SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon

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SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
SOME
     SOCIAL MEDIA INSURANCE MONITOR 2016 BY ITDS

                 MILLENNIALS CHOOSE
                   THEIR OWN PATH

                        SHIFT TO
                MOBILE -FIRST APPROACH

               A CHANGE OF THE BUSINESS
                   MODEL IS NEEDED

        TOWARDS
    A SOCIAL COMPANY
                GLOBAL EDITION

2                                                  3
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
INDEX

                     ITDS MEASURES INSURERS’ USE
                 OF SOCIAL MEDIA ALL OVER THE WORLD

              8                                 14                                 20
    Conclusions: Active, but          Johan van den Neste:                       Ranking
    many chances are not                   (InShared);                         and analyses
     yet being exploited              The personal approach

             30                                  44                                52
          Neil Hiltz                        Innovators:                     Olav Cuiper (RGA):
         (Facebook):                      Global initiatives                    Insurance
       Consumers first                     show courage                       is meaningful

             58                                 68                                 74
       Millennials first                 Frank van Wessel                         Vision:
                                           (Delta Lloyd):                     To survive with
                                      Transformation is crucial                Social Media

4                                                 5

                                           FOREWORD

                  HIGHLY
                COMMENDED

    O
                   nce again, we’ve taken the next step. Last year, for the first time, we presen-
                   ted a study into the use of Social Media in the European insurance market.
                   And what you are now holding is a report of the first global survey. Within
                   the framework of our independent Social Media Insurance Monitor, earlier
     this year we surveyed no less than 20 leading international insurers. We did so because, as
     ITDS Business Consultants involved in this sector, we know that we are active in a rapidly
     changing world. “To survive with Social Media” is the bottom line, and that’s something
     that transcends all borders, in every which way.

     Our initiative − which was launched six years ago in the Netherlands, extended to cover
     Europe last year and went global this year − is highly appreciated internationally. This
     year, for the second time in a row, we were nominated for Social Agency of the Year at
     the annual Corporate Social Media Awards in New York. Nearly 500 leading companies
     from around the world vie for these prestigious awards. Our Monitor and SoMe magazine
     garnered the honour of “Highly Commended” during the awards gala. This puts us at the
     international leading edge of Social Media, with our research being valued at an interna-
     tional level, something we are justifiably proud of.

     The insurer that achieved the highest score of all the 20 surveyed insurers to claim our top
     ranking also has reason to be proud. The facts and figures lead to a number of conclusions
     that will be of interest to everyone in the industry. Furthermore, I’d like to draw your a
     ttention to the advice of Neil Hiltz, Global Head Financial Services, Facebook, which is to
     “Think from the customer’s perspective”. In his opinion, and ours too, this is clearly still
     not always the case. Our vision in this respect is unambiguous: a change of the business
     model is needed. And this is why “Towards a Social Company” is the main theme of this
     first global edition of SoMe magazine.

                                          ESTHER LENS
                                            CEO ITDS

                                                  7
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
CONCLUSIONS

                                                                          SOCIAL IS GLOBAL:
                                                                             EVERYDAY,
                                                                            EVERYWHERE

                                                                                 Social is global; in every country people are making extensive
                                                                                 use of Social Media. But our research shows that international
                                                                                       insurers are not effectively exploiting this to the full.

                                  8                                                                                        9

                           CONCLUSIONS                                                                      SOCIAL IS GLOBAL

                                                                           THERE IS A LACK OF SOCIAL                            USER-GENERATED CONTENT

  ACTIVE, BUT                                                                STRATEGY EMBEDDING
                                                                          Most insurers that are active on Social
                                                                          Media have drawn up a Social strategy.
                                                                                                                                     IS STILL SCARCE
                                                                                                                               Despite increasing amounts of content,
                                                                                                                               communication is still mainly one-sided,

 MANY CHANCES                                                             However, less than half (40%) of the
                                                                          insurers that do have a Social strategy
                                                                          have actually communicated it within the
                                                                                                                               from the side of the insurers. Insurers have
                                                                                                                               some catching up to do in this respect
                                                                                                                               because user-generated content is perceived

  ARE NOT YET                                                             organisation. This means that the strategy
                                                                          is only being experienced from one place
                                                                          in the organisation, thus blocking the way
                                                                                                                               as many times more credible than content
                                                                                                                               created by the companies themselves.

BEING EXPLOITED                                                           towards becoming a really Social Business.
                                                                                                                                  Only              15%
                                                                             THE ONLINE ECO-SYSTEM                               of the insurers
                                                                                  IS NOT CLEAR
                                                                          Of those 20 insurers, 15 (75%) of them have a               have a
                                                                          content platform on which informative blogs
                                                                          can be found. Insurers use these blogs to
                                                                                                                                 platform with
Looking at 20 major players in the insurance industry, spread across      derive SEO advantages and/or claim thought
                                                                          leadership on a particular topic.
                                                                                                                                 user-generated
11 different countries, we certainly encountered plenty of Social Media
                                                                          Consumers mainly access these content plat-                content.
activities. But digging a little deeper with our Social Media Insurance   forms through blogs that the insurers share
                                                                          on their Social Media channels. However, the
Monitor it would appear that many options are going untapped. Here are
                                                                          content platform is often difficult to find on
                     our conclusions, one-by-one.                         the insurer’s homepage because any through-
                                                                          referrals aren’t clear enough. In many instan-         MILLENNIALS ARE RARELY
                                                                          ces the online “eco-system” (online-social-                  TARGETED
                                                                          mobile) is not clear for consumers.                  Generally speaking, insurers are not pro-
                                                                                                                               actively capitalising on the behaviour of
                                                                                                                               Millennials, the generation that today
                                                                                      THERE’S TOO                              makes extensive use of messaging platforms
                                                                                    LITTLE DIALOGUE                            to communicate. Of the surveyed insurers
                                                                          Of those insurers with a content platform,           not one of them yet use WhatsApp as a
                                                                          consumers can respond to the blogs of                contact channel. This is despite the fact
                                                                          only 40% of them. Clearly, relatively few            that it’s been proved that WhatsApp hugely
                                                                          opportunities for interaction are offered            increases customer satisfaction and trans-
                                                                          through dialogue. A huge advantage of                cends all other channels. Most insurers
                                                                          Social Media is that it offers two-way               are accessible via Facebook Messenger,
                                                                          traffic, but this is being insufficiently            although three of the 20 surveyed insurers
                                                                          exploited.                                           (15%) have actually disabled this option.
                                                                                                                               AXA’s Millennials label “Switch” is the first
                                                                                                                               to officially partner with Facebook Messen-

                                  10                                                                                       11
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
CONCLUSIONS

                                                                 WhatsApp increases
                                                           customer satisfaction but insurers
                                                                don’t use this channel.

                                                       ger. Similarly, no insurers are yet making               USER REVIEWS ARE NOT
                                                       structural use of Snapchat, although two                 ASKED FOR, OR SHARED
                                                       insurers have deployed it in the context of         More than half of all consumers base their
                                                       sports club sponsorship.                            choices on ratings and user reviews, but
                                                                                                           the importance of these user reviews is
                                                                                                           not yet being acknowledged by insurers.
                                                         THE VALUE OF THE SERVICE                          Facebook offers the opportunity to leave
                                                         PROVIDED BY WEBCARE IS                            a review on the page, but only 10% of the
                                                             UNDERESTIMATED                                insurers enabled this functionality.
                                                       All 20 insurers respond to questions via
                                                       Social Media. However, an average of only
                                                       30% refer to Social Media channels on their
                                                       contact page. On Facebook only 50% indicate
                                                                                                                  Just       25%
                                                       in their profile that webcare is offered on that              of the
                                                       channel. On Twitter this drops to 35%. These
                                                       statistics demonstrate that Social Media is not
                                                                                                                 insurers that
                                                       yet seen as a fully fledged service channel.             were surveyed
                                                                                                                   show user
                                                                                                               reviews on their
                                                                                                                    websites.

