Dramas and crises

See also: Woods' first blog

Oh, how lovely it is to be back in France, after what has to be described as a pretty successful trip down to Johannesburg. Some areas of the South African Insurance Market are showing good signs regarding investing in technology to provide differentiation in a competitive market. There are budgets being put aside and companies are going to market to seek new platforms and solutions, so I’m going to be busy for months to come. Happy days.

Though now living in France, I continue to enjoy UK Freeview channels through my satellite connection and was struck over the weekend by the prime time bombardment we all receive of insurance advertising.

This is mostly for motor aggregator sites but with the odd mainstream blue chip traditional carrier punting their new proposition via ads seemingly loaded with ever more surreal subliminal messages. It does surprise me how much money the industry is spending with TV advertising agencies in the vain pursuit of gaining small percentage point competitive advantages on motor books or indirectly on aggregator traffic.

“Yes, the UK is the most advanced market in the world in its propensity to buy Personal Lines insurances on line, by a long chalk.

Jim Woods

I trust that Marketing Executives have the empirical data to back up an insatiable desire to spend on the same old, same old types of campaigns.

With my technology hat on and a foot in the new world order camp of Web 2.0, Consumer 2.0 and even Insurance 2.0, I reflect frequently on how long it is going to take before our industry adopts new strategies for marketing.

Yes, the UK is the most advanced market in the world in its propensity to buy Personal Lines insurances on line, by a long chalk. Is it because the European market is still characterised by family generation loyalty to local high street tied agencies? And is it because the US market still makes it economical for younger drivers to be included on their parents’ policies so that the internet savvy generation has yet to pull through and find themselves making their own insurance buying decisions?

Who knows, but perhaps if and when that might happen, will there be a new Consumer 2.0 order where 9 out of 10 buyers will make their buying decisions based upon the opinion of their trusted social networking contacts. Will one-way advertising really continue to cut the mustard?

“Coming out of the US is a lot of good material which makes sense of the new connectivity of Web 2.0

Jim Woods

Coming out of the US is a lot of good material which makes sense of the new connectivity of Web 2.0, and, for corporations, it advocates rethinking about their customers as now functioning in a market situation. This can be likened to the bazaars of old, where story telling about product and service experiences amongst peer groups is a powerful way of influencing the buying habits of the group.

Of course, it has to be the networked socially connected consumer which starts the conversation and that conversation has to amuse and inform to be effective.

Consider then that while having a quick browse on YouTube just now, I was unable to find a single instance of a (genuine) consumer recounting a good insurance claims experience story.

How many times do we all admit that claims experience has the power to be a product and service differentiator in an industry where loyalty is eroded? Against that background, unless I am missing a trick, I might think about advocating that my satisfied claimants dust off their video cameras.

Jim Woods is business development manager at Duck Creek.