In the world of insurance, trust is the bedrock upon which the entire structure rests. Policyholders invest their hard-earned money and faith in the industry, believing it will safeguard them in times of need. However, a trust deficit has been festering in India’s insurance landscape, largely stemming from unaddressed pain points. It’s time to refurbish the grievance system, breathing new life into it, to rekindle that trust and motivation for customers to stay insured. Though systems are in place, are those systems capable of handling grievances in a time-bound manner? Can it punish the guilty? Are the systems sound enough to detect red flags? We need answers to similar questions.
Trust Deficit: Trust is a fragile entity, easy to break and challenging to rebuild. For the insurance sector, the trust deficit is the culmination of unaddressed grievances and a lack of transparency. When policyholders feel unheard and their issues remain unresolved, it erodes their faith in the industry. A dissatisfied customer takes away at least 10 prospects.
We need to understand that insurance is a push product. When we come across scenarios where stringent targets are set for business with deadlines, misselling is bound to happen. We need to draw a line that we will accept a reduction in premium but not compromise with misinformed selling.
When we plan to multiply our penetration by a huge proportion, a lot of factors come into play. The whole eco-system of the industry should be agile enough to adapt to the new environment. When the business grows and more policyholders come into the system, the grievance redressal machinery should be robust enough to handle the influx of possible complaints; otherwise, growing dissatisfaction can be a silent killer and ultimately affect the trust quotient of customers.
A revamped grievance system is not just about addressing issues; it’s about instilling confidence and motivation for customers to continue their insurance journey. When policyholders witness efficient grievance resolution, they are more likely to view insurance as a protective shield rather than a necessary burden.
Specific studies, research, and development should be undertaken to study the pain points of customers, study existing cases of grievances, take feedback from customers, analyze customer preferences and behavior, study fraudulent cases, and study the existing tat for resolution of grievances. All this study will go a long way toward finding a solution to reduce the trust deficit.
An important MANTRA is to invest in research and development if you want the industry to grow and build a resilient eco-system for the industry.
