Billing is no longer purely financial. Most insurers view billing as a critical aspect of customer service, especially since consumers now view options like online self-service as a basic offering. Customer expectations of today are set by industries like retail and banking; people want to be able to conduct even complex transactions anywhere and anytime.
Property/casualty carriers are working to modernize their billing capabilities; this includes support for a growing number of payment methods, customized bill presentment for customers, and easy-to-use mobile applications. Insurers are also exploring analytics and predictive modeling functionality as well as better agility to support new products and billing plans. Usage-based insurance and microinsurance products are posing new challenges to servicing and billing. But many insurers have configurable and flexible billing systems to support the demands of consumers and new products.
Investing in better billing solutions doesn’t just help customers. Relying on legacy billing technology can severely limit carriers. Modernizing these systems can help improve time to market, customer and agent satisfaction, operational efficiency, cash management, and employee training, among other benefits.
Billing replacement projects are not typically stand-alone efforts. Most billing implementations are executed as part of a policy administration system replacement. The active policy administration market therefore includes a wide range of billing options; most vendors in this space offer pre-integrated policy and billing systems.
Carriers looking to improve their customer experience with better billing capabilities have more vendor options than ever, and success rates are typically high. Insurers looking to start a billing replacement project should prepare thoroughly before beginning any transformation efforts. Steps should include defining the organization’s vision and expected workflow, reviewing implementation options, carefully choosing a team to select and implement the system, and selecting vendor options based on a short list of critical requirements.
To learn more about vendors active in this area, read Novarica’s latest Market Navigator, Property/Casualty Billing Systems.
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