                                                               MOBILE-PROOF? YES. MOBILE ENGAGEMENT? NO.
                                                       Insurers have acknowledged the importance of mobile. Almost all insurers have a mobile-
                                                       proof site: 90% of them have a responsive website, 5% have a separate mobile website and
                                                       5% have a site that’s not mobile-proof. However, the content that is created is often not
                                                       mobile-first. This means the content doesn’t appear well on mobile and consumers do not
                                                                                  get an optimum mobile experience.

                        12                                                                                13

                                                                                               INTERVIEW

                                                            ONE SIZE
                                                          DOESN’T FIT ALL

                                                       “I have a confrontational perspective that speaks volumes about my
                                                       ambition. How good would it be if we could offer everybody a personal
                                                       and bespoke insurance proposition. One that uses data and with which
                                                       we can serve our customers as optimally as possible.” So says Johan van
                                                       den Neste, commercial director of the 100 per cent digital InShared, part
JOHAN VAN DEN NESTE, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR AT INSHARED                                            of Achmea.

                        14                                                                                15
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
INTERVIEW                                                                                    JOHAN VAN DEN NESTE

W
                                                         t 'JOBMMZ  UIF CPUUPNMJOF PGGFSJOH EF-
                  ith   InShared,    Johan
                  van den Neste focuses                  pends completely on the analysis of the
                                                                                                              The behaviour on Social Media and
                  strongly on customer be-               customer’s behaviour. There are many                     the website determine our
                  haviour. Behaviour that,               differences in people’s search behaviour,
when coupled to data, defines how people                 which say a lot about how they live their             one-on-one marketing strategy.
can be served and their needs exactly met.               lives. One customer might be looking for
The objective, he explains, is a marketing               convenience, while the other might be
strategy that’s focused on the individual.               price-driven. If you look closely enough
                                                         you can exploit this. Take the security
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY                                   hunter, for example. He’ll visit your site,
WORKING ON?                                              leave it and then come back a bit later.
There are a number of building blocks                    You’ll see that he’s checking out the terms
for commercial success. At the heart of                  of the product. That’s how you’ll know             term legacies that the big insurers do. Our     business process. It’s this kind of bespoke
the online environment it’s all about four               he’s looking for security. The third time          expertise and the IT platform that we           approach that we are optimising. The
cornerstones, on which you can base that                 he comes to your landing page you’ll send          developed are what fuelled the recent           behaviour on Social Media and the website,
success.                                                 a personalised message. That’s when you            creation of OutShared. This new company         linked to actuarial data, are what deter-
t:PVIBWFUPNBLFZPVSTFMGFBTJMZmOE                  offer him that security and, based on his          now serves as a platform to other parties,      mine the marketing strategy we’ll use for
able. How can you generate traffic to                    behaviour, you make him a suitably adap-           partly thanks to demand from insurers           an individual at any given time.
your website? With Google and with SEO,                  ted offer. That’s where we want to be.             for flexible IT at a low cost per policy.
obviously. But you can also use Social.                  Because one size doesn’t fit all.                  In the meantime, our first external             AND WHAT FORM DOES THAT TAKE
And banners. A strong brand is, of course,                                                                  insurance label is already fully operational    ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
an indispensible prerequisite in all this.               AND WHERE ARE WE TODAY?                            on our platform. We still have a way to go,     Again, data intelligence is an important
You must make sure that people can find                  In the retail sector the use of data is more       but it’s a journey we’re making with our        part of the equation. The more you know
you without any problems.                                advanced than it is in financial services.         customers.                                      about the customers in your target group,
t 5IFO UIFSFT UIF VTFSGSJFOEMJOFTT PG            That said, if you look at pricing, parti-                                                          the better you’ll know what they want. It’s
your site. Just how user-friendly is it?                 cularly actuarial pricing, the insurance           AND WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN                      an opportunity to get your message across
Can consumers use it easily?                             industry is further. As an online insurer,         PRACTICE?                                       intelligently. It even makes something as
t )PX DBO ZPV DPOWJODF UIF DVTUPNFS               at InShared we are already applying some           We really scrutinise people’s behaviour         potentially irritating as retargeting more
That’s all down to your content, your                    retail concepts, but not yet in the form           and we invest a lot of time in doing so.        palatable. Here’s a retail example of the
storytelling. The message must always be                 that we really want to. We are 100% digi-          We analyse web behaviour data, as well as       wrong approach. Supposing I order a suit
relevant. And without commercial hooks.                  tal so we don’t have the baggage of long-          the combinations of CRM data. We want           online at Hugo Boss. If I then go to news
                                                                                                            to do more than just offer a product; we        sites I’ll still get be pestered with Hugo
                                                                                                            want more and better quality contact with       Boss advertisements, even though I’ve
                                                                                                            people. So we explore how people seek           already bought the suit there. Shame. But
                                                                                                            and establish contact with us. It can be        if this retargeting is done more intelli-
 PERSONAL                                                                                                   through chat, email or telephone, and           gently and without being annoying, we’ll
                                                                                                            soon via WhatsApp too. Sales have to be         also reach people who didn’t initially
Before his current position as commercial director at InShared, Johan van den Neste was the digital         assimilated to that behaviour. Sometimes        have a preference for us. It’s important to
inspiration at Allsecur, part of Allianz. He is, without doubt, a pioneer in the insurance sector, one of   you can send somebody a chat message pro-       learn continuously from people’s behaviour
very few people who has identified and harnessed the potential of online and is continuously looking        actively. Other times people might want to      and invest heavily in it. An area in which
to improve and optimise it. His vision and ideas about online marketing and strategy always come            speak to a real person, because they want       we want to be so much better in future is
from the customer’s perspective.                                                                            to introduce a human component into the         having real relevance on Social Media.

                                                    16                                                                                                     17

                                                                                                                               INTERVIEW JOHAN VAN DEN NESTE

                                                                                                             Agility is the key to the organisation’s
                                                                                                             success and that calls for a different
                                                                                                                    organisational structure.

                                                                                                            By giving concrete tips to make people          facilitating a conversion when someone is
                                                                                                            more aware of risks, for example.               visiting the site. But it’s not just about the
                                                                                                                                                            conversion either; it’s also about being able
                                                                                                            AND THE PRIVACY ISSUE?                          to make a profit. Sometimes customers want
                                                                                                            It goes without saying that staying with-       products that don’t suit us. Here again,
                                                                                                            in the law and strictly observing it is our     based on behaviour and on our customer
                                                                                                            main departure point. But you cannot            groups, we’ll know instinctively which
                                                                                                            really avoid this issue. If you do it really    people in the traffic may or may not
                                                                                                            well it won’t be a problem; but if you do it    be of interest to us. Agility is the key to
                                                                                                            wrong it will be. One customer might be         the organisation’s success and that calls
                                                                                                            used to it and take it for granted. Another     for a different organisational structure.
                                                                                                            might be much more aggressive in the way        The various disciplines, data analysis,
                                                                                                            he protects his privacy or even withholds       marketing, actuarial and IT must be
                                                                                                            his data. You have to take both approaches      closely meshed. For traditional insurers
                                                                                                            into account. Transparency, sharing excess      this can be problematic.
                                                                                                            profit with our customers, is one of
                                                                                                            our USPs as an insurer. InShared wants          WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
                                                                                                            people to be able to insure themselves          We do everything in house and orches-
                                                                                                            online. If you limit the damage together,       trate it all ourselves. We investigate the
                                                                                                            you can share the spoils together. There is     real person behind the data. What does
                                                                                                            no small print. And this is something we’ll     he want? And how can we help him in a
                                                                                                            continue to apply if we develop products        relevant way, without being a nuisance?
                                                                                                            and services for which our customers need       Sometimes it’s not even about sales or the
                                                                                                            to give us data.                                settlement of a claim, but about offering
                                                                                                                                                            other support. We’re all in it together, with
                                                                                                            WHERE IS THE BIGGEST                            the courage to move forward by trial and
                                                                                                            CHALLENGE?                                      error. It makes you increasingly smarter
                                                                                                            The biggest challenge is not one of             and more effective and underscores
                                                                                                            linking together all the data streams;          improvement, bit-by-bit. That’s the bottom
                                                                                                            it’s making this data actionable and            line.

