How can travel insurers succeed in the on-demand economy?

This 'uberization' process, where you can turn services on-and-off at the switch of a button, is still novel in the travel insurance market. But, it's gaining traction. Customers like the convenience, while insurance companies benefit by gaining more insight into their customers' habits.

Detailed customer behaviour data is essential for insurance companies in an increasingly competitive market. Traditional and non-traditional players are launching innovative seamless services to meet customer demand for an anytime, anywhere, experience.

Unlike banks, insurance providers tend not have massive transactional data to hand. However, to boost customer engagement with personalized communications and services, they do need the right tools to leverage data, such as customer location.

'Always-on' customers need you to be there for them

Travel trends have shifted significantly in the last decade. Trips now tend to be shorter and more frequent. Millennials, in particular, are adventurous travelers, with some even living the 'digital nomad' lifestyle.

Take Amsterdam-based designer, Mary, for example. She's also a travel blogger with over 10K Instagram followers. When she gets a last-minute invitation to a terrarium design workshop in Barcelona, she has to pack and move fast.

On her way to the airport, she schedules her appointments and books a hotel using her smartphone. She's so busy, travel insurance simply doesn't occur to her.

Giving customers peace of mind when they need it most

Thankfully, Mary has her car insurance with Verisurance, so she has the location-enabled app installed on her phone. Because the app detects that Mary is at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, she receives a notification about "pay-as-you-travel" on-demand insurance.

She's asked a few simple questions, such as who she's travelling with and whether it's for business or leisure. In around one minute, she's given details of the standard coverage, excess and daily rates for the EU and rest of the world. Mary clicks 'accept' and receives her travel insurance confirmation right away. Now, she can relax and enjoy her flight.

Personalized offers based on detailed customer insight

The Verisurance virtual assistant platform welcomes Mary as soon as she lands at Barcelona El Prat airport. It uses geolocation and machine learning to find local insurance rates. When Mary types "yes" to agree, she immediately gets a message confirming her travel insurance coverage.

Creating added value using customer data

Mary enjoys the workshop in Barcelona and, after four days, lands back at Amsterdam Schiphol. Her Verisurance virtual assistant welcomes her home, shows her the total insurance costs for the trip and asks which registered credit card she'd like to pay with. Mary enters the last four digits of her card and the CVC code, and instantly receives a payment approved notice. She also opts to have a costs summary and payment receipt sent to her preferred email address.

Tracking customer expectations and preferences

Finally, Mary gets a message that reads:

Dear Mary, it was a pleasure to assist you during your trip. May I kindly ask you to take a second and give us feedback on how you have experienced our interaction and services? 1 for Excellent, 2 for Good, 3 for Satisfactory, 4 for unsatisfactory

When Mary types in "1" and sends, she's rewarded:

Thank you for helping us improve our service and customer experience. We will definitely express our appreciation soon. Don't forget to check your Verisurance mobile app's "Surprise awards" section regularly. Hope to talk to you again on your next trip, have a safe journey home.

Developing customer-centric tools to improve your value propositions

The VeriPark CRM platform does more than offer your customers convenience and peace of mind when travelling. It lets you manage all your distribution channels, including customer or broker portals and contact centers, on one platform.

Our Omni-Channel Insurance services help insurers provide consistent and integrated services, whatever channel their customers choose. This gives you the opportunity to map the entire customer journey and communication preferences through analytics and rich data sets. The insights you gain into your customers' travel habits can inform new product development, marketing campaigns and personalized offers.