According to the latest UK Insurance Sentiment Index conducted by PwC in collaboration with DataEQ, inaccessible digital platforms and a lack of online service capabilities are impeding the overall customer experience for UK-based insurers.
The index analysed over 335,000 public tweets regarding 15 of the country’s major insurers, highlighting that the insurance industry experienced more negative conversations on social media than positive, which resulted in an industry Net Sentiment of -19.2%.
Alex Bertolotti, UK Insurance leader for PwC, commented, “We are facing an increased dependency on digital channels across the sector so the results should prove sobering news for some insurers.”
“However, this insight can also be an opportunity for insurers to offer a point of differentiation in what is a complex and competitive market.”
He adds, “By focusing on service delivery, digital transformation can be the very thing that can both move the dial in terms of customer service and performance, while offering up the opportunity to streamline costs.”
According to the results, most negative tweets referred specifically to feedback about past, present and potential customers’ experience of how the insurer operated such as website navigation, app, website downtime, and network speed.
Additionally, the index found that insurers publicly responded to 71% of priority tweets, with almost a third without a response. The results suggest that Hastings Direct performed the best in this regard, with a response rate of 90.9%.
Response time was also varied across the insurers with nine brands responding under the industry average of 8.1 hours. Direct Line performed best in this category, with an average response time of 2.2 hours – almost 6 hours faster than the industry average and over 18 hours faster than the slowest brand.
Of the 15 insurers included in the index, Marmalade obtained the highest Net Sentiment of 15.5% and was one of only two insurers to achieve a positive overall score.
Bertolotti concludes, “As expectations evolve and the industry transforms, insurers will need to choose their own path as they contribute to a bold new vision for the industry.”
“Regardless of the path they choose, insurers that anchor their strategy around developing an agile, tech-powered organisation will create a distinct competitive advantage.”
