• WhatsApp Insurance? Shouldn’t WeChat?

• Cognizant 20-20 Insights
WhatsApp Insurance? Shouldn’t WeChat?
By embracing mobile instant messaging, insurance carriers can
reduce operating costs and deliver more timely, satisfying and
authentic customer experiences.
Executive Summary
WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger and
similar instant messaging apps are no longer
exclusively intended for exchanging trivial text
messages, sending ubiquitous selfies or finding
your friend’s house. Rather, each messaging app
is much more than the sum of those parts. Used
effectively, these messengers can be the tools
of new-age distribution, digital marketing, aftersales
service and customer support.
In fact, what was first recognized by entrepreneurs
as an inexpensive way for businesses to
stay connected with their customers has become
a medium of choice for many big players, cutting
across industries. For instance, Bank Kassa Nova
in Kazakhstan has partnered with WhatsApp to
send alerts; Marriott and TripAdvisor are working
with WeChat in China to provide travelers with
innovative search capabilities, as well as channels
dedicated to HR and job opportunities; companies
such as Armani and Cartier are advertising their
products through messaging apps; and vehicular
traffic management is being aided by WhatsApp
in India.
Meanwhile, these messengers have the potential
to reshape the insurance industry. This white
paper examines the features of mobile messaging
apps and how they can be used to significant
advantage across the mainstream insurance
industry.
The Rise of Mobile Messengers
The increased popularity of messaging apps is
made clear by the following statistics:
• By the end of 2016, nearly 2.2 billion people will
own and use smartphones. 1
• There are currently nearly 7.0 billion mobile
subscriptions worldwide. 2
• WhatsApp, the most widely used messenger on
the market, counts 800 million monthly active
users. WeChat claims 549 million monthly
active users, and Facebook Messenger claims
3, 4, 5
600 million.
• Mobile payment transaction values are
expected to reach $721.4 billion by the end of
2017. 6
The phenomenal growth of mobile instant messengers
can be attributed to the following factors:
• The exceptional penetration of smartphones,
emergence of high-speed 3G and 4G Internet
and lower data costs. 7
• The ability to increase personalization through
direct interaction and tailored customer communications.
• The ability to efficiently address ad hoc/personalized
customer service demands.
• Exceedingly low cost, regardless of the scale
and frequency of messages, and relative
cognizant 20-20 insights | december 2015

freedom from regulatory restrictions. This has
enabled businesses to use these messengers
for:
> > Organizational announcements.
> > Product and process education.
> > Marketing and promotion.
> > Sales and distribution.
> > After-sales service and customer operations.
> > Proactive and reactive customer service.
> > Customer engagement and awareness.
For example, companies in the following industries
have used messaging apps for communications:
• In banking, financial services and insurance,
companies are using messengers for alerts
and reminders, marketing outreach and client
engagement. Examples include three Kazakh
banks — Kazkom, Bank Kassa Nova and Kaspi
Bank — that are using WhatsApp to manage
client engagement. 8
• In media and entertainment, businesses such
as BuzzFeed in China are using WeChat for
content dissemination. 9
• In retail, brands are using messengers for
promotions, sales, after-sales service and
engagement with high-net worth investors,
including Harrods, Diesel, Cartier, etc. 10
• In hospitality, organizations are engaging with
customers via messengers, including TripAdvisor
and Marriott in China through WeChat. 11
• In shipping and logistics, businesses are using
messengers for shipment tracking, including
SF Express in China. 12
Why Insurers Should Embrace Mobile
Messaging
Instant mobile messengers can help insurers
open a new channel of communication, reduce
operational costs and turnaround time, and
discover new touchpoints to improve their marketing,
sales and service. In this way, messengers
can help insurers overcome challenges that have
developed in the last few years, particularly in the
following areas:
• The need to educate and engage with
customers and prospects. One reason for
low or inadequate insurance adoption in both
mature and emerging geographies is a lack of
financial education, which prevents individuals
from buying the right amount of insurance
coverage or to save for retirement. Adding to
this is the challenge of effectively engaging
with customers and prospects through
meaningful content. Consequently, insurers
continuously seek ways to educate and engage
with customers that enable both easy dissemination
of content, as well as effortless consumption
by the target audience.
• Ineffective distribution channels. With the
emergence of new distribution channels,
insurers continuously struggle to:
> > Take stock of their current distribution mix
and assess the pain points against the parameters
of adaptability and popularity.
