Page 28 - February2017

ROBO-INSURANCE

AGENTS?

Bring ‘Em On, Phygitally, Say Consumers

Phygital (physical plus digital) is a marketing term that describes blending digital experiences with physical ones. As
the channels of customer interaction and communication proliferate, companies aim to make combining these channels

frictionless and seamless, enabling a customer to make a phone call, then communicate in a social media platform, then send
an email, without the company losing the thread of the communication or a sense of the customer issues associated with the
customer account record.

Seven in 10 consumers around the world would welcome “We found strong consumer demand exists today for
robo-advisory services – computer-generated advice and robo-advice in all areas of financial services – banking,
services that are independent of a human advisor – for their insurance and financial advice. While financial institutions
banking, insurance and retirement planning, according to a may expect to benefit from internal cost reduction by
report by consultants at Accenture. providing customers with a ‘robo’ option, our research
found that consumers also expect first-class human
Close to three-quarters would welcome a robot telling interaction,” says Piercarlo Gera, senior managing director,
them what insurance to buy. Accenture Financial Services. “Successful financial
services firms will therefore need a ‘phygital’ strategy that
At the same time, a large number of consumers still want seamlessly integrates technology, branch networks and
human interaction. Nearly two-thirds want some human staff to provide a service that combines physical and digital
interaction when dealing with complex financial needs and capabilities and gives consumers a choice.”
with complaints.
Consumers indicated the main attraction for using robo-
Thus firms face a challenge blending a physical presence advice platforms is the prospect of faster (39 percent) and
with an advanced digital user-experience and trying to less expensive (31 percent) services, and because they
integrate robot and human services. think computers/artificial intelligence are more impartial
and analytical than humans (26 percent).
The global Distribution & Marketing Consumer research
by Accenture, which includes a survey of nearly 33,000 The research found that the countries with the biggest
consumers in 18 countries and regions, found that the vast appetite for robo-advice are in the emerging economies
majority are willing to receive exclusively robo-generated of Indonesia (92 percent), Thailand (90 percent), Brazil
advice for certain banking and insurance products. (86 percent) and Chile (84 percent) – all markets where it
Consumers are now open to robo-advice to help determine is already common to use a smartphone or other digital
which bank account to open (71 percent), which insurance device as the primary vehicle for financial services
coverage to purchase (74 percent), and how to plan for interactions. Even in the countries with the lowest demand
retirement (68 percent). Nearly four out of five (78 percent) – Canada (56 percent), Germany (59 percent) and Australia
consumers said they would welcome robo-advice for (61 percent) – more than half of consumers surveyed said
traditional investing, where the technology first emerged. they are willing to use robo-advice.
First-Class Human Interaction Non-Traditional Providers’ Appeal

However, the study also found that nearly two-thirds The survey also found that consumers are willing to switch
of consumers still want human interaction in financial to non-traditional providers for financial services. Nearly
services, especially to deal with complaints (68 percent) one-third would switch to Google, Amazon or Facebook
and advice about complex products such as mortgages (61 for banking services (31 percent), insurance services (29
percent). percent) and financial advisory services (38 percent). For

28 insight february 2017