The insurance industry is currently in the midst of a transformation in terms of changing claims management models, the introduction of more outsourced positions, and the need to reduce paper-intensive processes.
Insurance Industry Challenges & Opportunities
In listing the key issues for the insurance industry in 2015, PricewaterhouseCoopers noted that there are many challenges to overcome. These include:
- More analytics will be necessary to modernize insurance business models in order to increase efficiency, enhance personal service, and drive lower costs. This is part of the Big Data movement, which can help industries like insurance better understand the motivations, behaviors, decisions, and actions of their customers and potential customers.
- Along with this increased focus on data and how it can help the insurance industry do a better job, information governance also takes center stage. As one article noted, “As they plan for better information management, insurers will focus less on investing in new systems and more on leveraging their systems that store data and link information with business processes …. they shouldn’t remove the data from those systems, but they should apply technology that can apply governance to that information.”
- Ongoing regulatory developments mean focusing on compliance now and into the future. This requires ongoing attention to national, regional, and local government decisions that shape insurance processes and operations.
- There are more insurance exchanges dueling the intense competition that is impacting how an insurance company focuses on market and business development strategies. The online environment for insurance shopping has led to the need for insurance companies to think more about their customer service and how to further tailor their interactions with customers to build loyalty.
- Talent has never been more important in ensuring the success of these profound changes to the insurance industry. This has included using many more outsourced individuals that can provide the core capabilities needed to fuel productivity while keeping overhead costs down.
- The migration away from paper processes is also a key change for the insurance industry as more cloud-based technology and digital processes can help reduce or even eliminate paper for lower costs and greater efficiency.
These are challenging times for the insurance industry, but also exciting ones.
Changing Insurance Industry Invoicing Processes
One area where the insurance industry can make significant changes is to automate its invoicing system by using online invoicing tools that are now available. These cloud-based business and management tools offer a way to eliminate paper while increasing the likelihood of on-time or yearly premium payments.
Here are some of the other features offered when you migrate to using online invoicing tools for insurance companies:
- Online invoicing tools make it easy to select a straightforward quote or invoice that captures your insurance brand while providing an easy-to-read format. There are numerous invoice templates to choose from so you are sure to find one that fits so no one has to go to the trouble of spending the time to design one. No need to reinvent the wheel.
- Switching to a cloud-based invoicing system also means remote staff can handle this process for you from whatever device they are using. Plus, the database of invoices and recipients is always up-to-date for all users. Typically, you can set the number of users to maintain overall control.
- These online tools come together in a dashboard that provides a single point where all the data comes together, including unpaid invoices, outstanding income, total tax invoiced, or any other data you need to determine your cash flow for the month.
- You can also turn that data into helpful reports that graph and describe what the data means and how invoicing has changed over any time period you designate. This helps you gauge how your current workflow and business process are doing in case you need to make improvements.
- If insurance invoices are the same amount each month, using an online tool that automatically sends those invoices reduces that labor-intensive process. This is especially the case should you have hundreds or even thousands of invoices to handle each month or quarter. Now you can focus on other things like building or solidifying client relationships.
- Providing an electronic way for customers to receive their invoices means they can also receive them through email on their computers, tablet, or even smartphone. This often gets them to pay right away because it is in front of them rather than buried in a pile of bills on their desk. Even better is when an online invoicing tool provides a link within the electronic invoice so that the customer can pay through the payment portal of their choice or just note that they want automatic payments made through their bank or some other account like PayPal.
- Since these invoicing tools are online, you may be concerned about security, but that is something the companies behind these tools have focused on to ensure high levels of encryption to protect that sensitive data. Being online as well means that you always have the most updated version of these tools with no downloads or additional software to purchase.
If you think your insurance business could benefit from these online invoicing tools, click below to learn more about Due.com’s business plans.
