On social media, the most popular videos are of pets doing random things. In fact, research says that watching these videos is good for our health as it lifts our mood. Why? Because everyone loves animals and the comfort and joy of bringing up one is a great responsibility and a privilege. No wonder that there is a huge market for anything related to taking care of pets. The global animal healthcare market is expected to reach $53,420 million by 2025.

Did you know during the period 2019-2025, the global pet insurance market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20%? The pet insurance market is catching up in developing countries as well, and people are willing to spend money to give their pets a safe, healthy, and secure life. More than $72 billion was spent by The US household spent on pet medical insurance.

If you are in the pet insurance industry, here is how you can build customer loyalty:

Simple claims process:

One of the biggest complaints that most customers have against insurance companies is the claims process, which is not only physically taxing, but emotionally as well. When a customer comes knocking on your doors to claim their insurance, make sure that the entire gamut of process is easy, smooth, and effortless. Your customers will thank you for that, and it will be on the top of their minds next time when it comes to renewals. Why? Because most insurance companies are known to have a terrible claims process. 

The average customer isn’t looking forward to filling out details that might even be totally irrelevant to the event. All they want is to see the money for their pet’s treatment deposited as soon as possible.

Be flexible. Emotions are at play:

A customer might be going through extreme emotions when their pets are in distress. The number of hospital visits might already have downed their morale. If the insurance company is going to harp on a technicality while the customer’s pet is fighting for its life, then you will certainly lose the customer and any goodwill that you might have accrued until now. Always remember to be sensitive to the needs of your customers at this time. If you can make changes to your policies based on humanitarian grounds, then do it without fail. You can never get back a lost pet. 

Transparency in policy:

It is a trait that is highly underrated. If you are transparent, you can expect your customers to trust you more, and the entire relationship will be a smooth affair. Most customers tend to suspect you because they have heard stories of insurance companies overcharging their friends. This is why they come with a preconceived notion that the insurance company is out to fleece them as well. Give them a detailed explanation about why the cost of a certain item in the insurance is higher while something else is relatively lower. 

Empathy and Support:

Your insurance company might be the best one out there, and you might be a hot-shot executive, but if you cannot display empathy to a grieving customer of yours, none of that matters. In pet insurance, you are dealing with an animal whose access to a hospital depends on the speed at which you operate and disburse insurance money. 

It is imperative that you show oodles of empathy when a customer reaches out to you. In fact, here’s what we advise, teach your employees how to be empathetic, and empower them to make decisions that will get your customer’s task finished as soon as possible. 

Delight your customers:

Another way for you to make sure your customers keep coming back to you is to delight them at junctures where they expect it the least. Go the extra mile for them. Show them that you really care about the relationship by taking extra effort when it comes to taking care of their needs. It could be sending a ‘Get well soon’ card to your customers when the pets are not well or sending them free tickets to a pet show. While all of this would take effort, your customers will surely notice it and guess what it will translate into? Loyalty. 

Be the customer’s go-to guide:

Publish exclusive information that talks about keeping their pets hale and hearty. The information provided should be in such a manner that they don’t have to turn elsewhere to get it. Make sure it is available only to your customers. Also, if possible, track the days where a customer’s dog needs to get checked for infections, and so on. Actions like these are a clear cut indicator of how much you care for the well being of your customer’s pets. This will surely reflect in your retention rate.

Loyalty program:

Get the help of a loyalty platform like 99minds, which will give the customers options to earn and redeem points. There are different types of reward programs that you can choose based on what works best for your business and customers. 

Here are some of the loyalty options that you can choose for your pet insurance business:

• You can have a points system where the more they spend, the higher are the returns.
• Customers need to pay a membership fee to be a part of an exclusive club where they will be able to get a lot of benefits. A paid club will only work when your brand is highly recognizable.
• Tier-based loyalty program where they will be inducted into different tiers based on their spending with you. The higher the tier, the bigger the benefits.
• Create a community of like-minded customers where they can connect with each other, socialize, get access to exclusive events, and so on.

Conclusion:

The actions you take, the emails you send, the phone calls you make, the empathy that you show, and the process that is put in place- these are all the things that create customer loyalty. Customers will understand the universal language of care. All they want from you as a pet insurance company is to take care of their pet’s needs when it is affected the most. If you can do that consistently without any shortcuts, your customer’s loyalty will never be something that you would have to worry about.

99minds empowers its customers in the pet insurance industry to remain extremely competitive by designing loyalty programs that are best suited for its audience. With our heavily customizable platform, we will be able to help you ideate, design, and create a loyalty program like no other. Get on a call with the loyalty program experts to know more about us and how we can help you.