> > Introduce new distribution channels to compete
with rapid technology advances and
process modernization.
> > Create a cost-effective, efficient, widely networked
distribution mix that is optimal for
both the sales force and customers.
These issues could be resolved by adopting mobile
messengers as an instrument of distribution. For
one thing, the wide reach of mobile messengers
will ensure the distribution channel serves the
majority of people in any geography, as most
mobile messengers work on both smartphones,
which are rapidly proliferating in developed and
emerging economies, and traditional feature
phones.
Additionally, the low-cost, non-intrusive nature
of instant messaging not only optimizes costs for
insurers, but it also empowers customers. With
WeChat’s API, for example, businesses can build
apps that run on its instant messaging platform,
allowing them to customize functions according
to their needs and perform specialized transactions,
such as payment, image verification, etc.
Insurers could also introduce features such as
push notification with the help of stickers, icons
and one-touch payment (as has already been
introduced by Snapchat). Some of the most easily-used
stickers and icons include:
• For customers:
> > Contact me.
> > Pay premium.
> > Send premium receipt.
> > Change my address.
> > Change my phone number.
cognizant 20-20 insights 2

Mobile Messaging’s Sweet Spots
• Company, product
and contact info
• Forms and brochure
downloads
• Product and service
inquiries
• Branch locator
Marketing, Sales &
Distribution
• Locate intermediary/
broker
Agency
Management
• Quick quote request
• Policy data capture
• Appraisals and risk
capture
• Document/policy
page management
• Status inquiry
Quote, New Business,
Underwriting
Policy
Services
• Inquiry, alerts and notifications
• Renewals
• Account, fund and risk management
• Policy endorsements
• Download cards
• Just-in-time information
• Bill presentment & notifications
• Billing inquiry
• Payments and payment status
• Receipt download
Billing, Inquiry &
Reporting
Claims &
Maturity
• Claims notification
• Claims status and alerts
• Emergency assistance
• Repair shop locator
• Just-in-time assistance
Figure 1
#
2
• For agents:
> > Let’s talk/meet.
> > Please pay premium.
> > Your service request has been completed.
Lastly, mobile messengers can help insurers meet
growing consumer demand for better, more personalized
service. Thanks to their experience in
the digital world, consumers of insurance and
financial services are increasingly attracted to
providers that offer not only the best prices and
products but also the most convenient, customized
and satisfying experience. With the advent of
digital communication channels, customers now
have numerous avenues of contact and support;
however, most of these still involve the need to
manually record complaints or fill out surveys.
Further, because the data that is generated is
often unstructured, insurers cannot mine it effectively
for actionable insights.
Mobile messengers, on the other hand, can
be used by insurers as a very effective tool of
personal, structured customer support. The inherent
non-voice, concise and synchronous nature
of communication can help
insurers swiftly and effectively
address and redress
queries and complaints.
Representative Use
Cases
The inherent nonvoice,
concise and
synchronous nature of
mobile messengers
can help insurers
swiftly and effectively
address and redress
queries and complaints.
One of the many advantages
of mobile messengers
is their ability to extend
across almost all links of
the insurance value chain.
Their fast-evolving features, combined with
available functionalities such as video-calling,
location-sharing, file transfers and offline chatting,
increase their potential for becoming key
tools for customers, insurance agents and financial
advisors.
Figure 1 highlights a few areas in which mobile
messengers could benefit customers, prospects
and agents.
cognizant 20-20 insights 3

Product Announcements and Marketing
• Challenge: Insurers spend a lot of money, time
and effort annually on product announcements
and marketing. Traditional methods and
channels, such as TV and radio, have not been
overly effective for carriers seeking to be heard
above the noise. (For more insight, read our
white paper “Marketing Analytics a Smarter
Way for Auto and Home Insurers to Gain
Competitive Advantage.” 13 ) With the advent of
mobile telephony and SMS, and the meteoric
rise of social media, the Internet is now a highly
effective and inexpensive way to get messages
out regarding product marketing innovations,
while making the entire exercise more fun and
interactive. However, digital media also comes
with a host of limitations, including:
> > Capturing and holding the attention of prospects
and customers on disparate digital and
social platforms.
> > Developing meaningful, reusable KPIs and
measuring them.
> > Identifying the level of participation and interest
of the target population.
> > Collecting and measuring feedback for campaigns.
• How messengers can be used: New-age mobile
messengers are a perfect fit in these scenarios,
as product announcements and marketing can
be handled by insurers in the following ways:
> > Pushing engaging media (such as promotional
videos, product posters and fliers) to
incite interest.