                                                    18                                                                                                     19
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
RANKING                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          20 MAJOR GLOBAL INSURERS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  GOLD FOR
            90

            80                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   STATE FARM
            70

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         US insurer State Farm tops our ranking. It uses social content to build
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         communities. Second place went to the Netherlands’ Aegon, thanks to
            60
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         its integrated social approach. Number three, Germany’s Allianz, enters
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             into dialogue with consumers with its forum ‘Allianz hilft’.

            50

            40

            30

            20

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           13 Legal & General (UK)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     13 Great Eastern (MY)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 12 New York Life (US)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          7 Nationwide (US)
                                                                  1 State Farm (US)

            10
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        8 MAPFRE (ES)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        9 Farmers (US)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              11 Sun Life (CA)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  14 MetLife (US)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        5 Allstate (US)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         10 Generali (IT)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 17 Chubb (US)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  15 Zurich (CH)
                                                                                                                2 Aegon (NL)

                                                                                                                                                  3 Allianz (DE)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        6 Geico (US)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   16 AMP (NZ)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 5 Aviva (UK)
                                                                                                                                                                                      4 AXA (FR)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    14 AIA (MY)
                 0

                                                                                                                                                                                              20                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             21

                                                                                                                                                                        RANKING                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          20 MAJOR GLOBAL INSURERS

            FANS AND FOLLOWERS:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Insurers gradually begin to exploit
            O The insurers have a total of 10,023,979 fans and followers. Of these, Facebook com-
            mands the biggest share, with 7,573,595 fans, then LinkedIn with 1,754,811 followers. On
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 the emerging channels.
            Twitter insurers have 695,571 followers and last year Instagram secured the loyalty of
            72,311 followers.
            OWith a grand total of 2,274,555 fans, Farmers is the absolute winner, followed by the top
            ranking State Farm, with 2,093,254.
            O The chart shown below shows the absolute numbers of fans per insurer. However, in
            calculating the ranking on the previous page, differences in population have been taken
            into account. To achieve a fair comparison, a correction per country has been applied.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         SOCIAL                                                                                                               ONLINE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         O All insurers in the ranking are active                                                                            O 95% of the insurers link through from
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube and                                                                                their homepage to one or more Social Me-
2.500.000
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Instagram                                                                       19 of the 20 surveyed insurers (95%) are                                                                             dia channels. However, only 30% (6 out of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         LinkedIn                                                                        active on Twitter.                                                                                                   20 insurers) link through from the contact
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Twitter                                                                         O On average, insurers posted 5 messages                                                                            page to Social Media. In this case it’s often
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         per week on Facebook, 12 on Twitter and                                                                              limited to a referral to traditional contact
2.000.000                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Facebook
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         2 on LinkedIn. An average of 1 video per                                                                             channels, such as email and telephone.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         week was uploaded on YouTube.                                                                                        O Only 5 of the 20 insurers (25%) show
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         OOn Facebook, insurers received a total of                                                                          consumer reviews on the website.
1.500.000                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                39,916 responses from consumers on their                                                                             OThe opportunity to provide feedback on
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         page.                                                                                                                the website or service is offered on the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         O 50% of the insurers responded within                                                                              websites of 9 of the 20 insurers (45%).
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         two hours after receiving questions from                                                                             O Only 3 insurers (15%) acknowledge the
1.000.000
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         consumers on their Facebook page. On                                                                                 importance of user-generated content and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Twitter that was only 45%.                                                                                           have created a platform for it. These are:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         O Insurers are gradually beginning to ex-                                                                           Allianz, with a forum (forum.allianz.de),
 500.000
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ploit the emerging channels: 70% − to                                                                                New York Life, with Keep Going Good
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         a greater or lesser extent − are active                                                                              (newyorklife.com/keepgoodgoing)          and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         on Instagram, with an average of 2 posts                                                                             State Farm, with Neighborhood Sessions
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         per week (not counting advertisements).                                                                              (neighborhoodsessions.statefarm.com).
       0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 However, there is still little use made of                                                                           O 75% of the insurers have a platform or
            Farmers (US)

                           State Farm (US)

                                             New York Life (US)

                                                                                 MetLife (US)

                                                                                                Allstate (US)

                                                                                                                      Geico (US)

                                                                                                                                   Allianz (DE)

                                                                                                                                                    AIA (MY)

                                                                                                                                                                   Nationwide (US)

                                                                                                                                                                                     Zurich (CH)

                                                                                                                                                                                                   Generali (IT)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   MAPFRE (ES)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Aviva (UK)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Sun Life (CA)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                AXA (FR)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Chubb (US)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Great Eastern (US)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            AEGON (NL)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     AMP (NZ)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Legal & Genarali (UK)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Snapchat, with the exception of a few insu-                                                                          page on which they can share blogs. These
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         rers who have experimented with it in the                                                                            blogs are typically shared through Social
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         context of a campaign.                                                                                               Media.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         O At the moment, WhatsApp is still not
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         being used by international insurers as a
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         service channel.

                                                                                                                                                                                              22                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             23
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
RANKING 20 MAJOR GLOBAL INSURERS

                                                                                                                                                                      Has a mobile-
                                                                                                               Has an app                                             proof website
                                                                                                               Does not                                               Does not have
                                                                                                               have an app                                            a mobile-proof
                                                                                                                                                                      website

                                                                                             MOBILE
                                                                                             O Nearly all insurers (90%) have a responsive website; in other words the website
                                                                                             is the same as the desktop site but it automatically scales down to the mobile device.
                                                                                             Furthermore, 5% has developed a separate mobile website, while 5% does not have a
                                                                                             mobile-proof website.
                                                                                             OOf all the insurers, 95% have smartphone apps, which are used by insurers for different
                                                                                             purposes. While one insurer might use an app as a news source, another might use it for
                                                                                             managing insurance policies.

                                                                                             ACCOUNTABILITY AND                                     ther, we have looked at the Social Media
                                                                                             METHODOLOGY                                            accounts in the respective countries in
                                                                                             O This is the first and only independent              which the insurers are active. In other words,
                                                                                             survey about the use of Social Media in the            AXA in France, Aviva in the UK, Generali in
                                                                                             global insurance industry. The survey takes            Italy, and so on.
                                                                                             in 20 major global insurers from 11 diffe-             O Accounts that target other countries
                                                                                             rent countries. These insurers are leaders in          or languages have had no effect on the
                                                                                             their field in the worldwide insurance mar-            ranking. Moreover, communities that were
                                                                                             ket and they wield considerable influence              set by consumers, insurers and employees
                                                                                             on the complexion of global insurance.                 have been excluded.
                                                                                             O The surveyed insurers each have a clear             O The measurements were taken between
                                                                                             brand name. Insurance groups that have a               January and June 2016. Changes that
                                                                                             variety of different brands have not been in-          took place after the final measurement
                                                                                             cluded. We have also excluded insurers that            date have not been taken into account in
                                                                                             are part of a major bank, because they have            determining the ranking. In the global
                                                                                             no separate social insurance channels.                 Social Media Insurance Monitor 2016 all
                                                                                             O To provide an objective view as possible,           insurers were allocated a score between 0
                                                                                             and to compare insurers with one ano-                  and 100.

