Optimize the Insurance Agent s Performance with KANA Solutions KANA Solutions Help Agents Deliver a Compelling Customer Experience with Speed and

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Optimize the Insurance Agent’s

Performance with KANA Solutions

KANA Solutions Help Agents Deliver a Compelling Customer Experience with

Speed and Efficiency

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Good experiences.

On brand. On budget.

Executive Summary ...3

Introduction ...4

Requirements for Optimizing Agent Performance ...4

KANA Customer Service Solutions Enhance Sales and Service Effectiveness ...5

Advice-driven Knowledge Management Drives Agent Proficiency ...5

Guiding Agents to the RIght Answer ...6

Trusted Content Increases Accuracy and Reliability ...7

Service Process Automation Reduces Administration Time and Costs ...7

Getting Closer to the Customer with Multi-Channel Interactions ...8

Conclusion ...10

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Good experiences.

On brand. On budget.

©2011 KANA Software, Inc. • 840 W California Ave, Ste 100, Sunnyvale CA 94086 • 1.800.737.8738 • [email protected] • www.kana.com PAGE 3 Increasing the effectiveness of captive and independent agents is crucial to promoting and sustaining growth in the insurance industry. However, carriers are faced with three issues that impact their ability to support agents so as to increase their loyalty, enhance their readiness to sell and improve the quality of the customer experience.

Trustworthy information is hard to obtain, which leads to inconsistent and inaccurate answers across service channels, such as the agent and the carrier’s call center. This slows down the sales process, frustrates customers and results in more costly escalations to the call center.

Agents place higher value on a carrier’s ability to reduce cycle times and provide marketing support than they do on price, product and commission rates.

Customers demand greater communication choice that enables them to do business over multiple channels beyond the phone, including the Web, email and even live chat. Agents who can interact only via the phone are missing opportunities to get closer to the customer.

To optimize agent performance, these issues must be addressed with solutions that enable insurance companies to do the following:

Offer highly efficient ways to access and leverage the carrier’s knowledge assets. Accurate knowledge must be combined with efficient information access so that agents can answer questions and advise customers appropriately to reduce escalations and increase the speed and effectiveness of sales.

Agent portals and Web technology must be capable of automating transactional processes so that agents have a unified interface that guides them through complex processes and eliminates the need to use multiple systems or rekey data.

Agents must be able to leverage multiple communication channels to offer interaction availability that adds value to the customer experience.

KANA directly addresses these challenges to growth with solutions that automate the process of answering questions, enable organizations to use portals as a central site for completing customer-facing transactions, and facilitate multi-channel communications between customers, agents and carriers.

This paper examines how KANA solutions provide these capabilities so that insurance companies can deepen agent loyalty, enhance their readiness to sell and increase customer satisfaction with the highest quality customer experience.

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Good experiences. On brand. On budget.

Introduction

For insurance companies, increasing the sales effectiveness of captive and independent agents is crucial to promoting and sustaining growth. More than 85% of CEOs in a survey chose distributor effectiveness and productivity as the number one issue facing the insurance industry.i While carriers are looking to improve agent loyalty and increase their readiness to sell, three major issues impact their ability to effectively support their agents.

1. Trustworthy information is difficult to obtain, leading to inconsistent and inaccurate answers across service channels. It is unacceptable for an agent to give a customer a response that is later contradicted by the carrier’s call center, but without the ability to quickly locate timely and correct information, inconsistency and inaccuracy increase. As a result, the sales process slows down, customer frustration grows and costs rise as more inquiries must be escalated to the call center.

2. Agents are bogged down by administrative activities. Agents have proven unwilling to do business with carriers where inadequate support results in difficulty determining the right product for a customer, long cycle times and time-wasting administrative tasks. Agents place higher value on a carrier’s ability to reduce cycle times and provide marketing support than they do on price, product and commission rates.ii They regard a carrier’s ability to reduce the burden of administrative processes, such as underwriting and re-keying of data, as a key factor to improving their readiness to sell. 3. Customers demand greater communication choice that enables them to do business when and how they want. The rapid growth of channels beyond the telephone, including the Web, email and live chat, has fueled customers’ desire for the opportunity to use these channels to do business with agents and insurance companies. Agents who can interact only via the phone are missing opportunities to get closer to the customer.

