7 Strategies for Insurers to Strengthen Customer Partnerships

By Will Wood, Director of Life and Health at INSTANDA

The relationship between insurers and their customers is changing—and fast. Customers expect more from their insurer; they want tailored products and meaningful experiences that offer convenience, value, and build loyalty. For insurers, this shift is an opportunity to refocus on what matters most — listening to customers and delivering personalised products and experiences.

Below, I explore how insurers can strengthen these connections and become trusted partners.

Creating a Customer-Centric Foundation

Developing deeper and more value-based customer relationships starts with rethinking products and services through the customer’s perspective. Today’s customers do not just want insurance—they want solutions that fit their unique lives and circumstances.

Research from INSTANDA’s 2024 Global Report reveals that customers overwhelmingly prefer insurers who make them feel seen, valued, and understood.

Key Opportunities to Enhance Customer-Centricity

• Bridging the Customer Gap. Insurers have a unique opportunity to align their products and delivery methods more closely with customer needs. By enhancing interactions to meet or exceed customer expectations, they can unlock greater utility and foster stronger loyalty.

• Creating Seamless Operations Across the Value Chain. Optimising connectivity between departments like sales, marketing, claims, and customer service can transform fragmented workflows into smooth, omnichannel experiences.

• Unlocking the Potential of Data. With significant progress already made in data collection and insights, insurers now stand at an exciting crossroads to fully harness actionable insights. Strengthening data strategies can further enhance customer experiences while delivering greater value at both individual and scalable levels.

7 Strategies to Build Better Customer Relationships

1. Create Seamless Omnichannel Experiences

Consistency matters. Whether it's buying a policy, resolving a claim, or requesting support, customers value consistency across every touchpoint. Insurers can adopt a customer-first approach by leveraging self-service technologies. For example, enabling customers to handle claims or policy queries via intuitive platforms avoids long wait times, creating a positive impression at every interaction.

2. Enable the Power of Personalisation

Personalisation is more than a passing trend—it’s a customer expectation. Insurers who invest effort in understanding customer segments and market trends are uniquely positioned to respond to changing needs.

By maintaining a focus on customer preferences and emerging requirements, insurers can develop targeted offerings that resonate with specific life stages. For instance, bundling solutions for young families tackling financial planning or offering retirees coverage tailored to their unique lifestyles can enhance value and foster loyalty.

Insurers also benefit from collaborating closely with research companies, going beyond product-level insights to gain insights that anticipate and adapt to shifting customer needs.

3. Invest in Actionable Insights

Progressive insurers are adept at leveraging connected data to provide innovative, highly tailored solutions.

Let’s explore the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, for example. Insurers could use connected data—such as real-time health metrics, insulin levels, and treatment effectiveness—to accurately assess risk and offer pricing models that truly reflect the individual’s health status.

On a macro scale, insurers could analyse this data across their customer base to identify trends and anticipate future needs, ensuring they stay ahead in delivering meaningful offerings. Predictive modelling, customer sentiment analysis, and behavioural insights all play a key role in driving this innovative approach.

4. Drive Loyalty Through Service and Engagement

Loyalty is built by fostering trust and creating ongoing value. Customer-centric insurers achieve this by engaging customers through timely and personalised outreach, such as tailored communication during renewals, lifecycle touchpoints or exclusive offers.

Proactive communication during pivotal moments—like following up after a claim or offering customised coverage as customers' needs evolve—reinforces loyalty. This approach showcases a genuine commitment to fostering long-term relationships with customers.

5. Adopt AI as an Enabler

AI is fundamentally transforming the insurance landscape. From chatbot-powered servicing to sentiment analysis, AI empowers insurers to meet customer demands quickly and effectively.

Imagine your chatbot not only resolving a customer query but also offering proactive advice that fits their profile. Admittedly, it’s easier with less complex products, but as I explored in a recent article on AI for Insurance Newsnet, chatbots are becoming more intelligent. As an example, INSTANDA partners with Floatbot, a powerful AI solutions provider that creates chat, text and voice bots for servicing, claims, advisory and underwriting.

Over the next couple of years, virtual agents (VAs) – the more advanced cousins of chatbots - are expected to provide seamless claims support and policy advice for customers exploring individual insurance offerings. This shift will allow human agents to concentrate on higher-value tasks, such as developing and managing product bundles for multi-line customers.

6. Simplify the Value Chain

Complex internal processes often result in customer frustration. Simplifying the value chain by aligning sales, marketing, claims handling, and customer service into one cohesive ecosystem eliminates friction and ensures a seamless experience.

This shift also boosts internal efficiency, helping insurers respond to customers faster and more effectively.

7. Champion an Ecosystem Approach

The ecosystem landscape is having a hugely positive impact. Collaborating with integration-ready third-party platforms like INSTANDA allows insurers to extend their offerings and introduce innovative solutions. Embedded insurance offerings and cross-industry partnerships unlock new ways to engage with customers, providing more value and convenience in every interaction.

How INSTANDA Helps Insurers Deliver Customer-Centric Solutions

INSTANDA empowers insurers to deliver tailored, customer-focused experiences through its advanced no-code platform. Here's how it stands out:

• Fast Product Development. Skip protracted development time — rapidly launch new products with INSTANDA’s product-agnostic, fully configurable no-code platform.

• Integrated Experiences. Seamlessly connect customer touchpoints for consistent interactions, from policy quotes to documents and reporting.

• Streamlined Underwriting. Create medical underwriting questions and ratings directly within the platform or use one of INSTANDA’s software partners for a connected fully automated underwriting solution – massively reducing quote and bind times.

• Seamless Policy Management. Simplify policy administration with automated workflows and self-service portals, so customers get what they need faster.

• Flexible Ecosystem. INSTANDA integrates with AI tools, wearables, and data platforms to create adaptable, innovative customer-centric solutions.

Final Thoughts

The future of insurance lies in creating deeper, collaborative relationships with customers. Insurers that prioritise personalisation, innovative technology, and seamless service delivery will stand out as trusted partners—not just providers.

At INSTANDA, we’re helping insurers redefine customer relationships by offering tools to deliver real value and foster loyalty.

Now is the time to act. Connect with us to see how we can help your business create the partnerships your customers deserve. Together, we can shape a more customer-focused future.