                                          24                                                                                                   25

                              CHARACTERISTICS                                                                                  CHARACTERISTICS

                                                                                             AIA (MALAYSIA)                                     AXA (FRANCE)

 INTERNATIONAL                                                                               AIA relies on Social Media primarily for
                                                                                             claiming a role for itself as a partner in
                                                                                             the area of care and health, in both the
                                                                                                                                                AXA deploys Social Media and content for
                                                                                                                                                specific groups, often under the umbrella
                                                                                                                                                of “People Protectors”. The company also

    INSURERS                                                                                 private and business markets. AIA is the
                                                                                             biggest partner of the Vitality programme, an
                                                                                             integrated health and wellness programme.
                                                                                                                                                focuses on the future and on innovation
                                                                                                                                                by investing in start-ups such as Tröv and
                                                                                                                                                AXA Switch, a separate proposition for

ON SOCIAL MEDIA                                                                              Because its content often includes a call
                                                                                             to action, the Social Media community is
                                                                                             stimulated to enter into dialogue.
                                                                                                                                                Millennials. AXA is also the first insurer
                                                                                                                                                to integrate Facebook Messenger with its
                                                                                                                                                online services.

                                                                                             ALLSTATE (UNITED STATES)                           CHUBB (UNITED STATES)
                                                                                             Using Instagram and Pinterest alongside            In 2016 Chubb’s Social Media channels have
                                                                                             traditional channels, Allstate is widely           been mainly characterised by its merger
                                                                                             represented online. It also has its own blog.      with the Ace Group. The focus is on telling
The final report of our Social Media Insurance Monitor is based on measu-                    The blog offers external experts a plat-           people about the company’s new course.
 rements, statistics, a survey and desk research. The characteristics of the                 form. Furthermore, the Good Hands com-             As a sponsor, Chubb is active with content
                                                                                             munity platform provides user-generated            related to Nascar races.
20 insurers that were surveyed on their use of Social Media are given below.                 content. Allstate also offers the Good Life, a
                                                                                             platform on which personalised content             FARMERS (UNITED STATES)
                                                                                             can be found.                                      Of the 20 insurers that were surveyed,
                                                                                                                                                Farmers has, at 2.1 million, the highest
                                                                                             AMP (NEW ZEALAND)                                  number of fans on Facebook. Its content
                                                                                             AMP helps people online with practical             is characterised by humour. Example of

                   1                                                                         content, such as blogs that provide step-
                                                                                             by-step advice on how to pay off a debt.
                                                                                                                                                this is the “Hall of Claims”, in which its
                                                                                                                                                most bizarre claims are presented in a
      STATE FARM (UNITED STATES)              side webcare, with the emphasis being on       In addition to this, Twitter is used for           tongue-in-cheek manner, and JK Simmons
By organising what it calls “Neighborhood     online dialogue. From a special innovation     webcare. Every year AMP organises Life             as the choice of spokesman. Farmers also
Sessions”, local concerts given by major      fund, Aegon invests in initiatives.            Amplify, a festival of innovation and dis-         promotes itself through its association with
artists from the vicinity, State Farm works                                                  ruptive technology. The festival is also exten-    professional golfer, Rickie Fowler.
both online − through the Neighbor-
hood Sessions platform − and offline on
                                                                 3                           sively publicised through Social Media.
                                                                                                                                                GEICO (UNITED STATES)
its community. On Facebook, State Farm                 ALLIANZ (GERMANY)                     AVIVA (UNITED KINGDOM)                             Geico is the only insurer that claims to
shares many videos and links through to       By using Instagram Allianz tries to appeal     This year, and in collaboration with Face-         offer 24/7 webcare. In addition to
its “Good Neighbors” blog.                    to young people. And the online forum,         book, Aviva has elected to create a global         deploying Social Media for its blog Geico
                                              Allianz Hilft, gives Allianz in Germany an     page as a shell on which to build local            More, on Twitter it mainly provides content

                   2                          additional platform for online services.
                                              The cornerstones of this platform are the
                                                                                             pages around. The content is more than
                                                                                             just audio-visual; Aviva also conducts
                                                                                                                                                about the Nascar races, which it sponsors.
                                                                                                                                                The insurer is also identifiable through its
     AEGON (THE NETHERLANDS)                  community team, the role played by             surveys on Facebook. In this way the               mascot, Geico Gecko. Geico is the most
Aegon’s focus on Social Media is mainly on    gamification, and integration with Facebook.   insurer isn’t just collating data; it’s comple-    active insurer on YouTube.
dialogue. On both Facebook and Twitter con-   With the lab Digital Accelerator Allianz is    menting the results by providing feedback
versation management is deployed along-       preparing for the future.                      as to what the next steps should be.

                                          26                                                                                                   27
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
CHARACTERISTICS

GENERALI (ITALY)                                 content. MetLife has introduced a tool that
Fans’ activities on Generali’s Social Media      facilitates one-on-one customers advice.
channels are mainly visible because of the
high degree to which their messages are          NATIONWIDE (UNITED STATES)
shared. Besides Facebook, Generali is parti-
cularly active on Twitter, with several posts
every day. For youngsters Generali uses
Instagram, with daily posts in its own style
                                                 In addition to its regular website, Nation-
                                                 wide has an extensive online ecosystem.
                                                 This comprises a blog, “In The Nation”, a
                                                 community, “Living on Your Side” and
                                                                                                    ‘To keep
focusing on events.

GREAT EASTERN (MALAYSIA)
Great Eastern uses mainly Facebook,
                                                 various content pages, such as “Make Safe
                                                 Happen”. This platform is bursting with
                                                 parenting tips to prevent children having
                                                 accidents.
                                                                                                   and attract
primarily for visual content, and enjoys a
great deal of interaction with its support
base. Furthermore, Great Eastern focuses
on vitality with Live Great, an integrated
                                                 NEW YORK LIFE (UNITED STATES)
                                                 New York Life mainly uses Social Media for
                                                 its “Keep Good Going” community, a collec-
                                                                                                    customers
online wellness and health programme.

LEGAL & GENERAL (UNITED KINGDOM)
Of late, Legal & General has mainly used
                                                 tion of user-generated content. The role of
                                                 its more than 12,000 agents is worth noting,
                                                 because they act as brand ambassadors by
                                                 sending personal tweets. New York Life has
                                                                                                   a change
                                                                                                        of the
Social Media channels to set up a com-           also US$175 million available every year for
munity through #becauseyoulovethem               promising innovations.
centred around pets, the aim being to

                                                                                                   business
promote insurance for pets.                      SUN LIFE (CANADA)
                                                 With its Brighter Life blog, Sun Life has
MAPFRE (SPAIN)                                   been building up an online community. It
MAPFRE uses Social Media worldwide.              offers tips and ideas, without laying overt

                                                                                                      model is
On Facebook it uses a global page with un-       links to Sun Life products. The blog gene-
derlying local pages. Its Spanish Facebook       rated about 1,900 leads per month for Sun
page links through extensively to its web-       Life, which has integrated the service part
site. Moreover, MAPFRE uses a variety of         of its website into its Facebook page.

