Customer Experience is Now More Important Than Ever (x)

In today’s highly competitive market, customer experience has become the key differentiator for businesses. According to the study by PwC¹ 73% of consumers say that customer experience plays a significant role in their purchasing decisions, and 42% would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience. Especially with the rise of digital platforms, social media and online price comparison tools, consumers now have more choices than ever before, and providing them a positive experience has become even more crucial. In this context, Aleksandar Mlinar, Head of Market Management at Allianz Hungária, shares how the company is focusing on proactive customer engagement and leveraging technology to enhance the policyholder journey.

As someone dealing with customer experience for several years, how would you translate good customer experience in your own words?

I believe good customer experience leaves consumers feeling heard, seen and appreciated, and it truly has a tangible impact for any company – think of an increased customer retention, for example. People are increasingly loyal to the retailers, products, brands and devices that consistently provide exceptional value with minimum friction or stress.  For a service industry, like insurance, customer experience is even more crucial. We want to provide a positive experience so the customer feels that by choosing Allianz, they get good value, care and attention, and peace of mind when it comes to the insurance products and services.

Going back to what you have just mentioned, ”peace of mind”. How do customers enjoy that?

For example, our motor third party liability insurance (MTPL) policy provides roadside assistance, but also legal support and personal accident coverage already included. If the water pipe breaks, our customers get rapid assistance from us – and this assistance is included in all of our currently available home insurances. Or, when it comes to travel insurance, our cover comes with benefits including tele-medicine advice and a 24/7 Hungarian language hotline. This is all included as part of our basic services.

The insurance industry has often been criticized for lagging in digital transformation. How does Allianz in Hungary tackle this?

While there’s always room to improve, Allianz in Hungary is already in a good position in many areas of digitalization. For example, we’ve digitized the claims process with an online claim notification and tracker, streamlining and improving transparency to customers. We’ve also introduced AI-assisted car inspections, eliminating the need for in-person evaluations during the process of taking out motor insurance with casco coverage. Additionally, we were the first in Hungary to introduce blockchain in our travel insurance, to automatically trigger payouts in case of flight delay or cancellation.

As emerging technologies open doors to new automated experiences, how are you able to strike the right balance between innovative technologies and the human touch? Which one is more predominant?

Even as technology improves and automation becomes more prevalent, in my experience it is still important to offer good human interaction in the end, based on customer need. People engage with apps, self-service checkouts, websites. But if something goes wrong, they may want to talk to a person. New technology tools are necessary and are making lives much easier, but the human touch remains also important. The key is to provide excellent service at every touchpoint. It’s about combining digital tools with human interaction when needed.

What metric do you find essential for understanding customers?

Our Voice of the Customer (VoC) program is one of our key metrics. We ask customers to rate their experience on a 1 to 5-star scale at every interaction with us, being it after sales, servicing or claims. This feedback helps us understand what customers value and where we need to improve. We also reach out to customers who provide lower ratings (3 stars or lower) to understand what went wrong and address issues. Currently, in the last months our average rating is above 4.6 out of 5.

Allianz Hungária’s latest campaign highlights the benefits of being a customer. Why was this campaign launched?

The campaign aims to showcase the wide range of benefits that come with our products and services. We believe Allianz offers more than just competitive pricing— such as AI-driven innovations, extensive assistance services and loyalty discounts which add value to our customers’ lives. Ultimately, we want Allianz to become an integral part of our customers' lives, fulfilling our promise of securing their future.

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