Reducing Support Dependency by Redesigning Insurance Self-Service Experience
Overview
A high volume of customers (~90%) were relying on the customer support centre for basic tasks such as updating policy details, lodging claims, and tracking claim status—despite these services being available online.
Customer surveys revealed that 70% of users found it difficult to locate what they needed, especially when managing multiple policies. To investigate further, we analysed thousands of support interactions from Genesys along with behavioural analytics data to understand user intent, navigation patterns, and drop-off points.
Insights showed that poor discoverability, fragmented journeys, and multi-policy complexity were key drivers of support dependency. At the same time, with an average of 1.5 policies per customer (vs. a target of 2–3), improving the digital experience was critical not only to reduce support costs but also to drive retention, increase policy adoption, and deliver better customer value.
Problem Statement
Customers heavily rely on the customer support centre for tasks that should be self-service. Around 90% of customers contact support to perform basic actions such as updating policy details, lodging a claim, or checking claim status.
Despite having digital channels available, customers struggle to independently manage their policies—especially those with multiple policies—leading to high support dependency, poor user experience, and increased operational costs.
Discovery Insights
Customer Research (Surveys & Feedback)
Conducted post-call and post-chat surveys to understand intent behind support contact.
7 out of 10 customers reported they could not easily find what they were looking for online.
Key pain points
Navigation confusion
Poor information architecture
Lack of clarity in policy-related actions
Difficulty managing multiple policies in one place
Behavioural Data Analysis
Analysed analytics tools to track
Drop-off points
Click patterns
Repeated navigation loops
Key findings
Users struggled to locate key actions (e.g., “Make a claim”, “Update details”)
High friction in multi-policy management journeys
Low engagement with self-service features
Customer Support Data (Genesys Analysis)
Reviewed thousands of chat and call transcripts from Genesys.
Identified top reasons for contact
Updating policy details
Lodging a claim
Checking claim status
Making changes across multiple policies
Insight: These are high-frequency, low-complexity tasks that should ideally be handled digitally.
Business Context
Average policies per customer: 1.5, while the target is 2–3 policies per customer.
Customer retention is low despite cross-sell opportunities.
Existing experience does not effectively surface
Relevant policy upgrades
Better pricing or bundled offers
Value-added services
My Role
Product Designer
Led end-to-end UX from discovery to solution design
Analysed customer, behavioural, and support data
Defined problem areas and prioritised opportunities
Business Goals
Reduce customer support volume by enabling effective self-service
Improve digital adoption for policy management and claims
Increase customer retention by improving experience and trust
Grow policies per customer from 1.5 → 2–3 through better cross-sell opportunities
Enhance customer lifetime value by providing personalised, relevant offers
Reduce operational costs associated with high support dependency
Key Challenges
Poor Information Architecture
Critical actions were hard to find
Users lacked clear pathways to complete tasks
Multi-Policy Complexity
Customers with multiple policies struggled to
View
Manage
Take action across policies seamlessly
Low Discoverability of Self-Service Features
Existing features were underutilised due to
Poor visibility
Lack of guidance
Cognitive overload
Fragmented User Journey
Claims, updates, and policy management were not unified
Users had to navigate across multiple sections
Lack of Personalisation
No contextual recommendations for
Policy upgrades
Bundling opportunities
Cost savings
Trust & Confidence Gap
Customers preferred calling support because
They were unsure if they were completing tasks correctly online
No clear confirmation or feedback loops
Strong takeaway
This wasn’t just a usability issue—it was a business-critical experience gap impacting cost, retention, and revenue. The opportunity was to transform self-service from a fallback option into the primary channel for policy management.
The above heatmap shows where customers are trying to click and change details online but that was not so user friendly.
By thorough auditing of the budget direct’s OPM made sure the platform is not intuitive and lagging
I also examined how competitors approached their onboarding experiences—both within and beyond the Insurance industry. This helped uncover common design patterns and recurring themes that could inspire enhancements to our own online product management.
Some of the key themes that emerged from this investigation include
Customers Visit the Platform with Clear Tasks, Not to Browse
The majority of customers accessing the platform had specific goals, such as updating policy details, lodging a claim, or checking claim progress. However, the platform required users to navigate through multiple sections before completing these actions. This mismatch between customer intent and platform structure created friction and increased support centre dependency.
