For US health insurers, the current state of trust should set off alarm bells. Trust is the cornerstone of a successful relationship. But only 56% of consumers trust their health insurer to act in their best interest. This puts consumer trust in US health insurers at a three-year low during a watershed moment for the industry.
Health insurers must create value with customers to earn their trust. They need to curate personalized, positive experiences that sustain engagement, building relationships that foster trust and encourage more engagement.
Trust Is The Glue That Binds: Building Success In Health Insurance
Building and maintaining trust not only improves customer satisfaction but also ensures the long-term success of the business. Trust shapes customers’ actions and perceptions, including:
- Data sharing. High-trust customers are 1.7x more likely to share personal data, which is crucial for creating personalized, valuable customer experiences. Thus, trust feeds a virtuous cycle; without trust and the data sharing it makes possible, member experiences fall flat.
- Customer satisfaction. High-trust customers report significantly higher ratings in three dimensions: ease, effectiveness, and emotion. This group is nearly twice as likely to feel happy about their insurer, a key driver of loyalty. Emotion carries the most weight of the three dimensions for health insurers. By increasing the incidence of positive emotions associated with customers’ experiences, health insurers can remedy a decline in CX.
- Churn rates. Low-trust customers with the option to switch health insurers are twice as likely to leave their current carrier compared to their high-trust peers. As consumers’ options to switch increase — whether due to aging into the Medicare market or because of employment or coverage changes — the premium that customers place on loyalty will increase. Controlling churn among low-trust customers who experience higher levels of frustration and annoyance will have immediate short- and long-term impacts.
Prioritize Trust Now For Future Success
Building trust can improve customer experience, foster loyalty, and drive value for both customers and the business. Health insurers must repair the current fractured state of trust by targeting key levers and drivers of trust to optimize efforts and investments.
Forrester clients can read our full report to learn more about the current state of trust in US health insurers, understand which levers and drivers influence trust the most, and discover actionable insights that will strengthen the bonds of trust. Schedule time with us now to dig deep into the data and build the business case for improving customer trust.
Join us at CX Summit North America from June 23–26 in Nashville to delve into these topics and more. Reserve your spot to join the conversation.
