Improving Consumer Experience in Insurance Billing: Strategies for Seamless Payments

If you've spent any time in the insurance industry, you know how important the consumer experience is for your business. If insureds feel your organization isn't meeting their needs, they'll likely turn to your competitors.

Implementing evolving technologies can help your business enable more seamless insurance payments, enhance your insureds' experiences, and optimize your internal operations.

5 Ways Insurance Providers Can Use Technology to Increase Consumer Satisfaction in Billing

By investing in integrated technology solutions, your insurance business can streamline its operations and expand its offerings, providing a more satisfactory experience for insureds. Below are five ways you can use digital payment methods to elevate your members' satisfaction.

1. Provide More Payment Flexibility

Cloud-based digital payment solutions offer a level of flexibility that's just not possible with conventional systems, and that matters to consumers. In our 2022 report, 81% of consumers said they view online or mobile payment options as important when choosing insurance providers. 

Digital payment software unlocks truly flexible, seamless insurance payments that are:

• On-demand: Allowing your insureds to make last-minute payments using their preferred channels and methods helps them stay on top of payment deadlines, improving your cash flow.
• Self-service: Mobile apps and intuitive web portals allow your members to view and manage their account information at their convenience without having to make an appointment with their representative.
• Omni-channel: Accepting payments through various channels and methods allows insureds to pay the way that makes them feel most secure, which can help you gain their trust.

The more flexibility you provide your insureds in their payment options, the more trust they'll have in their provider.

2. Embrace Personalization

In the age of hyper-personalization, relying on a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer enough to satisfy your insureds. Insureds expect their providers to communicate and engage in ways that are tailored to their individual preferences and circumstances.

To meet this demand, insurance providers are expanding their communication strategies, from personalized emails and notifications to custom interaction channels. Adopting technologies that integrate artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data analytics is essential for personalization in insured communications. These technologies allow you to gain deeper insights into insureds' behaviors and preferences.

With the insights these technologies provide, you can determine which communication channels and methods your insureds prefer, enabling you to tailor your outreach effectively. By understanding these preferences, you can optimize your communication strategies, ensuring timely and relevant interactions that cater to each insured’s unique needs.

3. Reduce Payment Processing Time

A primary advantage of cloud-based payment solutions over traditional paper or legacy systems is the significantly faster processing time. 

Where checks and cash payments can take several business days to process, digital payment processing takes just minutes. In addition to saving you time, prioritizing digital payments saves you money. It costs significantly less to process a digital payment than it does to cash a check.

Other benefits of real-time payment processing include:

• A reduced risk of delayed payments.
• Assurance that clients can stay covered.
• Increased insured engagement.
• Improved cash flow monitoring.
• Reduced operating costs.

Of course, adopting new payment tools often requires an upfront investment, including setup fees and other ongoing transaction costs. These costs will vary depending on the provider you choose, which is why it is so important to perform your due diligence before settling on one solution.

4. Increase Communication Frequency

Everyone's life is different, meaning everyone has different insurance requirements. Staying in touch with your members helps ensure you're meeting their coverage needs throughout their lives.

Automation and omni-channel integration enable more efficient billing communication by automatically sending relevant reminders and other notifications to insureds' preferred channels. This can improve the likelihood of on-time payment submissions.

Ongoing communication is also essential for more transparent insurance billing, which can help you build trust with your members and adopt a more dynamic insurance model.

For example, frequent automated check-ins can inform you of insureds' significant life milestones, such as buying a home or welcoming a new baby, so you can tailor their coverage accordingly.

5. Provide Self-Service Options

According to one recent study by Zendesk, 67% of consumers prefer using self-service tools over reaching out to consumer support. Further, 79% of consumers expect organizations to provide these tools. 

Some key characteristics of a self-service insurance portal include:

• Easily accessible: Self-service portals should meet your insureds where they are for a truly seamless experience. For example, mobile apps let your insureds access the information and services they need whether they're at home or on the go.
• User-friendly: Whether it's a mobile app or a web-based portal, your digital experience should be intuitive and easy to navigate, even for insureds with little tech experience.
• Comprehensive: Adding functionality beyond the ability to make payments turns your digital experience into a one-stop shop for all your members' insurance needs, improving convenience and enhancing the consumer experience.

Your self-service experience should integrate with the rest of your system to facilitate easy data flow and accessibility across your organization. This will give insureds a truly seamless payment experience. 

How KUBRA's Digital Payment Solutions Benefit the Insurance Industry

If you're looking for reliable, sustainable digital payment software that can scale with your organization, consider partnering with KUBRA.

Our holistic solution integrates digital tools into every aspect of your members' experience, which helps you reengage them and streamline internal operations. Here's how:

• On-demand omni-channel payments: KUBRA EZ-PAY® allows insureds to make last-minute payments whether they're enrolled or paying as guests.
• Optimized revenue lifecycle: Real-time payment processing improves your cash flow, helping ensure you have the capital to continuously improve your business operations.
• On-the-go payments: Implementing mobile payment functionality with KUBRA iMobile allows insureds to pay from wherever they are, whether they're on the couch at home or on vacation.
• Personalized communications: Notifi®, our preference management platform, allows insureds to set their communication preferences to get the messaging they want, when they want, using the channels they want.
• Simplified TCPA compliance management: Insureds' ability to set communications preferences reduces the risk of appearing spammy, enabling easier compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Want to learn more? Read our case studies to see how KUBRA users have enhanced their operations using our digital payment and consumer experience tools.

Create a Seamless Omni-Channel Payment Experience With KUBRA

At KUBRA, we're dedicated to providing seamless operations for companies of all sizes. Complete integration between our solutions and your existing tech stack creates a holistic payment and communication experience tailored to the unique needs of the insurance industry. 

Are you ready to experience better for your insurance company? Contact us today to schedule a free demo.