Customer experience (CX) has always been vital to the insurance industry, but fundamental aspects of it have changed. Historically, agents and customer service representatives were the main points of contact with consumers and clients, and they defined CX. But today, CX is distributed across a more complex, hybrid structure; customers interact with insurers through multiple digital channels as well as trusted intermediaries, meaning insurers must support both direct and agent-led experiences to ensure the client is receiving the best customer experience possible.
Many carriers fail to meet the demands of this multichannel CX environment due to outdated, batch-based processing, lack of access to real-time data, and aging or poorly designed systems that don't support digital-first engagement. A survey of 250 producers revealed that agents increasingly support multiple lines of business—life, annuity, and P&C—demonstrating the necessity of a unified view of customer experience without the current inefficiencies and disjointedness.
Improving customer experience starts with addressing one of the biggest obstacles in insurance: data complexity.
Insurance data is complex, inconsistent and often redundant.
A single carrier can have 35,000 different data attributes in their life products alone. In addition to the natural complexity of the industry, legacy systems and decades of product layering have created overlap between data structures, making them extremely inconsistent. In some cases, a single data attribute is replicated 10 to 18 times across various internal systems.
The result of this overlap and inconsistency is that insurers lack a single source of truth when it comes to their customers. Holistic views are hard to assemble because data is spread across many systems and, in many cases, inaccessible. Business users struggle to find what they need, often using shadow systems and workarounds to piece together elements of a fragmented customer picture. Although it feels more challenging to implement, data modernization is equally important as system modernization. Without a clean, unified data foundation, carriers struggle to deliver real-time transactions, enable intelligent automation, or personalize experiences in meaningful ways.
And, if the picture can't be fully drawn, then how can a carrier build customer personas, map customer journeys, or any of the other more advanced steps in optimizing CX?
Solving the data problem isn't optional — it's the foundation for modern CX.
Unified data is essential for omnichannel success.
A single source of truth is essential for analytics, AI implementation, and optimized client service, but it remains elusive for many insurers. Legacy platforms create data silos, and multiple generations of products cause data to be inconsistently transformed and stored — determining the authoritative source at any given moment becomes a challenge. Traditional approaches to centralizing data often backfire, resulting in rigid structures that restrict access. Instead, carriers should focus on data fabrics, governance models that support usability, and democratized access. If CX platforms rely on outdated or conflicting data, any improvements will be short-lived.
True omnichannel experiences require more than channel availability. Omnichannel experiences demand consistent, connected service across every touchpoint. Agents and customer service representatives need visibility into all prior interactions, whether through digital self-service, a call center, or an in-person meeting. Agents should be able to see online transactions, even if they're incomplete, to help clients pick up where they left off. They should be able to see the attempted transaction and how it can be completed to create total understanding. Data governance across all channels is vital to making holistic CX possible.
New PAS technology helps insurers meet CX expectations.
Full spectrum transparency requires modern policy administraton systems (PAS) with real-time application programming interfaces (APIs), common data services, and unified interaction histories. Only then can the entire ecosystem of clients, agents, and employees operate efficiently to deliver a cohesive experience.
The latest PAS technology helps insurers enhance CX with a focus on modularity — like API-first design, microservices, and event-driven architecture. Modern PAS solutions support the real-time data flow critical for creating smooth and responsive CX experiences, allowing changes to propagate instantly across systems without replication.
Carriers are also embracing cross-system product bundling, intelligent workflows, advanced analytics, and, increasingly, agentic AI. These technologies reduce manual intervention, accelerate underwriting and claims, and enable dynamic, personalized engagement. Ultimately, the new generation of PAS empowers insurers to evolve with customer expectations — not just react to them.
Successful CX requires rethinking core technology.
Insurers that treat digital transformation as a front-end exercise will continue to struggle. True CX gains come from rethinking the core — modernizing policy admin systems, untangling data complexity — and embracing omnichannel strategies built on real-time, API-driven infrastructure.
In an age of automated processes, customers' expectations for a fast and responsive customer experience are only rising. The carriers that succeed will be those that can deliver seamless, data-driven, omnichannel experiences by aligning the right technology with a clear, execution-focused strategy.
