Every department of the insurance business has to read with a huge amount of paperwork to perform their respective job responsibilities.
In the traditional way of business, it becomes a massive task to draft each document, send it to every desk and the party spread across the geographies, wait for all the signatures and then save each document in a way that it is accessible even after a few years. However, this is easier said than done. It is hard to main physical papers for years without any damage and safe from risks of theft, displacement, misuses, etc.
Hence, these businesses and their decision-makers are keen on the use of esignature solutions. Digital signature in banking is one of the most sought after concepts of the present time.
This fact, combined with the present pandemic is changing the insurance landscape in terms of customer demands, as customers are expecting more convenience, contactless transactions, more security, less clutter and faster completion of documentation test the onboarding is quick.
While the banking sector is moving in direction of complete digitization with the invention of concepts like neo-banks and digital-first banks, how can an insurance sector lag behind? Even this sector is taking initiatives to improve the overall documentation process including the acquisition and engagement process to ensure that the end-user or the customer gets treated the best.
Esignature for insurance is trusted in this as it is known to offer higher rates of investment.
If we go by the recently conducted study in the digital adoption by the Insurance sector the study shows that electronic signature for insurance is no longer surprising to meaning insurance businesses rather they consider it as a mandatory system in their business workflow.
And the same is true across multiple sectors of the economy be it finance, retail, healthcare, or government agencies.
Before we go ahead under standard trends that have boosted the use of esignature solutions and the benefits of using esignature solutions, let us understand what does Electronic signature mean?
An electronic signature, or 'e signature or digital signature, is used by people to make a signature on a digital document showing his/her consent to the terms & conditions mentioned on the document.
The best esignature service will not fail to offer comfort, ease and convenience to users while performing signatures, completing verification, etc. While all these processes are taking place digitally, no manual efforts of any party are needed.
Here are the trends boosting the use of electronic signature for insurance:
Cost-Effectiveness
Businesses have to make multiple expenses on small yet crucial things like papers, stationery, printing machine, fax machine, etc.
These expenses though appear small, end up costing a business a lot in the long run. In an industry like insurance where documentation lies at the core, and crucial data is exchanged on a daily basis, businesses have to spend on the safety of all the files by building secure storage infrastructure and more.
Switching to esignature solutions mitigates the overall infrastructure cost by replacing the existing physical infrastructure with a digital one.
Plus, if you are thinking about the expenses you will have to make in subscribing electronic signature for insurance are negligible.
Read the blog- How to Pick the Best Software for e-Signatures in 2021
Workforce Productivity
Using eSignature solutions decreases the need for the resources that are required for customer/employee onboarding.
As most of the things will be done digitally, automatically, yin will not need much staff to take care of it. The existing staff can focus their attention and expertise on more productive business activities like business development, customer relation, sales, marketing, etc.
As the insurance sector is responsible for large footprints in both rural and urban areas, it is important that the insurance business focuses on offering sustainable services using each resource carefully.
A digital signature on banking and insurance also helps in boosting the overall business efficiency. Reducing traditional resources means a decrease in manual intervention, which means an increase in accuracy and speed.
Customer Experience
Using esignature solutions, insurance businesses can interact and serve customers across the sales channels. Today's customers prefer a personalized, curated, convenient and efficient buying experience.
Customers are ready to pay more for comfort and speedy services. As per one study, the insurance sector has to lose around 20% of its customer base just because some processes they follow still demand manual intervention and time-consuming paperwork.
Many times, customers complain and show disappointment due to a time mismatch between their schedule and the schedule of the insurance company representative.
In traditional working methods, either the party has to compromise or adjust to complete the documentation formalities.
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Electronic signature for insurance solves it all. Using digital solutions customers have the flexibility of completing the entire documentation process from anywhere and anytime using any computing device that has an internet connection.
Customers and insurance representatives do not have to meet in person any longer. This also adds to customer satisfaction and comfort.
Enhanced Security Capabilities
When it comes to the digitalization of the documentation process, the emphasis is always given on real-time document tracking and safe storage, etc.
especially to have a clear audit trail of the signing procedure in the case any dispute or security breach takes place. Insurance businesses that use electronic signatures are merely like to comply with the regulations as most of the professional esignature software features and the whole solution is usually in compliance with the laws of the land.
Digital access to the digital documents means that the parties can easily find out the identity of the signer, or can monitor all the activities that have taken place on the document, etc. This means no other party other than those who are allowed to access the document can reach the data on the document.
In short, the importance of digital signature platforms will continue to expand at a positive pace. Now, let us take a look at the benefits of the electronic signature for insurance:
Electronic signatures have transformed the way insurance businesses interact with their customers. However, customers want more than just good treatment, good communication and 24*7 availability of the insurers.
They want speed, accuracy, quick documentation, easy access, the comfort of signing from home, etc.
In todays world, signing a document doesnt have to be a disruption in the daily routine. Business can utilise a digital signature solution with maximum benefits if the solution is user-friendly.
Customers must be able to sign documents, fill in data, add attachments from anywhere at any time using any computing device. What can be more comfortable for insurance customers than this?
Professional esignature solutions enable a business to enjoy the following benefits:
Mitigated operational overhead
The short and fast sales cycle
Improved accuracy
Better productivity
Decrease in bottlenecks
Boosted claims experience
As customers are increasingly expecting remote interaction increases, the pressure on insurers to offer optimized experiences increases.
Mitigated Operational Overhead
Processing paper-based documentation is time-consuming and costly. For example, filing a document costs businesses around $20 of labour cost.
Plus, there is a cost of managing and maintaining those papers or destroying them too in some cases. Digital signature solutions save a business from these costs.
The Short and Fast Sales Cycle
Suppose, one client has agreed to buy an insurance policy after your representative spends around half an hour on discussion with a customer.
Now, the representative has to email all the documents to the client for signatures. Who can guarantee the time this client is going to take to sign the document? You never know if he/she decides not to go ahead with the purchase! Hence, it is important that the product gets sold before the purchaser changes the mind.
This means the sales cycle has to be short. Esignature solutions make it possible. Sales agents can complete all the formalities in one meeting.
Improve Accuracy
Fixing errors cost insurance businesses a lot of money. If the error is caught while the process is still in, it is easy to rectify it in real-time.
However the longer it takes to identify an error, the costlier the certification process is. If the errors are in large number, the system might take days to find and rectify them.
Esignature software features remind users whenever there is false data or an error in the document before it gets submitted in the data.
This means every data submitted in the system using this solution is more likely to be accurate.
Improve Productivity
If the business wishes to sustain itself in the market, it has to use its resources in the right way. Employees should spend more time performing core business activities rather than chasing signatures and correcting data errors.
With improved production, employee satisfaction increases too.
Apart from the above-mentioned benefits, esignature solutions are used in the insurance sector to decrease the number of bottlenecks in the process, improve client experience and add more satisfied customers to the business.