> > Creating awareness or gathering feedback
via surveys and short questionnaires relevant
to individual product lines.
> > Organizing games and contests using the
various features of messengers; for example,
users can submit short video or audio clips
based on a particular theme, or locationbased
games can be designed.
• Gaps that can be filled:
> > Because messengers are ubiquitous, there is
no need to attract traffic to these platforms.
> > The personal nature of mobile messengers
makes consuming audio or visual content
more compelling. As noted above, the captive
nature of messengers will further encourage
engagement, interaction and feedback
because users don’t need to dedicate
time to switching between media.
Claims Handling
• Challenge: Claims management has frequently
been cited as one of the most troublesome
processes for insurers. Common issues include:
> > Customers dread the claims initiation process,
which involves filling out numerous
documents on Web portals or apps. Claims
tracking is another area filled with prolonged
follow-ups and communication between the
customer and insurer.
> > Claims surveys, adjudication and processing
involve manual effort, complex workflows
and cross-departmental involvement, resulting
in high turnaround time.
> > The lack of easily accessible information
on emergency services prevents customers
from getting the help they need in certain
scenarios.
• How messengers can be used:
> > Easier claims initiation via instantaneous
document upload and filling out of forms.
Claims status tracking and further communication
between the insurer and customer
can be mediated by mobile messengers that
upload and download claims documents
(such as forms and photographs) and enable
group calls between the adjudicator, surveyor
and customer, etc.
> > Relaying findings by claims surveyors and
adjudicators (especially in the form of photos
and videos) from the website or app,
which will help compress turnaround time.
> > Customer requests for roadside emergency
assistance and search for nearby service
branches or cooperative repair shops. Using
GPS positioning, function location coordinates
can be generated and shared through
instant messengers to help locate the customer
automatically.
• Gaps that can be filled:
> > The adjustor receives all required and validated
information on one claim form immediately
after entry, reducing claim errors and
delays.
> > The adjustor makes best use of available
time and resources to improve claims processing
efficiency and client experience.
> > Immediate availability of photos and loss/
damage estimates reduces the possibility of
misinformation or fraud.
cognizant 20-20 insights 4

The loss payout department gets immediate
cashflow impact information for treasury or
cash pool management.
> > Turnaround time on claims can be reduced,
leading to improved customer satisfaction.
Asia Insurers Embrace
Instant Messaging
Insurers throughout Asia and elsewhere are
adopting mobile messengers for various applications,
including the following examples:
• Jubilee Insurance in Kenya recently launched
dedicated lines for WhatsApp use for customer
communications. 14
• China Pacific Insurance launched a WeChat
service platform for both sales and customer
service functions, and is the first insurer to
allow payments through WeChat’s payment
service. 15
• Ping An Auto Insurance in China provides claim
assessment functionality on WeChat. 16
• CPIC Life in China launched a travel insurance
product on the WeChat platform. 17
• Sunshine Insurance Company in China offers
a crowdfunding insurance service called Love
Upgrading on WeChat. 18
• Wing Lung Bank in China launched a travel
insurance product on WeChat. 19
• Beijing-based Taikang Life Insurance provides
a health insurance product on WeChat. 20
Instant Messaging’s Insurance Benefits
across the Value Chain
Insurers that adopt instant messaging will realize
benefits throughout the ecosystem, including the
following areas:
• Prospect/Customer:
> > Synchronicity and 24x7 access to information
and service.
> > Quick, alternative channel of communication
and transaction.
• Agent:
> > Up-to-date customer and sales support information,
providing a better overview of
the customer’s needs and enhancing crossand
upselling.
> > The ability to submit applications for
straight-through processing and obtain realtime
quotes, which improves productivity by
reducing administration time.
> > Improved collaboration with managers,
underwriters, risk managers and analysts.
• Insurer:
> > Improved engagement with customers, particularly
the digitally savvy Generation Y
demographic, which prefers non-intrusive
methods of communication.
> > Substantial cost and time savings due to
self-service options reducing turnaround
time and requiring less support staff.
> > Ability to drive customer awareness and response.
> > Customer empowerment through selfservice,
resulting in higher satisfaction and a
superior customer experience.
Looming Challenges
Because mobile messengers are still emerging
in the insurance industry, insurers can expect to
encounter roadblocks, particularly the following:
• Integration challenges. Integrating operations
and channels is one of the most important
challenges to overcome. Proper scoping,
assessment, prioritization and change
management exercises should be undertaken
to ensure successful adoption.
