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Address autocomplete shortens insurance time to quote

Wes Arnold
Wes Arnold
 | 
January 12, 2023
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Insurers know the colossal importance of being accurate. A simple error could create an outstanding difference in results. At the same time, the customer wants speed. The modern lifestyle is fast paced, and any need that isn't met instantly is an inconvenience. Businesses and their investors need to find the most efficient solutions to providing accuracy, without slowing down the near instant return to the customer.

Accurate risk assessment and faster quotes

In today's insurance world, where convenience is king, the fastest quote wears the crown. By using online forms, consumers can submit all information needed to generate a quote. With custom-built algorithms, carriers evaluate this information to instantly provide a quote.

The problem is these forms don't account for user errors, such as inaccurate information and typos. Even the most proficient person will still misspell a word every now and then. I'm not even halfway done with this post, and I've already seen more red squiggle lines than I'd like to admit.

When these user errors happen, the automated processes are interrupted, and some poor fella has to manually find and solve each error. The more errors, the more time it takes to complete requests, and the longer you have to wait to see ROI for your hard work.

One of the best ways to mitigate errors is to have an accurate address autocomplete option. Insurance companies who use this tool see an increase in accurate form submission rates and improved accuracy, as well as a decrease in fraudulent claims.

The future of the professional world is mobiles. This is coming at the tradeoff of consumer patience. The longer it takes to fill a form, the more impatient a prospect will become, and the higher the chances of them giving up and moving on.

customer filling out online formsSwitching between numbers, capital and lowercase letters while filling out an address is an irritation many businesses don't consider when designing their form submissions. That may seem silly, but remember you can order a pizza just by tweeting an emoji. This is the convenience you're competing with.

Get more submissions with a better user experience

An address autocomplete utility doesn't just add accuracy, but also convenience for the prospect by suggesting verified addresses as they type. There are even options to prioritize addresses based on the user's location.

Did you know that 46 United States have a city named Riverside? Did you also know you can also limit autocomplete results to a specific city, state or ZIP Code? This way, your prospect doesn't accidentally put Riverside, Illinois when they actually meant Indiana. Fun stuff, these autocomplete utilities. With just a few keystrokes, customers can find and select their address, and they're on their merry way to completing the form.

My ‘S' key sticks. I've tried every way to fix it, but whatever Cheeto crumb has wedged its way underneath is intent on making it its home. Most times it's not a problem, so long as I remember to double-check my writing and ensure the keystroke registers, but when I'm on a roll, I must admit it can be an overlooked flaw.

Many users have a similar problem, they simply forget to double check all information they've entered, and before they know it, they've written "Birginia Street." While that ‘B' may be ‘their B', it's now your problem. Address autocomplete will allow the customer to select the right address, and allow you to dodge these typo issues.

Consider the massive difference between "Man eating spiders" and "Man-eating spiders." One is a bizarre choice in diet, while the other is a terrifying choice in diet. I'll let you decide which is which. The same issue can occur when entering an address. "210 Jefferson Center Floor 2" could be read as "210 Jefferson Center, Floor 2" or "210 Jefferson, Center Floor 2".

These are simple mistakes with massive repercussions. The poor fella we mentioned earlier is now scrubbing through google to try to figure out which one the user meant. They're stressing about calling the customer to figure it out, and they didn't get into IT to talk to people. So for convenience sake, for accuracy's sake, for your IT's sake, use Address Autocompletion to prevent errors and make everyone happy.

The customer finally filled out the form, and they did it without making any errors! This in itself is a massive celebration. However, when it comes to improving accuracy in creating insurance quotes, we can go deeper.

Combining rooftop geocoding with address verification will pinpoint the exact location of a structure. This will inform you how close the building is to a fault line, coastline, wildfire zone, or a tropical storm area. You can also see if it's by that breakfast diner in my hometown that managed to catch fire every summer. Address verification and geocoding, combined with the right risk analytics tools, are key to creating a precise quote.

Reduced exposure and correct insured address

A whopping 35.8 million American adults admitted they've lied to their insurer. Almost one third of those used inaccurate addresses to derive a better quote. They did this knowing they were at high risk and felt they would get better rates by using a false address. By using address autocomplete, you can get a precise, verified address, instead of relying on user input. Decreasing occurrences of fraud on your forms.

The fast-paced lifestyle we live demands everything we use keeps up with it. Adding the address autocomplete utility with your straight-through processing reduces errors and workload. It also makes the quote process more convenient and faster for the customer experience while providing insurers with more accurate and efficient information.

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