Social Media Starring Insurance Companies

“Phata Poster, Nikla Hero”. The advent of social media in the recent years has seen a new player entering the arena. With approximately two billion people using social media in 2015, the Insurance Companies have begun digging for their share of gold. Each of these insurance companies is coming up with various strategies to leverage their position in the social media.
Brand is what people talk about a company with their family and friends. When 85% of the people in the age group 20-40 years are using internet, who also happen to be your target customers, doesn’t social media provide a strong platform for insurance companies to engage with customers and improve their business? A survey by Accenture reveals that 48% of the consumers would consider social media comments before making their insurance buying decisions.
Insurance companies can use social media to manage the brand, communicate information, develop products and manage claims.
How Social Media helps in managing your brand image:
1. Insurers can increase visibility and familiarity among customers through social media campaigns.
2. They can develop trust among customers by advertising the awards and positive feedback received by them.
3. They can ensure a positive sentiment around the brand by engaging in and publicizing their philanthropic activities. Companies can measure the impact of their campaigns using social media monitoring tools.
4. They can market the insurance products on social media and create positive conversations around the brand.
5. #KeepGoodGoing, a campaign by New York Life Insurance, consisted of stories and videos that ‘celebrate the good in people’s lives. They also have an awards segment for dads, moms, mentors and coaches who inspire others to help children live a happy life. The campaign was started in 2012 and is still going strong.

Communicating your Information with Ease:
1. Insurers can provide general information, advice and tips useful to customers that is otherwise not communicated in personal interactions.
2. They can create online communities for customers with similar concerns or backgrounds. Companies can also engage independent agents and influencers to spread awareness and information.
3. According to a report by Accenture, 80 percent of respondents feel that personalized advice from their insurance carrier is either “somewhat” or “very” important.
4. For Example: Zurich Insurance Group, UK partnered with the Guardian to create a series of articles to provide useful information for those within the voluntary sector.

Customization of products according to customer needs:
1. Individuals and groups usually discuss various insurance policies and their pros and cons on different websites and forums. Information gleamed from tracking these conversations gives insights into the emerging trends and needs of customers in the insurance sector.
2. Social media can be used to discover the risk of potential policy holders. Customers may have different hobbies and interests which (E.g. horse riding) which may alter and add to their risk profile. Companies can get this information by following them on social media. This leads to more personalized insurance policies. Thus, such information about customers is valuable while preparing insurance policies.

Managing claims:
1. Social media helps insurers to discover insurance frauds. By monitoring social media sites of customers, insurers can find posts that show misrepresented or concealed activity that contends the customer’s claims.
2. In case of a catastrophe, insurers can directly reach out to policy holders in order to assist them to avail their claims. They can provide information on the claim collection process.
3. For Example: Erie Insurance Group’s auto policies do not cover participation of vehicles in any sporting events. A Claim was filed alleging that the engine of the claimant’s tractor was damaged on account of someone filling wrong fuel in it. Erie finds YouTube clip and Facebook photos that show claimant engaging in a tractor pull of the same truck and hence, the claim was rejected.
With customers using social media to voice their complaints, the insurance companies can monitor social media for complaints and respond to them. Timely responses can stop the negative posts from going viral and to maintain brand reputation.