An industry exposed to radical change
It is becoming increasingly important for insurance companies to understand their customers holistically, including their habits and preferences. This is necessary to hold their own against market pressure, InsurTechs and Big Tech and be capable to offer suitable products at the right time. Customer-specific communication is no longer a unique selling point – it is nowadays generally expected by the user.
The challenge: sustainable interaction
Motivated through this change, in fall of 2020, seven students from Hasso Plattner Institute Potsdam and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology were challenged by the German insurance company and long-term partner of SUGAR network HUK-COBURG and its digital subsidiary HUK24.
Specifically, they were asked what sustainable interaction with customers could look like based on occasions derived from user data and interactions.
Two addressees: the customer and HUK-COBURG
Through its twelve million customers, HUK-COBURG possesses large data sets with information about its customers. It was quickly recognized that this information was not sufficient to derive a comprehensive, needs-oriented customer approach for attractive products in the insurance, health and mobility segments. In addition, communication has so far been mostly one-sided and, characteristic for financial institutions and insurance companies, limited to only a handful of interactions per year.
In the course of the 9-month design thinking program, the students were able to gather the needs, requirements and experiences of customers as well as the ones of HUK-COBURG on the topic of data generation and interaction in numerous interviews. All this went surprisingly well in a fully remote setting. During the process, it became clear, that a growing digitally affine segment of the population is striving for simplicity, availability, and flexibility in its communication. It also crystallized a need for new tools for sustainable and personalized use of the generated data on the HUK-COBURG side.
The solution: a new perspective on customer dialogue
Through 65 extensively tested prototypes, the team ultimately came up with a two-sided solution addressing and connecting the customer and HUK-COBURG. The presentation of the final prototype impressed the liaisons as well as the participating members of the board.
We are curious to see what innovative products HUK-COBURG, especially HUK Digitale Services, will present in the next few years.