The Customer is Always Right: Leveraging ACORD Standards to Meet Their Expectations

Customer service requires information. And to get information, your systems must communicate. By enabling communication among internal and external systems using ACORD standards, you can be responsive today and into the future.

Today's customers are sophisticated, savvy and know what they want. We've all heard it:

"I want a policy that meets my needs."

"I want to know the status of the claim now."

"I need to know, now not later."

Well, the customer is always right as they say. They know what is possible with today's technology and the onus falls on providers -- be they agents, carriers or any other member of the insurance value chain -- to meet their expectations. They want information, personalization, immediate access, and answers. They know that through the Web there is a big world of options available to them in a matter of keystrokes.

All businesses are now bending over backwards to meet customer expectations, and the insurance industry is challenged to meet those service levels. Banks, financial advisers and securities companies are providing consumers with instant access, updates, and online capabilities 24-7. This drives a new level of expectation that some insurance companies and agencies are trying to meet. However, are we keeping up with expectations? If not, your current and future customer base could be jeopardized.

Now we are evaluated based on speed and ease of service whether it means providing a quote, issuing a policy, answering questions, providing access to customer assets or processing claims. The only way to build and maintain a loyal customer base is by being responsive -- not only meeting, but surpassing, expectations.

This has given rise to a customer-centric view where we stress individuality and the personal touch. It doesn't matter who you are or how big your individual policies or accounts are, you're important because of your entire relationship and it's potential for the future. Companies must understand the unique customer needs and changing requirements. They also must provide the customer-expected level of interaction to maintain and increase customer loyalty.

Unfortunately, for many companies this is a tall order due to various reasons including aged technology, siloed information and systems not communicating internally or externally. There is an imperative to make all systems communicate to satisfy customer expectations and data access requirements.

Data availability has been a term discussed and debated for a long time that is now a reality. The use of ACORD data standards is an essential element in making systems communicate and ensuring data availability.

Customers really don't care how you get the information, only that it is available when and how they want it -- via the Web, phone, service center or mail, or a combination of these. However for carriers, the questions are availability, quality, cost and impact on the bottom line to attain this level of service. You do have options:

You can do nothing and risk losing profitable customers due to lack of service and access to information.
You could invest in entirely new proprietary systems and rebuild your infrastructure. This could take years, cost a fortune and will not move you towards open access.
Or you could implement ACORD data standards within your existing and new systems, enabling them to speak the same language, share data, and provide flexibility and reusability. ACORD's new ROI tools have shown many members how they can save money, increase service and improve the bottom line using standards.