Insurance industry urged to increase its digital offering
The insurance industry is being urged to broaden its digital offering after a new survey revealed that Canadian consumers want more tech-enabled products and services. The survey, conducted by Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), showed that over half of Canadians who pay for auto insurance would prefer to receive their insurance documents online or electronically if given the option. Unsurprisingly, that number increases to 71% among millenials.
President and CEO of IBC, Don Forgeron, encouraged the insurance industry to keep in line with the digitally driven times, saying: "We are living in an age of disruption. How we engage with our customers is evolving and consumer expectations are changing. As insurers, we need to have the ability to adapt to the rapid changes that are impacting our business.”
At present, very few insurance documents can be delivered electronically, however 54% of respondents said that they believed online insurance information is just as safe as paper-based insurance. Once again this number rose among millenials, to 61%.
However, somerecent changes have seen a move towards digital acceptance in the industry, making life easier for customers and insurers. Last year the Ontario government made it legal to securely add your proof of insurance, or “pink slip”, to your smartphone, so that you can always have it on you. And insurance isn’t the only part of Canadians’ lives that is welcoming new efficiency increasing innovation-in February a new pilot programme was launched, allowing the use of mobile devices to speed up processing times as border control.
“Only by embracing innovation and new ways of thinking will we be able to keep the door open to new products and services and new ways of delivering them to Canadians,” concluded Forgeron.