The top insurance BPO companies possess specialized insurance knowledge as well as soft skills like strong communication, excellent problem-solving, adaptability, time management, and more.
When you decide to outsource key insurance processes like underwriting or claims processing, you’re often doing so because you want support from a dedicated team that has expertise in an area you don’t. Rather than build these capabilities in-house, it’s often more cost-effective to outsource them to a third party.
However, you don’t want to outsource if it means sacrificing the quality of service you deliver to policyholders. Thus, the best insurance BPO companies have the right balance of industry expertise and an empathetic, human touch to create an excellent policyholder experience.
Below, we’ll explore some of the most important skills you’ll find in top insurance BPO companies and why it’s essential to find a provider that demonstrates these characteristics.
Why Choosing the Right Insurance BPO Partner Matters
Not all insurance BPO companies are alike, so it matters which provider you partner with. Certain BPO companies go above and beyond for insurers, while others deliver the bare minimum, leaving policyholders and insurers dissatisfied and wanting more.
Before we dive into specific things to look for in an onshore insurance outsourcing partner, let’s review the potential advantages you can unlock when working with the right provider, but will risk losing if you don’t find a BPO company with the right skills.
Streamlined Operations and Improved Efficiency
Working with a top insurance BPO company can help you become more efficient and streamline operations. You can offload non-core activities to the BPO provider, giving your team more time to spend on what they do best, whether that’s sales, underwriting, or something else. As a result, your team can be more efficient with their resources.
Enhanced Expertise and Scalability
It’s common to work with an insurance BPO provider when your team lacks the skills or expertise to handle certain insurance processes effectively. The top BPO companies tend to specialize in certain areas where their teams have a depth of knowledge, allowing you to quickly tap into their network of skilled professionals without having to recruit, hire, and train them yourself.
The best BPO teams are scalable, meaning they can devote more or less support to meet your fluctuating demand. For instance, if you outsource claims processing to a BPO provider, it’s good to know they have the flexibility to quickly handle a surge in claims after a large storm hits your area.
Reduced Costs and Increased Profitability
It’s typically more cost-effective to hire an outsourced insurance BPO provider to handle certain tasks than develop a full-time team in-house. By partnering with a third-party provider, you can save on employee wages, benefits, training costs, and technology investments for specialized software systems.
Of course, you’ll have to pay BPO companies a fee for their services. However, the top providers can help you achieve a positive ROI, capturing greater cost savings and efficiency improvements compared to what you’re paying the provider for their services.
The Most Important Skills of Top-Tier Insurance BPO Companies
To deliver high-quality, on-brand service for policyholders with the help of a BPO company, it’s not enough to choose a provider that has basic experience in the industry. Instead, look for a company that can offer the following:
Deep Industry Knowledge and Experience
The core skill that any insurance BPO company should offer is a depth of industry knowledge and experience. As mentioned above, most insurers seek out a partnership with a BPO provider due to a lack of internal resources. Thus, it’s important to find a provider with demonstrated hands-on experience in the industry and who is well-versed in skillfully handling complex insurance processes.
Data Security and Compliance Expertise
Insurance BPO companies must have robust data security measures in place to safeguard policyholder data and meet relevant compliance standards. The policyholder data that insurers and BPO providers collect and store is highly sensitive and often a target for cyberattacks. So, providers must be just as diligent with cybersecurity as insurers to maintain compliances and keep data secure.
Excellent Communication and Collaboration Skills
The top insurance BPO providers possess excellent people skills and are easy to work with. Strong communication abilities ensure clear and effective interactions with insurers and policyholders, and good time management and organizational skills maintain efficiency with operations that leads to customer satisfaction.
Aside from technical expertise, one of the most important skills insurance BPO teams can have is empathy. When you outsource front-facing processes like customer service or first notice of loss (FNOL), you want to be confident your agents are understanding and empathetic of policyholders’ situations. Empathy is an invaluable trait for providers, especially in stressful situations when policyholders initiate a claim after experiencing property damage or financial loss.
Technology Expertise and Innovation
When working with a top BPO provider, you not only get to take advantage of their expert team of professionals, but you also benefit from their advanced technology platforms and software systems. Highly specialized software for insurance processes can be expensive to purchase and maintain. However, when you hire a BPO provider, these costs are already included in their service fee.
Quality Management and Continuous Improvement
A good insurance BPO team strives to continually improving their service in response to changing policyholder demands and industry trends. They are dedicated to the quality of their service just as much as you are and will proactively make adjustments to better align with your brand and enhance the policyholder experience.
Partnering with a Top Insurance BPO Company: Get Started with Covenir
Whether you’re outsourcing FNOL and claims, customer support, premium services, or any other insurance process, make sure you choose a provider that is well-rounded and possesses industry expertise, plus has excellent soft skills, a proven track record, and strong data security and compliance with regulations. Each of these factors is crucial to ensure efficient, accurate, and compliant insurance operations.
If you want to maximize efficiency and expertise with help from a top insurance BPO company, look no further than Covenir. We take pride in seamlessly integrating into your existing operations, providing on-brand, top-tier service that your policyholders expect from you. Our expert, empathetic team members work diligently to execute your brand promise, giving your team more time to explore growth opportunities and innovation.
Contact us today to learn more about our industry-leading insurance outsourcing services.