Established in 1980, the Hollard Insurance Group is South Africa's largest privately-owned insurance company, a Licensed Insurer and an authorised Financial Services Provider. It offers a wide range of short-term insurance, life insurance, and investment-oriented products to both individual and corporate customers.
The traditional process of signing up for insurance coverage and submitting claims at a physical company branch or broker has been upended, not just by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also by consumer and commercial trends toward a digital future.
“As an organisation, we want our customer service to operate on an omnichannel basis. This starts by mapping our digital maturity and considering the best options for both our customers and ourselves. COVID-19 accelerated our strategy, and it was during that time of crisis that we began our journey with CM.com." Tammy Trower, Senior Manager for Digital Engagement at Hollard, said.
With business disrupted, Hollard needed a way to give customers the ability to submit documentation and enquiries through a popular and accessible platform.
CM.com’s Mobile Service Cloud provided the perfect solution. Hollard customers can now submit funeral, retrenchment, and hospital claims via a centralised WhatsApp Business Platform portal, whether it’s intended to be sent to Hollard directly or one of their partners.
Seamless integration was essential to the solution, as CM.com’s system needed to integrate and operate with a chatbot that Hollard had developed in-house, set up so that messages customers sent through the bot would be emailed to an inbox that a company representative could take action from.
“It’s a very simple solution with a very beneficial result. These systems are easy to implement, and data feedback is extensive. The resulting reports help us make refinements in how the chatbot, and indeed our own agents, interact with our customers,” Trower explained.
It’s not only Hollard customers that benefit from the convenient system, but also Hollard employees. Using CM.com’s solution, WhatsApp Business Platform was introduced as the group’s internal communication platform, offering a more convenient way to send everything from company-wide announcements and administrative notices to simple messages like Christmas and New Year wishes. Every staff member just needs to have WhatsApp Business installed on their mobile device, opt-in to receive the WhatsApp Business communication and company-wide communication is assured, without having to deal with a bloated email inbox.
CM.com offered Hollard Life Solutions the means to consolidate efforts to establish and maintain digital infrastructure. With wide-reaching solutions in the form of WhatsApp communication, the group only needs to turn to one service provider to provide all the technical assistance and oversight it requires.
“Customer feedback has been positive. The onboarding process happened with almost no disruption. By hosting the WhatsApp line on a number that was already being used by our call centres, customers could easily see that communication was available via the instant messaging app, and engage and walk through the process almost instantly,” explained Brighton Ravele, Senior Manager for Digital Transformation & Automation at Hollard.
In addition to these WhatsApp Business Platform-enabled solutions, Hollard is exploring the potential of automated workflows across its divisions, with many interested in how solutions (including SMS and email functionality) can be adapted to accommodate specific product offerings.
"Hollard is excited to progress with its digital agenda, making more products and services available on digital platforms. People have grown accustomed to interacting with longstanding institutions by just sending a few keystrokes, and while we will continue to offer face-to-face experiences, we are facilitating new portals through which people can take care of themselves and the ones they love. Life is too short to be spent on paperwork and with the help of CM.com, we are changing that forever," Ravele concluded.
To find out how CM.com can equip your business with communication tools that are reliable, scalable, easy to use, and offer a better experience for your clients and partners, reach out to us today.
Your own success story awaits.
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