Blog - September 2025

In insurance, especially in specialty lines, the customer relationship has long been defined by transactions: a policy sold, a claim filed, a renewal offered. But as customer expectations evolve — shaped by experiences in retail, banking, and tech — this model is starting to feel outdated.

Today’s customers don’t just want protection. They want clarity, empathy, and relevance. They want to feel understood, not just processed.

As Head of Customer, I believe the real opportunity lies in shifting from transactional touchpoints to transformational relationships. That means moving beyond reactive service and into proactive engagement — helping customers navigate complexity, anticipate risks, and feel confident in their choices.

Specialty insurance is uniquely positioned for this shift. Products like legal expenses, income protection, and cyber cover often intersect with moments of stress or uncertainty. These are not just financial events — they’re emotional ones. And that’s where thoughtful design, clear communication, and human support can make all the difference.

Transformational relationships aren’t built overnight. They require listening, iterating, and showing up consistently. But when handled thoughtfully, insurance becomes less about obligation and more about empowerment.

MY TOP 5 TIPS:

1. Map the human moments
   Identify the high-emotion points (quote bind, FNOL, cyber incident, income‐gap trigger). Ask: What does confidence look like here?
   • Map "moments that matter"
   • Understand your customers experience during those moments and identify opportunities.
   • Metric: NPS/CSAT by moment, not overall
    
2. Make clarity the product
   Rewrite your top 10 customer comms in plain language. Add a 3-line summary and “what happens next” to every email.
   • Visual claims roadmap + checklist
   • Readability target ≈ Grade 7–8
   • Metric: “I understand my coverage/next step” (%)
    
3. Shift to proactive coaching
   Don’t wait for a claim—prevent it.
   • Legal expenses: pre-dispute support and active assistance to help customers solve their problems.
   • Metric: Adoption of proactive touchpoints, preventable claims rate, renewal retention
    
4. Give every case an owner (not a queue)
   Form small pods with one named owner per customer episode and warm hand-offs.
   • Owner introduces themselves + SLA upfront
   • Measure resolution and confidence, not handle time
   • Metric: First-contact resolution, time-to-clarity
    
5. Close the loop and iterate weekly
   Turn feedback into fixes—fast.
   • 30-minute weekly VOC stand-up: top frictions → next week’s experiments
   • Share one customer story org-wide
   • Metric: % feedback closed, time-to-fix, drop in repeat contacts