Poor Information Architecture Reduced Task Discoverability
Critical actions such as “Update details”, “Make a claim”, and “Track claim status” were not easily discoverable. Navigation labels and page hierarchy were not aligned with how customers mentally model insurance tasks, making it difficult for users to quickly locate the functionality they needed.
Managing Multiple Policies Was a Fragmented Experience
Customers with multiple policies struggled to view, compare, and manage their policies in one place. Instead of a unified overview, policy management was fragmented across different pages, forcing users to repeatedly navigate back and forth. This created confusion and increased cognitive load.
Lack of Claim Transparency Increased Support Dependence
Customers frequently contacted support to check the progress of their claims. The platform did not provide clear visibility into claim stages, timelines, or next steps, leaving customers uncertain about their claim status and prompting them to seek reassurance through customer support.
Digital Experience Was Not Supporting Retention or Growth
From a business perspective, the platform focused primarily on policy viewing rather than customer engagement or value creation. With the average policies per customer at 1.5, there was a missed opportunity to present relevant offers, bundled policies, or premium optimisation options that could strengthen retention and increase customer lifetime value.
So came up with below HMW
How might we help customers quickly complete their most common tasks online?
How might we simplify policy management for customers with multiple policies?
How might we give customers clear visibility into their claim progress
Key Opportunities
Based on the research, several design opportunities emerged that could significantly improve the digital experience and reduce reliance on customer support.
Create a Task-Focused Dashboard
Customers primarily visit the platform to complete a small number of critical tasks. A redesigned dashboard could prioritise:
Update policy details
Make a claim
Track claim progress
Manage multiple policies
This would reduce navigation friction and guide users toward their goals.
Simplify Multi-Policy Management
Customers with multiple policies struggled to understand where to manage each one. Introducing:
Unified policy overview
Clear grouping by policy type
Quick-edit options
would allow customers to manage their insurance portfolio more easily.
Introduce Transparent Claim Tracking
Customers frequently contacted support to check claim progress. A visual claim status tracker with clear stages could provide reassurance and reduce inbound queries.
Improve Findability and Navigation
Improving the information architecture and introducing clear task-based labels would make the platform more intuitive and reduce the “hard to find” issue reported by customers.
Enable Self-Service Policy Updates
Streamlining policy updates through guided forms and inline editing would empower customers to manage their details independently.
Personalised Offers and Retention Opportunities
By surfacing relevant deals and bundled insurance offers within the dashboard, the platform could increase:
Policy per customer ratio
Customer lifetime value
Engagement with the digital platform
Task-Focused Customer Dashboard
To reduce navigation complexity, the redesigned experience introduced a task-focused dashboard that immediately presents customers with the most common actions.
Instead of requiring users to navigate through multiple menus, the dashboard surfaces primary actions such as:
Update policy details
Make a claim
Track claim status
Manage policies
Customers can now complete their tasks directly from the homepage without needing to search through the platform.
This approach aligns the experience with customer intent, helping users quickly accomplish what they came to the platform to do.
Unified Multi-Policy Management
Customers with multiple policies previously struggled to understand where to manage each policy. To solve this, the redesigned experience introduced a centralised policy overview.
This feature allows customers to:
View all their policies in one place
Easily switch between policies
Quickly access actions such as updating details or making a claim
Each policy is displayed with clear information and quick action options, reducing the need for customers to navigate through multiple pages.
This simplified structure significantly improves the experience for customers managing two or more policies.
Transparent Claim Tracking Experience
One of the most common reasons customers contacted the support centre was to check the status of their claims. To address this, a visual claim progress tracker was introduced.
The claim tracker shows customers:
The current stage of their claim
Completed steps
Upcoming steps
Any actions required from the customer
This gives customers clear visibility into their claim journey and reduces uncertainty, helping build trust in the process.
Simplified Claim Submission Flow
The claim submission process was redesigned to make it more guided and user-friendly.
Key improvements included:
Step-by-step claim submission
Clear progress indicators
Contextual guidance for required information
Ability to save and resume claims
This reduces confusion and improves completion rates for online claims.
Personalised Policy Recommendations
To support the business goal of increasing the average policies per customer, the dashboard also introduced personalised recommendations.
Customers are presented with:
Relevant bundled policy options
Opportunities to reduce premiums
Additional coverage suggestions
This helps customers see more value in their insurance portfolio while supporting the company’s retention and growth goals.
Expected Impact
35% reduction in policy update calls
25% increase in online claim submissions
20% faster task completion
15% increase in multi-policy adoption