Craig Weber, senior vice president, Celent
It’s hard to say because most companies are addressing both constituencies with their IT investments. Fortunately, the same themes resonate with agents and customers, such as real-time services and integration of new communication tools like e-mail, chat, and text. And the same technology approaches support those service enhancements. I expect to see a continued shift toward well-guided self service, where agents and customers can do many things comfortably on their own, with clearly marked off-ramps where they can engage with service staff as needed. The desired goal is a combination of reduced costs and the perception of service improvements.
(To read Weber's views on how insurance carriers are handling the payments of policy premiums, click this article in the Tech Decisions archive.)