(Image source: Zipwhip.)
Amerisure, a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based commercial insurer, has deployed Zipwhip’s (Seattle) cloud-based texting platform to improve adjusters’ communications with claimants. As a result of the implementation of the claimant texting platform, the insurer has exchanged more than 20,000 texts and has enjoyed customer response rates exceeding 90 percent, according to a Zipwhip statement.
“We decided to add texting as part of our broader digital strategy to improve efficiency and service for agents, policyholders and claimants,” comments Jim Suchara, VP, Innovation, Amerisure. “Not only was Zipwhip straightforward to roll out nationally, it offered a powerful, easy-to-use SaaS business texting platform for driving high levels of engagement. The response rates have just been phenomenal when compared to other forms of communications our customers use.”
Jim Suchara, VP, Innovation, Amerisure.
The Zipwhip texting platform enables agents to have two-way SMS or MMS text conversations with customers using their existing landline phone numbers. This allows the company to promote that customers can “text or call” their business phone numbers while protecting its claims adjusters’ privacy by not requiring them to use personal or company-supplied mobile phones.
Claimants can send photos of damage via text to initiate the claims process, reducing the lengthy back-and-forth typically experienced when using fax or email. Adjusters are also able to handle multiple conversations with claimants at once using texting, which helps them be more productive and further reduces lag times.
One of Amerisure’s key selection criteria was a system that could scale. With that in mind, the Amerisure team thoroughly vetted Zipwhip’s technical architecture, product roadmap and security to ensure it would meet its stringent requirements, according to the Zipwhip statement.
Customers Respond More Quickly and Consistently
Since launch, the company’s claims adjusters have reported customers respond more quickly and consistently to texts than phone calls, voicemails or emails. Zipwhip says this matches the experience of its other insurance customers, who report that after implementing texting their claims cycles process 20 percent faster and their claimants are more engaged. The vendor says that some of its carrier customers have seen NPS scores improve by 10 percent.
Brendan Moore, VP, Enterprise Sales, Zipwhip.
Zipwhip says these results jibe with its internal research supports these results. According to the vendor’s 2020 State of Texting report, 61 percent of businesses surveyed said they play phone tag somewhat to very often with customers, and another recent Zipwhip report found that 48 percent of consumers have 50 or more unread emails sitting in their inbox, which can slow the processing of claims.
By contrast, Zipwhip also found that 83 percent of consumers reply to texts from businesses within 30 minutes or less, which is far greater than other forms of engagement. With its claimant texting platform, Amerisure has experienced faster referrals, easier sharing of information and reduced claims cycle times.
Rewarding Collaboration
“We’ve seen how texts can vastly improve customer and team communication, and the Amerisure story is an excellent example of this,” comments Brendan Moore, VP, Enterprise Sales, Zipwhip. “Credit goes to the entire cross-functional Amerisure team that led this initiative for their foresight and creativity in applying business texting to achieve their goals to improve efficiency and service. It has been a rewarding collaboration.”
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