                                                                                                     needed’
platforms, such as a channel specifically
aimed at young people, called Generación         ZURICH (SWITZERLAND)
Young.                                           Using audio-visual content, visuals and
                                                 videos, Zurich connects with its community
METLIFE (UNITED STATES)                          at an international level. And to build up
MetLife mainly deploys Social Media for          local communities, Zurich provides relevant
MetLife blog, in which tips and ideas are        content on Facebook pages and separate
broken down into easily digestible lists,        Twitter and YouTube channels. In the area
sorted into various categories. Outside the      of innovation, Zurich recently introduced its
US, “Light Up Your Dream” and “Dream For         so-called cyber policy.
My Child” provide a lot of user-generated

                                                28                                                                                    29

                                   XXXXXXXXXXX                                                                                   INTERVIEW

                                                                                                   THINK FROM
                                                                                                 THE CUSTOMER’S
                                                                                                  POINT OF VIEW

                                                                                                 “Two things stick out in a very big way and demand everyone’s attention:
                                                                                                 completing the shift to mobile-first and the reintegration of the
                                                                                                 customer experience from end-to-end for the entire life cycle,” says Neil
                                                                                                 Hiltz, Head of Global Financial Services Strategy Facebook. “It’s not just
                                                                                                 the social team, it’s not just the digital advertising team and it’s not just
                                                                                                 the product manager. It’s everyone, channelling their energy into being
                                                                                                 mobile-first and thinking about things from the customer’s point of view.
                                                                                                 And finding ways to reduce friction between consumers and how they
  NEIL HILTZ, HEAD OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL SERVICES STRATEGY FACEBOOK                                           interact with companies on their mobile devices.”

                                                30                                                                                    31
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
INTERVIEW                                                                                                   NEIL HILTZ

W                                                                                                   The key to success is management’s
                 HAT DO YOU SEE AS                 ences on a global level across their entire
                 IMPORTANT DEVELOP-                lifecycle and portfolio. There is still a lot
                 MENTS IN THE                      of work to be done to create the best-               attitude and commitment to
                 FINANCIAL INDUSTRY?
We are moving from a traditional com-
                                                   possible experiences. At the same time,
                                                   Social is evolving rapidly because it takes
                                                                                                    drive innovation – their leadership.
munication model to what the industry              all the previous best practices and imple-
calls a digital or omni-channel model.             ments them very quickly. In the past, we
The first step is to become mobile-first.          had services and we had communication
If a person starts thinking of mobile as a         and they were distributed by very dif-          they did in that old world. Tighter integration      new than to build something new around
primary way of communication, it offers            ferent platforms. You’d see an advertise-       between the media teams and the product              changing functionalities. We recognise that
a lot of opportunities. The second step            ment for an insurance policy on TV or           organisations will greatly improve the cus-          the amount of change management that’s
is to personalise the communication.               in a magazine, and then you’d talk to an        tomer experience. The media, product and             necessary in the industry depends strongly
Insurance companies’ products are very             agent or call a call-centre for a quote. In     operational teams must also be on the same           on how the company goes to market and
personal. How much you pay for your                some cases it involved lots of paperwork.       wavelength as to how they develop their              on its business strategy. It all comes down
car insurance, for example, is based on            That was the “old” model, but it was only       services and communications. Something I             to the client level and their approach.
the car, your age and where you live.              15 years ago, before the Internet took off      learned about Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership           Insurance is an ageing industry that
However, the communication around                  in earnest. Nowadays the focus for all of       approach at Facebook is how he does pro-             employs many people over 50. Do you think
this product tends to be less personal.            us, as industry partners, is to create great    duct reviews. As a CEO, he regularly re-             this transition can succeed with them?
Contrast this to a bank, say 60 years ago          sales experiences from end-to-end. And to       views the mobile experience to establish             Every successive generation grows up
when business was done face-to-face.               be able to do that on mobile is a pheno-        what a typical customer journey is. That’s           with a specific information base available
With the rise of platforms like television         menal opportunity. A person can watch a         leadership. Putting yourself in the custo-           to them. People of my age remember the
and radio we made a trade off, impro-              video, take action immediately and can go       mer’s shoes and seeing that experience               time before the Internet, but Millennials
ving marketing efficiency to find a broad          through the entire conversion process on        does create the possibility for change and           don’t know any different. It’s more about
pallet of consumers. But now, with                 a mobile device within minutes. It used to      improvement. It helps to make things easier          a person’s mindset and about providing
mobile, we can focus on real people.               take hours, days even. That’s what we are       and more personal, and it would accelerate           the opportunity to change it. If we were to
We have the opportunity to reinvent                transforming.                                   the shift to becoming mobile-first.                  become a little more childlike in our every-
personalisation and focus on highly                                                                                                                     day approach it would really open our
personalised     end-to-end     consumer           CAN YOU GIVE INSURANCE                          REGARDING INNOVATION ARE                             minds to change. That’s actually the biggest
experiences. Because of all the things             COMPANIES SOME SURVIVAL TIPS                    THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN                            shift and it can happen regardless of age.
happening on mobile phones we can                  IN OUR FAST-CHANGING WORLD?                     TRADITIONAL INSURERS AND THE
create experiences in which the media              They must make the move to mobile-first,        NEWCOMERS?                                           WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR A COMPA-
and consumer paths are highly integrated.          absolutely. That’s a foundational point that    In the financial services segment there              NY TO PARTNER WITH FACEBOOK?
                                                   everyone must move towards. Making this         are businesses that are very innovative              We have partnered with a number of insu-
LOOKING AT TODAY’S INSURANCE                       a starting point enables you to reinvent        and want to try new things and scale-up              rance companies around the world that are
INDUSTRY, WHAT ARE THE MAIN                        the entire customer life cycle. Think about     new communication channels as soon as                stepping up to the plate and doing things
ISSUES IT FACES?                                   advertising and communication and               possible. They might be newer Fintech                from an innovation perspective. What’s
I’d say that a common challenge across             the opportunities for increased perso-          companies or traditional companies                   great about working with clients like AXA,
all financial services, and one that we are        nalisation, and what it all means for the       focusing on innovation and transforming              Progressive and Geico is that when partner-
committed to helping the industry solve,           marketing and advertising departments. It       their companies. The key to success is               ships like these are announced it creates a
is completing the transition to becoming           requires tighter integration between the        management’s attitude and commitment                 sense of urgency within the organisation to
global Social companies. Another chal-             teams than was previously necessary.            to drive innovation – their leadership.              drive forward at a very rapid pace. Having
lenge is creating great customer experi-           Teams today need to work more closely than      That said, it’s is easier to build something         worked in the financial industry, I know that

                                              32                                                                                                       33

