Evaluating Customer Experience Management in the Insurance Industry - Empirical Studies of Company and Customer Perspectives

Abstract

Customer experience management has become a widely discussed topic within the insurance industry, with a growing number of insurers adopting the customer-oriented management approach to meet the challenges of today’s highly competitive market. As research and practice lack a comprehensive understanding of both the company and customer perspectives, this article contrasts insurers’ current efforts regarding the management approach with customers’ perceptions of their experiences. The results of an online survey among insurance companies show that insurers are in the midst of implementing the management approach, evaluating ist success using customer satisfaction and loyalty indicators. The proposed four-stage maturity model, which is developed on the basis of the survey data, can serve insurers as a decision-making tool to prioritize investments and activities regarding customer experience management. In a second online survey, insurance customers evaluate their experiences with their insurance provider. Structural equation modeling reveals that an effective customer journey design positively affects customer satisfaction and subsequently customer loyalty.