Requirements for Optimizing Agent Performance

To solve these issues and optimize agent performance, insurance companies need solutions that enable them to do the following:

Offer highly efficient ways to access and leverage the carrier’s knowledge assets. A reliable centralized information source, managed by the carrier but available to all agents, ensures that customers always get consistent answers. When trustworthy knowledge is combined with efficient information finding, agents can answer questions and advise customers appropriately, radically reducing the need to escalate calls while increasing the speed and effectiveness of sales.

Take advantage of agent portals and Web technology to automate and streamline transactional processes. While application forms and processes have been available online for some time, agents need higher levels of support that guides them through complex processes, provides a unified interface that eliminates the need to use multiple systems or rekey data, and allows them to track progress.

Provide communication convenience via multiple channels. In the always-on world of the Internet, agents who can leverage the Web, email and live chat for customer communications gain a strategic opportunity to offer interaction availability that adds value to the customer experience, leading to more sales opportunities and more loyal customers.

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KANA Customer Service Solutions

Enhance Sales and Service Effectiveness

KANA solutions directly address these challenges to growth in the insurance industry. KANA provides insurance companies with solutions that optimize the use of information, streamline transactions and provide a holistic view of the customer across channels. KANA delivers three key capabilities to increase the effectiveness of insurance sales and service as follows:

Advice-driven knowledge management provides guided search and retrieval that streamlines the process of finding relevant, trustworthy and targeted answers in large bodies of information.

Process automation enables organizations to develop the agent portal as a central site for resolving informational inquiries and completing customer-facing transactions.

Multi-channel communications via the Web, email and live collaboration promote efficient and timely interactions between customers, agents and carriers.

Advice-driven Knowledge Management

Drives Agent Proficiency

The complexity and variety of the product mix in the insurance industry places extreme knowledge demands on agents. Providers of life insurance, annuities and other wealth accumulation products expect agents to help customers analyze their financial portfolios and advise on future wealth accumulation and management issues. Property and casualty agents must provide accurate answers to a customer’s inquiry about the exact terms of coverage in the individual’s state as well as suggest appropriate policy up-sells.

KANA solutions combine knowledge management that guides the user, service process automation and integrated multi-channel communications to enhance the quality of the customer experience.

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©2011 KANA Software, Inc. • 840 W California Ave, Ste 100, Sunnyvale CA 94086 • 1.800.737.8738 • [email protected] • www.kana.com PAGE 6 While insurance companies have made significant investments to increase information availability via Web and portal technology, the unfortunate side effect is that agents are now faced with searching through an overwhelming amount of constantly changing information. One approach to solving this problem has been to use search engines to find appropriate information. However, search requires agents to wade through multiple, randomly presented “hits”. This has proven unsuccessful at increasing sales effectiveness or reducing call time because it encourages users to spend more time researching and often requires constant rediscovery of each answer by each user.

Guiding Agents to the Right Answer

KANA offers a distinctly different approach to information retrieval through advice-driven knowledge management. Going far beyond traditional search, KANA knowledge management guides the agent to the right answer by combining user profiling, role-based content retrieval, flexible search and retrieval methods and automatically suggested answers.

With user profiling, once-hidden enterprise data is immediately visible on the agent front line. Carriers can leverage data contained in CRM and back-end systems to automatically tailor the search path and present answers that are specific to the customer and incident. For example, with knowledge of the customer’s location applied to a search about automobile coverage, the results list is limited to answers for that state only.

Carriers can also establish role-based information access, setting up permissions that grant or deny access to content based on the user’s role in the organization. This enables an immediate filtering of knowledge assets that simplifies the search and retrieval process. Thus, agents see information only for the products available in their area or a particular commercial line. Or an administrative assistant’s access is limited to information relevant to the job function.

Multiple retrieval methodologies step the user through the process of determining the

intent of a customer’s question and automatically recommend the most likely solution. Users can select and combine the methodologies that best suit their level of experience and skill.