                                                                                                                                   INTERVIEW NEIL HILTZ

                                                                                                   leadership alignment throughout the organi-          and how it will affect the customer care ex-
                                                                                                   sation is very important for driving change.         perience. When the Canadian telecom com-
                                                                                                   It’s a clear signal to the market, but also to       pany Rogers implemented Messenger they
                                                                                                   their employees and to Facebook. It not only         saw a 50 per cent increase in customer satis-
                                                                                                   says they want to work on innovative things,         faction in just a couple of months. So I think
                                                                                                   but that they are really committed financially       that will be an opportunity for insurers too.
                                                                                                   to drive innovation forward. There must be           People use these messages platforms regu-
                                                                                                   a commitment to drive innovation through-            larly; so sending messages through these
                                                                                                   out the company, from the top all the way            preferred channels will increase the like-
                                                                                                   through to implementation. The difficulty of         lihood that they will be acted upon. Further-
                                                                                                   driving change in companies is something             more, the entire claim experience could be
                                                                                                   that must not be taken lightly, and neither          facilitated with the use of images and videos,
                                                                                                   should a lack of alignment in them.                  from both the client’s side and the back-
                                                                                                                                                        office side of the service provider. The most
                                                                                                   DO YOU AGREE THAT WHATSAPP                           exciting part is leveraging all the knowledge
                                                                                                   AND FACEBOOK MESSENGER OWN                           that financial companies already have and
                                                                                                   THE FUTURE WHEN IT COMES TO                          animating smart ways of communicating
                                                                                                   THE MOBILE ENVIRONMENT?                              it. This will be possible from the early sta-
                                                                                                   I am so excited that we have started to work         ges of building brand awareness all the way
                                                                                                   on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.                  through to the customer experience, such
                                                                                                   There’s a real opportunity here to approach          as the claim process, for example. By doing
                                                                                                   people the same way that they approach               this we will increase the efficiency, long-
                                                                                                   their friends and family. WhatsApp and               term profitability and scalability of the en-
                                                                                                   Messenger will be huge and transformative            tire financial services sector. It’s so exciting
                                                                                                   in driving insurance companies’ efficiency           that we can help save both time and effort.
                                                                                                   and profitability in all areas of the life cycle.    And customers will get their answers in real
                                                                                                   Just imagine what it would mean for sales            time, as opposed to being put on hold indefi-
                                                                                                   support and answering people’s questions,            nitely or having to wait for days.

                                                                                                    PERSONAL

                                                                                                   Neil Hiltz: My role is to improve the financial wellbeing of the people who leverage our platforms, like
                                                                                                   Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, and to help the industry improve its
                                                                                                   efficiency, scalability and long-term profitability. It’s my job to identify the best pratices used by
                                                                                                   financial services companies on our platforms today. At Facebook, we have successfully transitioned
                                                                                                   from a desktop- to a mobile-device company. I worked in the financial services industry for 11 years at
                                                                                                   Capital One, HSBC, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank. I’ve learned from both the consumer and the
                                                                                                   financial industry’s point of view what the pain points are and I support our team’s to innovate and
                                                                                                   solve these challenges and I recognise the challenges of grasping this huge opportunity to take the
                                                                                                   business to mobile. In my spare time, I play and practice golf, support my wife as she builds her
                                                                                                   company, Farmgirl Flowers, read, and spend time with my family and friends.

                                              34                                                                                                       35
SOME TOWARDS A SOCIAL COMPANY - Aegon
GLOBAL SOCIAL FACTS

                                                                                                   O Instagram is popular among Millennials.      OSince the beginning of 2016, Snapchat has

          GLOBAL                                                                                   In the US, for example, almost half of all
                                                                                                   Instagram users are between 18 and 34.
                                                                                                                                                   had 200 million monthly active users.
                                                                                                                                                   O Half of these 200 million users are active
                                                                                                                                                   on Snapchat on a daily basis.

        SOCIAL FACTS                                                                               TWITTER
                                                                                                   O Twitter has  320 million active users a
                                                                                                   month worldwide, following Facebook and
                                                                                                                                                   O In the US, 18% of Social Media users use
                                                                                                                                                   Snapchat.
                                                                                                                                                   OLike Instagram, Snapchat is extremely po-
                                                                                                   Instagram as one of the most popular social     pular among Millennials; 8% of the world’s
                                                                                                   networks.                                       Millennials use Snapchat.
                                                                                                   O With an increase of just 3% since the be-    O73% of Snapchat users are Millennials.
                                                                                                   ginning of 2015, the growth in the number       OSnapchat is the most popular platform for
                                                                                                   of active monthly Twitter users appears to      Generation Z (13 to 24) In the US 72% use
To see insurers’ results in the Social Media Insurance Monitor in the right                                                                        Snapchat, followed by Facebook with 68%
                                                                                                   be slowing down.
context, it’s important to look at a number of generic statistics about the                                                                        and Instagram with 66%.
                                                                                                   LINKEDIN
                         use of Social Media in the world.
                                                                                                   O Boasting over 400 million members,           YOUTUBE
                                                                                                   LinkedIn is the biggest professional net-       OYouTube has 1.3 billion users worldwide.
                                                                                                   work. However, only 25% of those members        O YouTube is the second-most-popular
                                                                                                   are monthtly active users.                      search engine in the world, after Google.
                                                                                                   O 22% of active LinkedIn users log in to       O More than half of all YouTube views are
GENERAL                                          where the most popular social networks are        their LinkedIn account every day, 32% log       from mobile devices.
O At the beginning of 2016 there were 3.4       VKontakte, Qzone and Twitter respectively.        in on a weekly basis and 34% do so less fre-    OOn average, mobile YouTube users spend
billion Internet users worldwide, 46% of the     O 83% of active users visit Facebook with        quently than every week.                        40 minutes per session watching videos, an
total global population.                         their smartphones, followed by desktops                                                           increase of more than 50% with respect to
O More than 50% of the global population        and laptops with 50% and then tablets with        MESSENGERS                                      last year.
owns at least one mobile device: worldwide       15% of active users.                              O Messengers and chat apps are becoming        OYouTube is very popular among Millennials;
there are 3.8 billion unique mobile users.       O Compared to last year, the number of           increasingly popular.                           81% of Millennials in the US use YouTube.
OWorldwide, there are 2.3 billion active So-    daily Facebook users has increased by 16%,        O WhatsApp has now become the most             OThrough mobile devices alone, YouTube
cial Media users. This translates to 31% of      to over one billion.                              popular messenger, with one billion             reaches more 18- to 34-year-olds and 18- to
the global population and 67.5% of all Inter-    O Facebook is, by a long way, also the most      monthly active users.                           49-year-olds than all the cable networks in
net users.                                       popular social network among Millennials (20      O Facebook Messenger is next, with 900         the US.
OTwo billion people visit their Social Media    to 35). This group spends an average of 1,000     million monthly active users in April 2016.
accounts via their mobile devices, which is      minutes a month on this social network.           OBoth WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger          PINTEREST
85% of the active Social Media users.                                                              grew phenomenally last year, by 43% and         O Worldwide, Pinterest has 110 million
                                                 INSTAGRAM                                         50% respectively.                               monthly active users.
FACEBOOK                                         O Instagram has now attained 400 million         O Other platforms are QQ and WeChat,           O The vast majority is female: 71% to be
O Facebook is still the most popular social     monthly active users, making it one of the        especially popular in China.                    exact.
network, with almost 1.6 billion monthly         world’s biggest social networks after Facebook.                                                   O Pinterest is most popular among 18- to
active users worldwide.                          O Compared to the beginning of 2015, the         SNAPCHAT                                        29-year-olds, accounting for 34% of its users.
O Facebook is the most popular social net-      number of active monthly Instagram users          OAlong with Instagram, the popularity of
work in most countries. Important excep-         has risen by 33%, making it one of the            Snapchat has increased exponentially these      SOURCES
tions to this are Russia, China and Japan,       fastest-growing social networks.                  past two years.                                 wearesocial.com, statista.com, alexa.com

                                                36                                                                                                37

                                                                                                   ‘Digital,
                                                                                                        Mobile
                                                                                                    and Social
                                                                                                   are the new
                                                                                                     Normal’

                                                38                                                                                                39
INTERVIEW

                                                                                                                           CONTEXT
                                                                                                                            IS KEY

                                                                                                      “If we continuously position ourselves in the context of our customers,
                                                                                                      we’ll really be able to proactively add value to their financial circum-
                                                                                                      stances, exactly when it’s necessary. That just about sums up the
                                                                                                      emphasis of our digital efforts,” says Jessica Niewierra, Director of Digital
    JESSICA NIEWIERRA, DIRECTOR DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT & INTERACTION
                            ABN AMRO BANK                                                               Development & Interaction at ABN AMRO Bank in the Netherlands.