• Regulatory restrictions. Because of recent
high-profile data leaks, as well as the industry’s
inherent need to comply with cross-border
regulations, instant messaging will likely invite
scrutiny from regulators that cover certain
transactions — such as the exchange of policy
and personal details, as well as access to confidential
and critical documents over unencrypted
channels — as a source of unacceptable
business risk.
• User adoption. With the plethora of sales,
service and marketing channels already
available to insurers, it is unknown whether
instant messengers will drive additional
customer and prospect traffic. Similarly,
because this is a direct channel with no
incentives for sales personnel, salesforce
adoption may also be a challenge.
The success of messengers as an effective and
efficient technology across the insurance value
chain will depend on whether these challenges are
overcome. While resolving data security issues is
as much a technology and process challenge as a
regulatory concern, marketing, product engineering
and distribution challenges — in our view — are
just as important.
cognizant 20-20 insights 5

The Last Word
On a global scale, the insurance industry is buffeted
by a variety of business and technology forces,
making it ripe for instant messaging adoption.
• For life and retirement, this new channel
helps meet the challenges that cause underand
non-insurance, including a lack of financial
understanding and product complexity.
• Demand for instantaneous, 24x7, hasslefree
customer service can be satisfied by
these “always-on” applications.
• Increased technology adoption by consumers
across all demographics, and the gradual shift
toward paperless, virtual experiences, paves
the way for the adoption of IM channels.
With the steady rise in importance and use of
mobile messengers, insurers of all sizes, geographies
and lines of business will need to adopt
messengers as a prominent channel for sales,
service, education and engagement. We recommend
carriers consider the following steps to
ensure successful implementation and adoption.
• Analyze the current digital strategy to
understand channel usage by different
customer segments to decide which services
need to be provided by messengers.
• Assess available messengers, paying attention
to the best choice for hosting apps on the
messenger (e.g., Facebook Messenger) or
extending current services to a new channel.
• Set up security protocols to meet data security
and other compliance needs.
• Implement an organizational change
management strategy, with attention to integrating
the new channel with current frontand
back-office processes.
• Establish KPIs to measure IM channel usage
and gradually course-correct when needed.
Footnotes
1
“2 Billion Consumers Worldwide to Get Smart(phones) by 2016,” eMarketer, Dec. 11, 2014, http://www.
emarketer.com/Article/2-Billion-Consumers-Worldwide-Smartphones-by-2016/1011694.
2
“The Mobile Money Landscape: Market Statistics And Expert Views,” Monitise, Vol. 1, 2014, http://www.
monitise.com/what-we-think/2014/06/25/important-mobile-engagement-2014/.
3
“Number of Monthly Active WhatsApp Users Worldwide, April 2013 to September 2015,” Statista, http://
www.statista.com/statistics/260819/number-of-monthly-active-whatsapp-users/.
4
“Number of Monthly Active WeChat Users, Second-Quarter 2010 to Third-Quarter 2015,” Statista, http://
www.statista.com/statistics/255778/number-of-active-wechat-messenger-accounts/.
5
“Number of Monthly Active Facebook Messenger Users, April 2014 to June 2015,” Statista, http://www.
statista.com/statistics/417295/facebook-messenger-monthly-active-users/.
6
“Global Mobile Payment Transaction Volume, 2010 to 2017,” Statista, http://www.statista.com/
statistics/226530/mobile-payment-transaction-volume-forecast/.
7
Tony Danova, “Top Smartphone Trends in Major Mobile Markets around the World,” Business Insider,
March 10, 2015, http://www.businessinsider.in/The-top-smartphone-trends-in-major-mobile-marketsaround-the-world/articleshow/46521853.cms.
8
Mini Swamy, “What Is Up with Kazakhstan Bank Customer Engagement? WhatsApp Is Up,” Interactive
Intelligence, May 30, 2014, http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/Analysis/articles/380016-what-up-withkazakhstan-bank-customer-engagement-whatsapp.htm.
9
Jon Russell, “Buzzfeed Jumps Aboard the Messaging App Train Starting with WeChat,” TechCrunch, Nov.
18, 2014, http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/18/buzzfeed-jumps-aboard-the-messaging-app-train-startingwith-wechat/.
