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Insurance is a very tough market with nearly 400 providers and a raft of aggregators, creating a consumer perception that the cheapest deal is found by switching every year. To tackle this, the company used research and insight to develop a data-driven service proposition which improved renewal and cancellation rates. The judges were very impressed by the focus on customer satisfaction and the way technical and operational resources were combined.

Market research showed that customers hate call centres, long waiting times, slow call backs and the need to repeat their problem to multiple call handlers. Existing customers wanted to be treated differently and did not feel they were rewarded for their loyalty.

To counter this, a pilot programme was developed call Personal Customer Manager. In this, 60,000 motor and home insurance policy holders were sent an email providing them with a named personal contact at the business. After a four-month trial, results were analysed to identify the impact on renewal, mid-term cancellation and cross-sell. More Th>n’s customer segmentation was also applied to identify how PCM could be targeted at the most valuable groups.

From this, the challenge of back-end data management was undertaken. This required balancing the number and value of customers assigned to each PCM by product and channel. Daily data transfers into the call centre are necessary to ensure the managers have up-to-date and relevant information on the customers they are handling.

This database is also used for campaign selections by marketing.

Personalised emails from the manager have a 22 per cent higher open rate than the control. The database is treated like an accounting system, with customers counted in and out, with the mix adjusted as customers or managers leave.

The project achieved uplift in customer satisfaction metrics of between 5 per cent for value perception and 34 per cent for familiarity. Critically, motor renewal rates rose to an index of 120 for customers assigned a PCM and 105 for home customers. Mid-term cancellation rates among non-PCM customers were indexed at 393 above those in the scheme while value by customer rose to 168 for registered customers.

Best Use of Data for a Financial Product

Highly Commended: More Th>n
Stephens Francis Whitson
Pet Birthday

Renewal data is the biggest driver of response and conversion in insurance marketing. While home and motor dates are widely available, there is little available on pet insurance. By looking at internal customer and prospect data, the company wanted to identify an alternative approach that would be as effective.

The solution was to use the pet’s birthday and a mailing written by the pet, not the insurance provider, in the month beforehand. Data was profiled and segmented to exclude older pets and identify the most likely responders. Response beat control by 67 per cent and conversion by 51 per cent, while cost per sale was halved.