investing in digital technology, like conversational texting, that enables this connection and care. Technology makes us better, but it’s our people who make us extraordinary.

We are examining the entire claim experience through the lens of our customer and finding innovative ways to digitize and simplify the journey. Visit nationwide.com/claimsconfidence to learn more about how Nationwide is providing extraordinary care to your customers and providing you 100% claims confidence. You can be confident that we’ll be there when the unexpected happens – however customers choose to work with us.