GMC Software Technology, a provider of customer communications, output management solutions and ACORD associate member, today announced its post-briefing report on effective multichannel communication in the insurance industry. The briefing took place at the 2012 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum on May 15^th 2012 with the feature presentation delivered by Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, Vice President and Distinguished Analyst at Gartner. The briefing presented the key areas that insurers should focus on to enhance the customer experience and highlighted how insurers can communicate across multiple channels while optimizing processes for increased business efficiency and agility.

As hostsof the briefing, GMC Software Technology emphasized the importance of the topics discussed. The company is also exhibiting at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum, at booth #1110, to showcase a range of applications that canhelp insurers address some of the key topics presented at the briefing. These topics include:

Evolution from print to multichannel communications
As customer touch points have expanded across numerous channels (email, mobile, web, social, etc.), insurers have a great opportunity to utilize these channels to engage prospects and customers. However, older legacy systems can hold insurers back. To take advantage of this opportunity, insurers must face the challenge of leveraging their existing legacy systems to successfully support these new and emerging customer communication channels.

Channel Centricity Versus Customer Centricity: Using Data More Effectively and Appropriately Across Channels:
Many Insurers are channel centric rather than customer centric, largely based on the insurer’s existing infrastructure. But as customers now rely on many different channels, they expect a consistent communications experience across all touchpoints. Today, a channel centric approach puts insurers at risk of brand inconsistency, customer dissatisfaction and inefficient processes. To avoidthese risks, the briefing presented on how insurers can support cross-channel integrated communications that deliver the most relevant message, at the right time, using the customer’s preferred channel.

Use of Real-Time On-Demand Technologies
With the availability and accessibility of digital channels, consumers are increasingly expecting real time customer service and information. Insurers should make use of technologies to connect with clients and support communication creation in real-time and on demand. Businesses also need to improve transaction processing by enabling a single process and access point for all internal users, brokers and customers along with real-time, front-end integration with source systems.

Agent Enablement: Improving Agent Performanceand Standardizing Agent Actions
In an increasingly complex marketplace, insurance providers have the dual task ofdirectly addressing the needs of the policyholders and also enabling their agents to deliver a better service and remain complaint with legislative and corporate requirements. The briefing expressed that insurers must improve agent performance and standardize agent actions to ensure compliance and better customer experiences.

Modernizing Communications and Producing Seamless Customer Experiences:
It is common in the industry for complex data structures to remain in backend systems and in disparate silos across the business where they provide little value for effective and meaningful customer communications. By bringing together customer data within these silos, insurers can engage in intelligent, data-driven communications and relevant “360-degree” customer communications across multiple channels. In addition, by unifying data across disparate data silos, insurers can communicate with customers in a more agile and consistent fashion.