                                                                                                                                                      41

                                        INTERVIEW                                                                                     JESSICA NIEWIERRA

J                                                                                                        Our ambition is to deliver relevant
        essica Niewierra is working on               actually happens. We’ve also launched a
        the increasingly far-reaching                beta version of an app called Grip. We’re
        digitisation of ABN AMRO Retail.             now testing it live with customers, with               value to the way that people
        The bank wants to be relevant,
so she’s convinced that the customer’s
                                                     a view to developing it further. This app
                                                     doesn’t just give insight into and an over-
                                                                                                          do their financial housekeeping.
context is more important than it has                view of customers spending categories; it
ever been.                                           also allows them to set maximum spen-
                                                     ding targets per category. They’ll then
WHICH DIGITAL DIRECTION IS THE                       receive free alerts if they exceed those         WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED IN YOUR                    notice that people really appreciate this
BANK MOVING IN?                                      spending targets. All this helps customers       APPROACH TO CUSTOMERS?                           level of customer service.
We’re continuing the development of                  to keep a better grip on their spending.         If you want to be relevant to your cus-
our mobile strategy. You can only stay               We launched this app with a Swedish              tomers, you simply have to listen to them        IS THE BANKING SECTOR DIGITALLY
constantly relevant in the lives of your             company called FinTech. It’s another             properly. That’s the true interpretation of      UP TO SPEED?
customers if you are close to them on the            example of how we learn from others and          “don’t make the bank key, make the cus-          If I look around me I see that, in a digital
devices they always carry with them. We              realise a quicker time-to-market.                tomer key”. If we’re aware of the challen-       context, the Netherlands is doing pretty
started by doing everything we could for                                                              ges people face in their lives, they will, in    well and is somewhat of a digital pioneer
our customers in configuring the daily               WHAT IS YOUR OBJECTIVE?                          fact, have defined the content we produce        in the world. Banks are very active in the
basics ‘mobile first’. By last year we’d             Essentially, for those customers who             for them themselves. It means we are pro-        area of digitisation; they identified the
reached the phase in which we could                  want it, we, as a bank, want to draw a           actively sharing themes with people              mobile trend very quickly, for example,
see how we could continuously add                    financial picture of a household or              and really entering into dialogue with           and launched several mobile banking apps
value through the devices, if that’s what            company. We want to be able to pro-              customers. This is why, for example, we          for their customers. From the high density
customers wanted. For example, we                    actively add something for our customers,        communicate with entrepreneurs in a              of contact moments you can also see that
launched Alert & Check, an app that                  when they want it and about the things           business forum that we have created on           customers have really embraced it. ABN
allows customers to set six different types          that interest them. That’s our ambition. We      our website and why we’ve partnered              AMRO, for example, gets some 60 million
of free push alerts to help them identify            work from the outside-in, guided by four         with a variety of parties to help answer         logins every month on its mobile banking
real-time and relevant changes in their              departure points: we have to be “always          entrepreneurs’ questions. We can only            app. More and more players intent on
financial environment. These can                     connected” to our customers; the contact         offer real value if we give people the right     taking a slice of banking will be entering
include inadvertently being in the red,              for customers must be “quick and easy”;          content at the right time. And in a              the market. But because we’re a full-
or a sum being deposited in a specific               content must be “personal and relevant”;         different tone of voice than before, inci-       service bank that offers customers a
account, for example. The app is also                and we must “learn from the context” of the      dentally, less formal and more personal.         complete overview over their financial
compatible with the Apple Watch,                     customer. It’s all about the essence of the                                                       situation, and because we’re proactively
meaning customers can link the app so                customer’s story and how we can help. It         WHAT ROLE DOES SOCIAL MEDIA                      capable of continuously adding value
they’ll instantly feel a vibration on their          means having to position ourselves where         PLAY IN ALL THIS?                                across the whole spectrum, we can offer
wrist if something they’ve set an alert for          the customer looks for answers.                  We rely heavily on digital to keep us            our customers much more, so they will
                                                                                                      continuously relevant in our interaction         stay with us. But it’s something that we’ll
                                                                                                      with customers online. Social media is           have to keep up, and keep developing at a
 PERSONAL                                                                                             indispensable in this respect, because we        quick pace. Taking it easy is not an option.
                                                                                                      want to be where our customers are and           We feel a pressing sense of urgency.
Since June 2015 Jessica Niewierra has been responsible for sales and targeting, mobile and online     to serve them proactively. In addition to
development, user experience, analysis and optimisation and content copy of the digital channels of   innovation, experimentation also plays a
ABN AMRO Retail. The focus in this new portfolio lies on impact-rich digital change-processes and     role. Last year, for example, we launched
the development and innovation of various digital sales, marketing and copy specialties.              a pilot with webcare via WhatsApp. You

                                                42                                                                                                    43
INNOVATORS

   If you want to stay relevant you have to show courage. Which is
why we’ve checked out a number of international initiatives of insu-
rers that are exploiting the potential of technological developments.

                                             44                                                                                               45

                                   INNOVATORS                                                                                        UP-TO-DATE

              UP-TO-DATE
In 2015 substantial investments were made in international technology                                         COVERHOUND                                     COLLECTIVE HEALTH

start-ups, not only by venture capitalists but by insurers too. And more                               A COMPARISON SITE WITH                           THE EMPLOYER BECOMES
                                                                                                            CLAIMS SERVICE                                      THE INSURER
money was invested this way in the insurance industry than in other                               In the US, CoverHound has created                By merging the best medical networks
sectors. It’s all done with an eye on the future, particularly in rising to exter-                an online platform for comparing car             on an online platform, new Silicon Val-
                                                                                                  insurance. CoverHound has distinguished          ley start-up Collective Health gives the
nal challenges and in response to meeting today’s customer requirements.                          itself by quickly delivering accurate and        employer the opportunity to be the
All in all, it’s resulted in a number of notable and inspiring innovations.                       actionable rates based on customers’             insurer. The advantage for the employer
                                                                                                  specific needs, either through CoverHound        is that it can manage its own page, where
                                                                                                  itself or Google’s Insurance Search. De-         details of the insurer can be instantly
                                                                                                  veloped by an experienced insurance              accessed. Collective Health makes it
                                                                                                  team, CoverHound offers superior                 easier for employers to circumvent the
                                                                                                  customer experiences with leading US in-         continuous demand for information
                                                                                                  surers, such as Esurance and Progressive.        from the insurer. Instead of having to
                                                                                                  In addition to comparing the various in-         sign up for a traditional healthcare plan,
                                                  and the so-called Millennials. It offers a      surers, CoverHound also offers service           for which it pays the insurance company
                                                  wellness programme, in which every-             during claims, meaning it earns com-             a monthly premium, an employer pays
                                                  thing from physical activities to nutrition     mission for a lead and for servicing the         the cost of its workers’ healthcare from
                                                  can be measured. It also boasts a strong        policy. CoverHound is also entering into         its own pocket. The employer collects
                                                  loyalty programme. It uses an app with          partnerships with accelerators and               monthly premiums from its employees,
                                                  an unprecedented customer experience,           incubators to offer insurance products           but instead of this money going direct-
                                                  coupled with the new-generation of sports       to start-ups. It offers quick quotes and         ly to the insurance company, it goes to
                                                  batches and activity trackers. Customers        sells products online to these start-ups.        an internal fund to cover employees’
                VITALITY
                                                  are given discounts if they buy healthy         The way CoverHound sees it, the insu-            medical bills. Employers have the
      STIMULATING A HEALTHY                       products at major retailers such as Marks       rance industry is ready for change and           freedom to decide which medical treat-
              LIFESTYLE                           and Spencer, and even for airline tickets       it is paving the way for a new generation        ment and procedures they want to cover.
Vitality, an offering of South African            and hotel bookings. Thanks also to the low      of insurers. Google has also discovered          Given that employers do not have to pay
insurer Discovery, is a hidden gem of             premiums, customers are encouraged to           CoverHound and is now one of its                 the full amount every month, companies
the insurance industry. As we all know,           live a healthier lifestyle. Vitality operates   partners. CoverHound scores an average           that self-insure in this way can save a lot
healthcare is a cornerstone of tomorrow’s         independently in South Africa and the UK.       of 7.0 from its customers.                       of money, thanks to Collective Health.
insurance industry, all over the world.           In the US and Asia it operates successfully     www.coverhound.com                               www.collectivehealth.com
The Vitality programme capitalises on             through a white label and partners such as
today’s customer needs when it comes to           AIA and John Hancock.
healthcare, for both traditional customers        www.vitality.com

