Consumer First in a Less Complex Insurance Landscape

The customer experience of selecting life insurance in the future will become faster and less complex.

Customers will understand their choices better and it'll be a less intrusive process for them. They won't have to be as active in terms of supplying information, such as getting extra data, like blood test results, to supply to underwriters processing their applications.

It can be a real struggle for consumers to understand how they compare one life insurance product to another - how do they get comfortable with the idea of choosing one over another?

Up to now consumers relied on brokers or agents to help them with that decision. 

Already in many parts of the world they're moving beyond the broker and agent and getting confident about making these decisions on direct-to-consumer websites where they can select products themselves. 

And I think we're increasingly going to see consumers making better choices.

They'll have more understanding of insurance products and they're going to be able to make faster decisions because they'll know exactly what the offerings are without having to go through a lengthy process of underwriting to understand what the cost is going to be.

As a result, consumer experience is going to change quite dramatically.

The most important success factor for technology product innovation is putting the customer first.

That's often rolled out as a phrase, but not as often lived. 

To put the customer first, you must have humility and recognize that even though you may have an exciting technology idea, it may not be what a customer really wants or needs.

So, putting the customer first is vital and what that means is really understanding the customer, understanding what sort of novelty and innovation they are interested in and how much novelty and innovation they will accept.  

Usually, innovators have more expert insight into the problems faced and the technology behind a solution than the consumer has.

Businesses can often fall into the trap that it's all about the technology when really, it's about the business solution. It's about understanding what the consumer wants and the solutions they need and resisting the temptation to go in technology first. 

To be a good technology innovator, you must dial down your enthusiasm for your product and how you message the consumer.

You must truly understand the consumer. Focus on the novelty that you can bring to them. Don't make your solution so novel that the consumer won't be able to accept it. Make it familiar enough, but not so familiar that it's boring and make sure it addresses their significant business need. 

Resist the temptation to focus on the technology as the core message and the benefits to your business will flow.