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How change succeeds: Technological innovation and digitalization in the collection and disbursement of insurers (1/2)
A guest article by Jürgen Balgheim, Krause & Schopp
The insurance industry in Germany is facing the mammoth task of digitalisation in order to make its business model fit for the future. Pressure is increasing from consumers, who have come to know and appreciate an end-to-end customer journey from other industries. At the same time, InsureTechs are entering the market, which do not recognise the limitations of legacy systems and can therefore act more freely. However, there is great potential in customer communication relating to payment transactions in particular, which insurers can realise with the right strategic approach and technological innovation.
In the first part, you can read, among other things, how the German insurance industry intends to solve the upcoming challenges in terms of digitalisation. You can find the second part of the technical article here.
Insurers have accepted the challenge
Oliver Bäte, CEO of Allianz, put it in a nutshell in an interview with the news magazine FOCUS: ‘It annoys me when employees want to help our customers in the way they rightly expect and are unable to do so due to technical limitations.’ Dr Thilo Schumacher, CEO of AXA Germany, identifies the reason for this on Handelsblatt Live as a lack of a digitalisation strategy: ‘Digitalisation only works if it is thought through and done properly: end-to-end.’
Oliver Bäte, CEO of Allianz: ‘It annoys me when employees want to help our customers in the way they rightly expect and are unable to do so due to technical limitations.’
Although they have different focuses, both have correctly recognised the upcoming challenges for the German insurance industry, as the Bitkom study on digital transformation in the German finance and insurance industry confirms: ‘On average, insurers’ digital offerings are only rated as ‘sufficient’. Insurers must continue to improve their digital offerings in order to meet the needs of customers.’
Jürgen Balgheim, Partner at Krause & Schopp: ‘No other specialist department has such frequent and intensive customer contact as payment transactions in direct and indirect debt collection. It is therefore all the more astonishing that many insurers underestimate this interaction and utilise it far too little for active customer orientation and thus for improved customer satisfaction.’
Great potential in collection and disbursement
No other specialist department within an insurance company has such frequent and intensive customer contact as payment transactions in direct and indirect collections. This makes it all the more astonishing that many insurers underestimate this interaction and utilise it far too little for active customer orientation and thus for improved customer satisfaction. To understand this, we need to take a look behind the scenes: Many insurers find themselves in a dilemma with regard to their enterprise architecture, especially with regard to their legacy systems with still largely host-based IT. The usual approach of selecting and introducing new software solutions alone is proving to be increasingly lengthy and cost-intensive.
Dr Thilo Schumacher, CEO of AXA Germany: ‘Digitalisation only works if it is thought of and done correctly: end-to-end.’
At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that technical innovation, based on digitalisation and increasing networking, cannot be solved with selective improvements to the infrastructure alone. This is because customers and the market as a whole are now making demands that have not yet been realised in the insurance market in this way in the past. Increasing mobility and individualisation require new concepts. Individualised customer contact via different channels chosen by the customer is no longer just a nice service, but a must.
In the second part of this specialist article, you can read about the findings and recommendations for action that the ibi research study ‘Payment disruptions/defaults in the insurance industry: awareness, prevention and strategies in the private customer business’ offers insurers.
ibi research study
The study ‘Payment disruptions/defaults in the insurance industry: awareness, prevention and strategies in the private customer business’ was conducted by the renowned ibi research institute at the University of Regensburg (www.ibi.de). The study partners are the companies Krause & Schopp (www.krause-schopp.de), experts in payment transactions for the insurance industry, atriga (www.atriga.com/en), a pioneer in customer-friendly and digital receivables management, and the white label BNPL enabler axytos (www.axytos.com/en).
About the author
Jürgen Balgheim, Partner at Krause & Schopp, advises as a corporate and technical architect on a future-orientated application landscape. As a systemic coach and organisational developer, he is a catalyst for change who supports teams in integrating new digital approaches. His holistic approach makes it possible not only to implement technology, but also to transform the corporate culture.
www.krause-schopp.de
Sources
1. Oliver Bäte, Chairman of the Board of Management of Allianz:
focus.de/finanzen/boerse/allianz-chef-baete-bekommen-die-quittung-fuer-die-lockere-geldpolitik_id_180444893.html
2. Bitkom study: Digital transformation in the German finance and insurance industry (December 2023):
bitkom.org/Bitkom/Publikationen/So-digital-ist-die-deutsche-Finanz-und-Versicherungsbranche-Die-Transformation-der-Finanzindustrie
3. Dr Thilo Schumacher, Chairman of the Management Board of AXA Germany:
https://live.handelsblatt.com/nur-wer-neu-denkt-kann-neues-schaffen/
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