Industry Overview
Spain is currently enjoying the strongest recovery of the four largest economies in the Eurozone. This year, Spain has finally hit its highest growth rate in eight years. Although this economic success survived the protracted political crisis that is still continuing to plague the nation (see article), attention has turned to the sustainability of growth in the longer term. Spain’s innovative businesses have the potential to be at the heart of this growth model.
Among these future-oriented businesses are the companies fueling Spain’s ambitious Insurance Industry. With the optimism that now surrounds Spain’s economy, Insurers need to create a position of advantage within the market. After a decade of political, economic and regulatory terrors, this year has been the turning point for Spain’s economic outlook. 2017 is the year for companies to capitalize on technological innovations and changing consumer preferences.
Insurers who anticipate and plan for change can create their own future.
– PwC Insurance 2020: Turning change into opportunity
Staying relevant in a constant-evolving market is a must if any company expects to survive the coming technological revolution of insurance. According to a study by PWC, insurance is the second most disrupted industry in the global economy. This disruption is a reflection of the speed at which technology is growing, and as well as the changes the world has been facing socially, environmentally, economically, and politically. The most innovative companies, regardless of its industry, have already begun to understand the effects of customer experience (CX) and customer engagement
86% of insurance CEOs believe technology will completely reshape competition in the industry or have a significant impact over the next five years.
-PwC Insurance 2020: Turning change into opportunity
Innovation & Growth
eKomi has been leading the way within the insurance industry to provide innovative and ground-breaking technology to meet the rising customer expectations for digital access and transparency. Now, more than ever, customer interaction and data analytics are setting the pace for the marketplace. eKomi’s technology improves insurers’ ability to analyze huge amounts of data to provide better customer understanding, improve win-rates, and increase overall profits.
eKomi can help gain consumer trust for organizations while embracing the data-driven world that we live in. We recognize the importance of customer intelligence. CI, along with a strong understanding of clients’ insights and how to properly interact with them, will enable any company to create a foundation for success, profitability, and growth. Creating a culture that embraces customer intelligence and innovation will be the difference between the companies that survive this technological revolution and the companies that will soon perish.
eKomi prides itself in providing quality service across a whole array of channels, from the web and email to the more mobile smartphone and social media. We have created a seamless and friction-free customer experience for our consumers. Leading by example, eKomi takes CX seriously and we encourage all of our partners to follow our lead. A study from The Economist’s Intelligence Unit, researchers found that “close to three-quarters of consumers say they will stop doing business with a company following a bad experience, and more than half will complain to families and friends.” (See Study).
Opportunity & Realization
Realizing the importance of customer intelligence will open many doors of opportunity for any Insurer. It will enable companies to focus on where customer expectations are heading and the kind of innovation that will embrace them. Customer data will give any company an advantage towards determining emerging trends within the market and the innovations needed to stay ahead of market competitors.
When asked, “Given the business environment you’re in, which one of the following areas do you want to strengthen in order to capitalize on new opportunities?”, CEOs of insurance companies choose digital and technological capabilities as the most important. The second area on the list was customer experience. It should be noted that these two areas being at the top of the list are interconnected to the insurance industry itself.
Companies Embracing Customer Intelligence
eKomi has a long history of creating market-shaping alliances with insurers located throughout the world. Combining eKomi’s expertise with those who share the same vision and mindset towards the importance of customer intelligence, has brought vast success to eKomi’s partners.
Within Spain, eKomi has helped several insurers become the frontrunners paving the way within the market. eKomi’s future-focused approach towards the insurance industry has led to our partners finding success by turning the industry “disruption” into opportunity. To find out more schedule an appointment with us here.
Introducing, eKomi’s Starinsights, a blog series dedicated to data journalism and the importance of reviews and ratings.
eKomi’s industry correspondents provide a clear and focused overview of the companies with the highest quantity and quality of user-validated ratings and reviews within a given industry.
This edition of StarInsights will cover Spain’s Insurance Industry.
Discussion
AXA is Spain’s Insurance Industry leader for this edition of eKomi’s StarInsights. With 7,183 reviews collected within the last year, AXA is above and beyond the rest of its competition.
Following AXA is Fénix Directo with 2,040 reviews collected. The company also earned a respectable average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars. Following next is Qualitas Auto.
Of the leading insurers in Spain, only one other insurer was not an eKomi partner. Opiniones Verificadas’s client, Qualitas Auto, received 1,298 reviews this past year. Within Spain’s Insurance Industry, eKomi has an overwhelming majority of total reviews collected. eKomi gathered more than 9,439 reviews this past year, while Opiniones Verificadas gathered 1,298. (See Figure 3)
Finishing in 4th is eKomi’s new partner, ERV. Despite finishing last, the travel insurance company is on its way to surpassing Opiniones Verificada’s client, Qualitas Auto soon this year.