10
Vijaya Rathore and Varuni Khosia, “Luxury Brands Like Cartier, Armani, Diesel and Others Use WhatsApp
to Promote Products in India,” The Economic Times, Oct. 9, 2014, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.
com/2014-10-09/news/54827542_1_whatsapp-reliance-brands-corneliani.
cognizant 20-20 insights 6

11
“Marriott International and TripAdvisor China Enhance Local Travel Experience for Chinese Travelers,”
Marriott News Center, Dec. 10, 2014, http://news.marriott.com/2014/12/marriott-international-and-tripadvisor-china-enhance-local-travel-experience-for-chinese-travelers-v.html.
12
“Self-Service through WeChat,” SF Express, http://www.sf-express.com/hk/en/deliver/self-service_tools/
wechat/.
13
“Marketing Analytics a Smarter Way for Auto and Home Insurers to Gain Competitive Advantage,”
Cognizant Technology Solutions, September 2013, http://www.cognizant.ch/InsightsWhitepapers/
Marketing-Analytics-A-Smarter-Way-for-Auto-and-Home-Insurers-to-Gain-Competitive-Advantage.pdf.
14
Sandra Chao, “Jubilee Adopts WhatsApp to Communicate with Clients,” Business Daily, April
23 2014, http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Jubilee-adopts-WhatsApp-to-communicate-withclients/-/1248928/2290590/-/w2pygl/-/index.html.
15
Carol Chen and Linda Xu, “China Pacific Insurance Goes Digital,” Huawei, http://www.huawei.com/en/
publications/winwin-magazine/23/china-pacific-insurance-goes-digital.
16
Sophie Loras, “China’s Ping An Leverages Social Data to Personalize Travel Insurance,” ClickZ, July 30,
2015, http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2419746/chinas-ping-an-personalizes-travel-insurance-with-ukstartup-bought-by-many.
17
Carol Chen and Linda Xu, “China Pacific Insurance Goes Digital,” Huawei, August 2015, http://www1.
huawei.com/en/static/HW-452019.pdf.
18
“Crowdfunded Insurance Schemes Prey on Friendships,” ECNS, April 18, 2014, http://www.ecns.cn/cnswire/2014/04-18/110134.shtml.
19
“Summer Offer with Wing Lung Insurance via Online Application,” Wing Lung Bank, http://www.winglungbank.com/wlb_corporate/en/about-us/promotional-events/travel-insurance-summer-promotion.html.
20
He Wei, “New Mobile Policy? WeChat Insurance App Rolls Out,” China Daily, Feb. 27, 2014, http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-02/27/content_17310060.htm.
cognizant 20-20 insights 7

About the Authors
Srinivasan Somasundaram is a Director within Cognizant Business Consulting‘s Insurance Practice. He
has 18-plus years of experience in the life, annuity and pension sectors. Srini’s experience includes
managing insurance operations, business consulting and product development, business transformation
program delivery, developing business propositions, GTM and large deal support. He has worked
on projects in the UK, U.S., South Africa and APAC, with a focus on sales and distribution. Srini holds a
post-graduate degree in management from Bharathithasan University. He can be reached at Srinivasan.
Somasundaram@cognizant.com | http://in.linkedin.com/pub/srinivasan-somasundaram/0/a5a/156.
Aritro Bhattacharya is a Senior Consultant within Cognizant Business Consulting‘s Insurance Practice.
He has eight-plus years of experience in the life, annuity and pension sectors, which include consulting
and delivery management, insurance IT products evaluation, functional implementation and migration.
He also has dabbled in social media consulting, digital distribution transformation, digital marketing and
sales consulting, and digital innovation. Aritro holds a post-graduate in management from the Indian
School of Business. He can be reached at Aritro.Bhattacharya@cognizant.com | https://www.linkedin.
com/pub/aritro-bhattacharya/21/34b/629.
Vipesh Singla is a Business Analyst within Cognizant Business Consulting‘s Insurance Practice. He has
four-plus years of experience in the life and annuity sectors and has worked for global insurers in North
America, Europe and Asia Pacific across the entire insurance value chain, including product management,
new business, policy administration, claims, billing and payments. Vipesh holds a post-graduate
degree in management from the Indian Institute of Insurance. He can be reached at Vipesh.Singla@
cognizant.com | https://www.linkedin.com/pub/vipesh-singla-flmi-aapa-ara/15/303/93a.
About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing
services, dedicated to helping the world’s leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in
Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry
and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over
100 development and delivery centers worldwide and approximately 219,300 employees as of September 30, 2015,
Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked
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