Customer Case Study – Insurance & Financial Services Insurance Provider Migrates From In-House IVR System to an FDVS Insurance IVR Application, Improving Automation by 25 Percentage Points in Just Six Months

Executive Summary

Industry

Insurance and Financial Services

Business Challenge

  • In-house IVR system was resolving fewer than 30% of incoming calls
  • Live agents were being overloaded and customer satisfaction was on the decline

Solution

  • Migrated in-house system to FDVS IVR program
  • FDVS IVR solution for the insurance industry provides added functionality—including eligibility verification, claim status information and faxing capability

Results

  • The new system’s success rate has risen to 55%—a 28% increase over the original in-house IVR
  • FDVS handles more than 18 million calls a year for the company, logging more than 27 million minutes
  • Overall customer satisfaction increased nearly 15% and overall customer dissatisfaction decreased by 23%

Challenge

A leading provider of insurance and financial services, with more than 70 million customers worldwide, had created an in-house voice response system. The purpose of this effort was to offer callers an automated service to answer questions without the intervention of an agent. They had repeatedly missed automation targets over a several year period, and 73% of all calls were ultimately connected to an agent.

With more than 10 million (and growing) incoming calls from participants and providers, the call centers were struggling to keep up with the demand. Caller “on hold” time was increasing. Participant and provider overall customer satisfaction had reached an all-time low. It was time for a new approach.

Solution

The company decided to migrate its in-house system to the First Data Voice Services (FDVS) IVR platform. FDVS was given the approval to start from scratch and create a design specifically addressing usability and customer satisfaction.

The FDVS platform receives all calls and transfers only those callers who must speak with an agent. The IVR system directly interfaces with the company’s remote host to obtain caller specific information, including plan benefit eligibility for employees and covered family members, claim status information, participating provider details and general information. A major addition was the capability to provide an option for callers to receive requested information via fax, an alternative to mail, including plan benefit information, frequency limitations, claim status history, claim forms and participating provider lists.

Results

From day one, FDVS increased the number of callers successfully handled by IVR from 27% to 35%. Within six months, that number grew to 52%. In 2006, the system’s success rate had risen to 55%—a 28% increase over the original in-house system.

FDVS handles more than 18 million calls on an annual basis—logging more than 27 million minutes in 2006 alone.

Eight million fax pages were sent to participants, covered family members and provider offices during 2006—more than 1 million pages in January alone.

Based on an average industry cost structure and this client’s call volumes, every percentage point increase of utilization in the IVR, represents a savings of approximately $400,000 annually.

More importantly, the FDVS solution has improved overall customer satisfaction. Since its inception, customer satisfaction has increased nearly 15 percent with customer dissatisfaction decreasing by 23 percent.

For More Information

To discover how First Data Voice Services can help you find flexible, affordable IVR solutions that satisfy your customers, call 800-428-2400 and ask for the sales department.