There are several companies not featured on this edition of StarInsights because they are currently not collecting reviews and ratings. Among these companies are Allianz and Linea Directa. Linea Directa is a new partner of ours, and the insurer will begin collecting reviews this December with eKomi and is expected to make the list next year. Allianz is a successful client of ours and is thriving in various markets across the world. Despite their vast success globally, the insurer has yet to expand to Spain.
We hope this report will continue to foster the importance of reviews and ratings within the insurance market and help promote the use of innovation to contribute to the economic and social development in Spain.
Strategic Road Map to 2020
Ensuring the long-term success of our partners is the highest priority. eKomi’s mission is to combine our future-focused vision with our partners’ strategies so that they are prepared for the economic, political, regulatory and market shifts that are coming to shake-up the insurance industry. We put our partners in the position to capitalize on technological innovations and changing consumer preferences to safeguard their future success.
Insurers may want to throw away their three-year plan and come up with a strategy that embraces market transformation. CEOs need to disrupt their businesses now before the market does it for them.
–Shawn Crawford of Ernst & Young, Global Insurance Leader
The following is a strategic roadmap looking forward to the future. As 2020 approaches, this roadmap will help executives within the insurance industry come to grips with the challenges they face ahead.
1. Recreate your business plans to prepare for disruptions in the market
Shocks to the market are becoming increasingly unpredictable. From Brexit to the new Trump administration, anything is possible in 2017. The executives that are able to make the strategic bets to position themselves for success in 2017 will be the ones who will win big in 2020 and beyond. Preparing for potential shocks within the future market, and the disruption these shocks will bring to the insurance industry and your business will set up strategies that are prepared for the “worst-case scenario.”
Especially within Europe, for example, future market shocks such as a possible breakup of a nation from the EU should be planned for and critically thought out by all executives. Spain is in the middle of a constitutional crisis with Catalonia declaring independence. With Spain’s democracy being threatened, it is most wise to make sure everyone is on the same page within your organization. Making sure communication is transparent will be critical for successfully executing strategies. The ability to think and act quickly will build resilience into your business strategies as well.
2. Focus on the importance of Customer Intelligence & Customer Experience
eKomi cannot stress enough the importance of having great customer relationship management throughout an organization. We encourage companies to follow our lead by making customers the center of gravity at all times. Insurers should seek new ways to not only engage their customers but also ensure a positive CX for your customers to develop more brand loyalty. The easiest way to achieve amazing CX is by using technology to analyze the data you have received from your customers to provide insights as to what your customers want from their experiences.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay. Looking to the future, AI is the biggest innovation across all industries. This technology is capable of sorting through more data and information at a rate that would take humans years to detect. Within the insurance industry, the amount of data is growing at a record rate. The rapid evolution of technology in the global insurance market will make it tough for companies to keep up. However, at eKomi, we help business leaders prepare for the opportunities that are ahead in the near future. We empower our partners to act with confidence when making strategic decisions, especially regarding CI and CX.
3. Take digital transformation to the next level
Better smartphones, fancier gadgets, and faster internet are all soon to come. Currently, wireless operators provide 4G networks as their most innovative service to the world. 4G networks have the capability of allowing two devices to communicate with one another at a speed of 50 milliseconds. With 5G networks, your phone will be able to communicate with another device at a speed of just 1 millisecond. 5G networks are expected to be introduced in the year 2020 (see article) With the amount of power that 5G networks will be capable of, innovations after its initial release are expected to be ambitious and contagious. With the faster connection, communication more than ever will be of vast importance.
eKomi embraces the technological revolution taking place, and we understand the importance of digital transparency. Our technology and products are provided through cross-channel experiences regardless of what device you own, and through this, we provide efficient communication between our partners and their customers. eKomi wants to be with you while you are on-the-go and simplify your journey so you can focus on other tasks. eKomi’s services being available across all platforms is to bring convenience to your company, as well as, achieving the highest response rate from your customers. As technology becomes more efficient and faster, so will our technology here at eKomi.
4. Millennial-proof your business
Millennials have an unprecedented influence over the market. Their rising income and status within the economy are persuading market buying behaviors and turning industries upside down. Meeting the needs of Millennials will be extremely important for insurers to achieve success in the future. Providing digital transparency, 24/7 customer service, and mobile-first access with ease are just some of the few needs that millennials are demanding.
Millennials will not accept the traditional way of selling. They will not want an agent to come to their living room to explain insurance. They will want to do that on their own computer or smartphone. Getting this right over the next 12-24 months will determine a firm’s future.
–Andreas Freiling of Ernst & Young, EMEIA Insurance Leader
Creating a more user-friendly, cross-channel experience for your customers and insurance agents will have you ahead of your competitors. Building interactions with customers through social media and other technology will give you insights into customer behavior and expectations fully. Millennials want ease of access, ease of contact, and easy of fulfillment.
For further information schedule a call with us here.