Insurance providers unable to keep up with customer e-mails

One in three refuses to provide the requested information
Customer would like their questions to be answered within 24 hours

At a glance: who responded fastest.

One in three requests is left unansweredAbout half of all German insurance providers have invested in internet customer services, but many are still struggling to come to grips with the modern communication channel. For example, one in three customer queries is left unanswered or is delivered late. These are the results of the recent e-mail response analysis, "E-mail customer service in the insurance sector 2006" carried out by novomind and M&Oh Research Services.     Advisers keep customers waiting Insurance providers are unable to keep up with the e-mails they are receiving from customers. Although two out of three did answer the e-mails, less than half managed to provide information within 24 hours. More than one in five took two days or longer to respond. In some cases, potential insurance policyholders were made to wait up to a week for an answer. On average, insurance agencies needed two and a half days to answer an e-mail - a delay that falls significantly short of customer expectations.     Customers expect a response in 24 hours or less   The majority of customers want an answer within 24 hours. Two out of five would even prefer responses to arrive within twelve hours. The gulf between customer expectations and what a company can deliver is likely to widen in future with almost 50 percent of companies expecting a steep increase in e-mail communication in the next five years. Even today, more than 70 percent of consumers see e-mail as the main channel for dealing with customer queries.     novomind: software solutions for professional customer communications   The Hamburg-based software provider, novomind, is the fastest-growing company in the field of electronic customer communication and e-mail management. As a leading provider of digital customer communication solutions, novomind AG offers software solutions tailored to guarantee customers better, more individual service - significantly improving customer administration and generating a rapid return on investment. The product department’s portfolio includes the novomind Self Service Suite™. The software package contains the full range of communication modules needed for a customer service center: e-mail management, virtual customer assistance and systems enabling interactive, real time communication online - all in one, centralized knowledge database. The novomind services department develops complex e-business applications that include scalable online shop solutions. Over 40 leading companies have opted for novomind technology so far, including Citibank, the Otto Concern, Yello Strom and the German pension insurance office. EnBW and Mexx, as well as public sectors representatives such as the German Parliament and the Federal Ministry of Finance, have already successfully implemented novomind systems to boost customer loyalty, turnover and public relations.

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