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©2011 KANA Software, Inc. • 840 W California Ave, Ste 100, Sunnyvale CA 94086 • 1.800.737.8738 • [email protected] • www.kana.com PAGE 7 For example, for a customer interested in an annuity, the agent does an initial search on 403B that yields a list of 20 possible products. An automatically presented interview guides the agent through the process of selecting the right product with scripted questions about income, discretionary funds, retirement goals, desired retirement age and so forth. The interview path changes dynamically as the agent enters the customer’s answers. Based on these answers, KANA knowledge management refines and filters the potential annuity choices to recommend the most appropriate product for the individual. The interview not only simplifies the process of the sale, it also enables all agents — regardless of experience or skill level — to consistently follow best practices for advising customers.

Trusted Content Increases Accuracy and Reliability

In many cases, search-based knowledge management solutions emphasize their ability to sift through multiple enterprise systems to present results. As we have all experienced, this usually generates long hit lists with many irrelevant entries. Another failing of this approach is that results are presented indiscriminately. The user does not know if the information is accurate or current, increasing the possibility of an incorrect or out-of-date answer. For insurance agents — offsite and geographically dispersed — this type of searching can impede effectiveness and efficiency.

Agents must be sure that the information delivered through their portals is trustworthy. KANA knowledge management is designed to do exactly that. While the KANA solution allows for enterprise-system searches if desired, an object-oriented approach to content creation and management ensures that users are always presented with accurate, up-to-date information. Content contained in enterprise systems, such as Content Management Systems (CMS)iii, CRM applications, customer and policy databases and more can be selectively chosen and incorporated into the knowledgebase to ensure the validity of information used in customer-facing processes. Knowledge authors, subject manager experts, agents and the carrier’s staff can contribute knowledge which can then be ranked, cross-referenced, re-used in multiple solutions and expired. Each contribution can be routed through a publication approval workflow to ensure the validity of the content. Because accuracy and currency are easily controlled through the rules-driven workflow, agents can be sure they always have trustworthy information.

Service Process Automation Reduces

Administration Time and Costs

Carriers can expand the efficiency of their agent network by streamlining and automating customer-facing business processes, such as submitting a policy application, changing allocation of assets or filing a claim. While agent portals typically provide information access, by expanding the portal as the central site to manage transactional processes as well, carriers can reduce the cycle time for new business, more efficiently process policy changes and claims and eliminate the need to re-key data.

KANA offers an unparalleled opportunity to automate customer-facing business processes with a combination of form-based scripts, enterprise system integration and knowledge management. The solution delivers the following key capabilities.

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©2011 KANA Software, Inc. • 840 W California Ave, Ste 100, Sunnyvale CA 94086 • 1.800.737.8738 • [email protected] • www.kana.com PAGE 8 Using these capabilities, carriers can significantly enhance the productivity of their agent network to increase reduce administrative time and increase sales readiness. For example:

Carriers can shift the burden of underwriting simple and semi-complex complex risks from in-house to qualified agents, contact centers or outsourced underwriters because scripted workflows ensure any user will correctly follow the process.

Carriers can shorten the lifecycle of applications and claims. For example, a script for First Notification of Loss can codify the questions and best practices used to help detect fraud and quickly identify subrogation.

Agents can improve their up-selling and cross-selling rates with contextually relevant, personalized offers presented automatically as part of the script.

Carriers can reduce agent training time and costs. Since form-based scripts capture all data entries, agents do not need to learn multiple applications or systems to complete transactions.

Carriers can comply with government regulations as agents can be required to follow a certain question path and automatically captured transcripts document all parts of the customer interaction.

Getting Closer to Customer with

Multi-channel Interactions

When it comes to doing business with an insurance company, customers are champion multi-channel communicators. They talk with an agent to choose a policy, email the carrier’s service center to ask a question about coverage, or call the agent’s assistant to change coverage or asset allocation. For customers, all that matters is getting an answer – not who they talk with. With this complex customer environment, insurance companies are challenged to provide consistent service across channels.

As this paper has discussed, KANA solutions meet the challenge of providing consistent and accurate service with a common knowledge infrastructure and process automation that enables all users to follow best practices. These capabilities combine with the third value KANA solutions deliver — the ability for insurance agents and other company

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©2011 KANA Software, Inc. • 840 W California Ave, Ste 100, Sunnyvale CA 94086 • 1.800.737.8738 • [email protected] • www.kana.com PAGE 9 representatives to develop ever-closer relationships with customers via multi-channel interactions.

