By Laura Williams
Companies like Amazon have made on-demand services the norm, creating frictionless purchasing that puts thousands of products just a click away. With an attention span of just eight seconds, the average consumer seeks swift and simple solutions at every turn (1).
For example, 81 percent of consumers want an increased response time (2), while 59 percent want personalized offers and service (3) And 71 percent of consumers say they want simplified underwriting—notably because it’s fast and easy (4).
It’s clear that there’s now a huge premium placed on simplicity and speed. And accordingly, if a purchase process is too clunky or confusing, even the most loyal members will leave your credit union for other financial institutions.
Credit unions need to simplify their purchase processes so that buying life insurance is like shopping on sites like Amazon—fast and easy. Credit unions can bolster their life insurance program by:
Productizing life insurance.
Amazon succeeds by making it easy to drop a product into a virtual cart and immediately check out. A life insurance policy should also exist as a true product that consumers put into their ‘cart’ and purchase at ‘checkout’.
Implementing customer service chat functions.
Making representatives available via instant messaging lets members get immediate answers to their questions—a simpler and more convenient alternative to the phone.
Optimizing websites.
A mere two-second delay in webpage load time leads to a 20 percent abandonment rate (3). To retain consumers, ensure your website is always snappy and smooth.
Offering and promoting simplified underwriting.
Simplified underwriting is a more efficient and convenient process for members. It significantly reduces the time from application to issue and synthesizes the most relative and predictive data to eliminate the need for a medical exam. Promote these benefits in communications, and provide simple, transparent explanations of risk classification and product pricing.
Making life insurance simple will help you satisfy members and reap the benefits of member loyalty for years to come. For more of the latest trends and tips, download our free infographic and e-book.
1. Cision, “Brands, Here’s How to Captivate Consumers in the Age of Distraction,” May 2017.
2. IBM Institute for Business Value Report, 2016.
3. Herbert Liu, “7 Stats Ecommerce Retailers Can’t Ignore in 2017,” Shopify, Dec. 21, 2016.
4. Life Happens & LIMRA study, “2017 Insurance Barometer.”