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UP-TO-DATE

                                                                                                                  KNIP                                          POLICYGENIUS

                                                                                                      ALL ABOUT INNOVATION                               COMPARISON SITE AIMED
                                                                                               Knip, a “digital insurance manager” and                         AT MILLENNIALS
                                                                                               user-friendly mobile app with which a               Why does taking out insurance have to be
                                                                                               policyholder can quickly conjure up an              such a frustrating experience? That’s what
                                                                                               overview of all his insurance affairs on            the two founders of US PolicyGenius asked
                                                                                               his smartphone, has become a success-               themselves. It spurred the ex-McKinsey &
                                                                                               ful innovator in Germany and Switzer-               Co consultants to set up a comparison site
                                                                                               land. It started off in Zurich (with 10,000         that’s clear, transparent and user-friendly.
                                                                                               customers) then expanded to Berlin (with            PolicyGenius is aimed at Millennials, the
                                                                                               another 10,000 customers). And now, with            generation of young people who want to
                                                                                               an investment of almost €14 million, Knip           arrange everything themselves, online,
                                                                                               is ready to cross the pond and conquer the          and through channels they use extensi-
                                                                                               US. The app started out as an “insurance            vely in their daily lives. By the end of 2015
                                                                                               concierge” giving users a quick and easy            the site boasted more than 800,000 visitors,
                                                                                               overview of their various insurance po-             over half of them Millennials. Thanks to
                                                                                               licies and the contractual deadlines of             an online “Insurance Check-up” visitors
                                                                                               different insurers, but without all the             receive bespoke insurance advice. In a
                                                                                               paperwork. Since then, the service has              matter of minutes they’ll get a premium
                                                                                               been extended. The app can now provide              overview of 26 different insurance
                                                                                               bespoke advice for cheaper premiums,                companies that are affiliated to
                                                                                               push through claims and even comple-                PolicyGenius, including ING, MetLife and
                                                                                               tely facilitate a move to another insurer.          Prudential. On Social Media PolicyGenius
                                                                                               And via the app, a team of advisors is at           keeps consumers informed through
                                                                                               hand to answer any questions customers              insurance-related blogs. An investor in
                                                                                               may have about their insurance policies.            PolicyGenius is AXA Strategic Ventures,
                                                                                               With about 100 employees, Knip earns its            the venture capital fund of French insu-
                                                                                               income through commission from insu-                rer AXA. This is in keeping with AXA’s
                                                                                               rance companies, managing their policies            mission to invest in start-ups that
                                                                                               and generating leads. Knip’s app is a god-          underscore innovation in the insurance
                                                                                               send for consumers because it responds              industry.
                                                                                               to demand on mobile, circumventing the              www.policygenius.com
                                                                                               need to sift through all the paperwork.
                                                                                               www.knip.com

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                                   INNOVATORS                                                                                        UP-TO-DATE

            METLIFE WALL                                       IMAGINBANK                                        TROV                                                 SURE

       COMPLETE VIEW OF ITS                                MOBILE-ONLY BANK                                  ON-DEMAND                                            ONLY WHEN
             CUSTOMERS                                      FOR MILLENNIALS                           INSURANCE OF THINGS                                       THERE’S RISK
In just three months US insurer MetLife           Spanish bank Caixa has launched the first    Launched in Australia, Trov is the perfect          This year American start-up, Sure, laun-
has developed “MetLife Wall”, a data-             mobile-only bank in Spain for Millennials,   form of insurance for millennials and               ched “Episodic Insurance”, an on-demand
driven application that gives agents a            imaginBank. The new bank model can           the mobile generation. Thanks to this               insurance that you can take out via an app
complete overview of their customers by           only be accessed via a mobile app and        on-demand insurer, personal things can              to cover short-term risks, whenever and
collating information from 70 internal            through social networks and offers a com-    be temporarily insured, on a day-by-day             wherever you want it. You can indicate
systems. On a user-friendly screen, not           pletely new range of commission-free         basis, through an app. Trov is simple,              the type of insurance you want through
unlike that of a Facebook timeline, agents        products and services. The bank’s app        flexible and transparent. The focus is              Sure’s Robo-Broker, which is a chatbot. Sure
receive a 360-degree view of transactions         boasts a very simple design, one with the    firmly on the user, who can easily decide           kicked off by launching a life insurance
and contacts with customers. Moreover             mobile environment specifically in mind.     which possessions he or she wants to in-            policy covering the duration of a flight.
it’s a view that transcends business li-          It makes it possible for users to browse,    sure, and for how long too.                         Based on your flight number and your
nes. It saves agents a great deal of time,        sign up for a full range of products and     Six investors have already invested                 passenger data, a price is calculated. If you
enabling them to respond quickly and              services, check their bank balance,          US$46 million in the Trov app, which was            agree you can pay directly through the app
proactively to customers’ needs. Chief            request transactions and monitor overall     successfully launched on the Australian             and you are then insured.
Customer Officer Claire Burns intro-              account activity. In addition to the app,    market in collaboration with Australian             More than two million policies have al-
duced special teams across all silos,             imaginBank also runs a website, but this     insurer Suncorp. Together with AXA,                 ready been closed with the Sure app,
focusing on specific customer segments.           is only meant as a source of information     Trov will now be extended to include the            so the first few months can definitely
The insights into customers that “Met-            and instructions on how to become a          UK, with plans to do the same in the US             be seen as a success. The start-up has
Life Wall” now provides have impro-               customer. The bank has also developed        and other markets next year.                        already received investments to the tune
ved the customer experience. Internal             an application that makes it possible for    The app gives users a clear overview of             of US$2.6 million and the insurance
forums have also been used to align the           customers to enjoy interactive contact       how long something is insured for. The              policies have been underwritten by some
customer journey and experiences.                 with the bank without having to leave        possessions that can be insured range               of the world’s biggest insurers. During the
MetLife is very active on Social Media.           Facebook, and thus in a completely           from mobile devices to musical instru-              next few months Sure plans to introduce
Thanks to advertisements on Facebook              secure environment. Customers can            ments. The claiming process via the Trov            new on-demand products. As a custo-
the insurer has boosted the lead-to-              also communicate with the bank via           app is also straightforward. If customers           mer you pay only for coverage if there is
sale ratio by a factor of 2.4 and reduced         WhatsApp.                                    have questions they can quickly contact             an actual risk. The price that’s offered is
costs per lead by 49 per cent. Defining           www.imaginbank.com                           an employee, thanks to an integrated chat           customised through artificial intelligence
different target groups on MetLife’s CRM                                                       function. In a nutshell, Trov is a bone-fide        and on the basis of information obtained
system has made it possible to reach                                                           innovator when it comes to on-demand                from your mobile phone or tablet.
them in a very focused manner.                                                                 insurance.                                          www.sureapp.com
www.metlife.com                                                                                www.trov.com

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