How Social Media Has Impacted the Indian Insurance Industry?

The insurance industry in India has been getting a wider impression during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. People have realized the importance of a life insurance plan and a savings policy for their financial recovery. However, the business is getting competitive as there are several plans with various features offered by different insurers. It becomes a tedious task for policy seekers to find the best savings policy due to this reason.

Social media and its wider acceptance have been a very good tool for cracking this difference and reaching out to people from all walks of life. The insurance industry has used social media marketing and analytics to understand customer expectations and enhance business growth. Let’s take a look at how this has been done.

What is the role of social media in the insurance industry?

Social media platforms provide a wider network for people to socialize transparently and exchange thoughts. It allows for brand awareness in a distinct style. Online conversations on different professional websites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., help life insurance providers learn customer sentiments better and work proactively along the same lines.

As the conversations on these mediums are customer-centric and are presented to a larger audience, important trends and insights can be captured and deployed for business growth. It calls for a social transformation in the business cycle, making social media data an important decision-making aspect.

Impact of Social Media on the Indian Insurance Industry

Insurance and social media have been correlated to offer several benefits to business expansion.

1. The brand image can be monitored and maintained well through a social media platform. A false impression or opinion of a life insurance company or a query can be addressed and appropriately communicated to a large section of people.
   
   For example, an insurance savings plan is conceived as a normal savings policy by most people. However, it is a guaranteed¹ return insurance plan that offers a life cover and guaranteed¹ returns. The additional guaranteed¹ returns in the savings policy will be provided as a maturity benefit. The maturity benefit can be availed of as a lump sum amount or as guaranteed¹ regular income.
   
   These ideas can be exhibited and expressed through a social media platform for a wider impression. It will ensure a quick reach and greater visibility.
   

 

2. The expenses related to marketing and the corresponding sales overheads decrease to a greater extent. It avoids setting difficult targets and the cost of having representatives reach out to every household explaining the different policies.
   
   

   Insurers can cut down the resources required for marketing to a large extent. Thus, the impact of social media has provided a proven, cost-effective marketing strategy for the insurance industry.
   
   

3. Insurers respond to customer queries and other concerns regarding a life insurance plan through their official social media account. It increases the quality of customer relationships as the necessary response is given and appropriate action is taken on time. 
   
   

4. When someone shares a common notion of a specific life insurance plan on social media, a group of people supporting the same idea get closer and comment on the same. It helps the insurance industry focus on targeted marketing strategies for ensuring growth potential.

Social media for deriving a strategy

There is an inherent strategy that every insurer develops with respect to a life insurance plan using social media. It basically involves four steps:

1. Identifying the business objectives - Firstly, the insurer will decide on an objective with respect to a life insurance plan. Let us consider a savings policy as an example. The objective is to get new policy buyers from the younger population.
   
   

2. How to use social media to achieve it - The benefits of the plan, such as life cover, guaranteed¹ returns etc., can be projected by the insurer on different social media platforms.
   
   

3. Accomplish the plan - Always remember content is the king on social media. Try to introduce a survey or a review for inviting a response. 
   
   

4. Social listening - Allow for the positive and negative sentiments to pop up regarding the savings policy to understand how the audience perceives the life insurance plan. As a part of social listening, the insurer will get an idea of the peer influences as well.
   
   

5. Analysis and possible solutions - Collate the information regarding the likes and dislikes of the people and understand the customer behaviour. Segment the information and divide it across different departments.
   
   

   For example, if there is a concern regarding the information published and the lack of clarity, the customer service team takes up the task; if there is an issue regarding payment terms, the communication channel and the payment platform can be revised by the finance team. 
   
   

   Tata AIA enables policyholders to make seamless Tata AIA premium payment through various methods online.
   
   

6. Decide on a solution - Decide on a solution, try innovative methods and monitor if it works effectively. There are no quick solutions and arriving on a workable strategy could take some time.
   
   

Key performance indicators that insurance companies analyse through social media

The insurers can use some of the following key performance indicators from social media to understand if the strategy has made better and profitable businesses.

   1. Number of conversations handled

   2. Number of positive and negative remarks from social media

   3. The total number of followers

   4. Number of likes and dislikes to the product post

   5. Number of sales incurred from the social media platform, etc.

Conclusion

Social media has impacted the insurance industry in various ways. It has helped the insurers understand the customer sentiments and better address them. It has also helped the insurers understand the customer concerns and customize the plan accordingly. It has provided a wider, cost-effective and efficient platform to expand their business needs.

It is left to the insurer to make use of the best opportunities by deriving the best strategy. 

L&C/Advt/2021/Jul/1084