KANA multi-channel solutions for email, live collaboration, Web self-service and agent-assisted service are recognized as industry leaders. These integrated solutions offer customers easy, convenient ways to engage with the organization. For example, the self-service solution allows customers access to the same guidance and knowledge used by a carrier’s agents and call center representatives (CSRs). Integrated email and live collaboration provide inquiry and escalation paths that reduce the need to pick up the phone.

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Conclusion

The growth of new service channels and the growing complexity of the insurance market increase the need for a consistent, engaging customer experience. Let’s look at how the KANA solutions can combine to deliver a truly compelling customer experience.

1. Via a portal, the agent can pre-filter content based on user profiling and gain additional customer information using a scripted interview process driven by a dynamic question set. The end result is that KANA knowledge management recommends a specific policy for the individual based on a company’s best practices. 2. Using a self-service portal, the customer chooses a convenient time and place to fill

out the application. A script guides the customer through process, captures the data entries, and presents knowledge articles that help the customer understand what to enter, what additional documents will be needed and what will happen next. One-click access to email and live chat escalation offer immediate agent assistance to ensure the customer can complete the application online.

3. The submitted application is automatically routed to an outsourced underwriter. The underwriter is presented with the appropriate application script to use with this policy, customer and location. The underwriter calls the customer and enters responses directly into the script to complete the application. All data is captured in the appropriate enterprise systems, such as the policy administration system, and a transcript of the interaction is recorded for auditing purposes.

4. Once the underwriter has completed the script, the workflow automatically generates and forwards tasks related to the process and the particular customer based on the data captured, such as obtaining an APS.

Customers experience

satisfying interactions

with the insurance

company using KANA

solutions that streamline the interaction process, increase the accuracy and speed of response and simplify complex business processes.

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©2011 KANA Software, Inc. • 840 W California Ave, Ste 100, Sunnyvale CA 94086 • 1.800.737.8738 • [email protected] • www.kana.com PAGE 11 5. Meantime, the customer emails the insurance company’s call center to clarify a

question about the policy. The CSR uses a natural language query and clarifying questions to find the answer.

6. While the approval is in process, automatic emails to the customer and agent keep them abreast of the application’s progress and expected completion, eliminating the need for either the customer or the agent to waste time checking status.

Built on open standards to facilitate quick implementations, KANA solutions have demonstrated their ability to rapidly deliver significant ROI. Typically, these solutions are installed in less than 6 months and can be implemented in phases that self-fund subsequent deployments. The following examples demonstrate some of the benefits KANA solutions have yielded.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota has implemented a members’ portal that makes it simple and easy for policyholders to find a physician, view claim status, see cost estimates for treatments and contact customer service via email. The portal has played a pivotal role in a 10% increase in overall membership and has been critical in attracting large organizations to the company.

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Allergan takes advantage of KANA solutions to automatically route 8% of incoming emails to the correct agent and has experienced a 20% reduction in response time.

Financial services provider TD Waterhouse UK has reduced hold time by 23% and escalations by more than 15% while increasing customer satisfaction 12%.

With KANA knowledge management, service process automation and multi-channel interactions, insurance companies can deliver a customer experience that builds stronger, more effective relationships, enhances agent productivity and sales readiness and reduces the time and costs for administrative tasks.

For More Information

If you would like more information about KANA solutions for customer service, please visit www.kana.com or contact KANA at: 1.800.737.8738

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Good experiences.

On brand. On budget.

i Tower Group, June 2005

ii Top 10 Trends in L/H Insurance E-Business Today and Tomorrow, Celent, August 2004.

iii Knowledge management differs from content management as follows. Knowledge management enables information to be reused and shared to allow expansion of knowledge. Content management collects processes and condenses information so you can manage it more efficiently. Combined, they can become a powerful solution for increasing the value and use of a company’s knowledge assets. For example, a content management system enables a company to make quick additions and changes to its Web site, while a knowledge management system enables an employee or customer to quickly and accurately find key information on that site.