Digitalization of Insurance Claim Services and Efficient Customer Service Delivery in Nigeria

Abstract

Claim settlement is one of the core insurance functions. It is important for an efficient claim management system enhanced by digitalization to boost the confidence of the insured in the claim settlement process and to project a good image of the insurance industry. This study examines the digitalization of insurance claim services and its prospects for efficient customer service delivery in Nigeria. The objectives of this study are to ascertain if insurance claims services have been digitalized in the Nigerian insurance industry, to examine if digitalization promotes efficient customer service delivery in the industry, and to investigate if digitalization can result in reduced premiums for the insured. A descriptive research design was used for the study. The population consist of all insurance companies in Nigeria from which a sample is drawn using a multistage sampling technique to select 180 staff members from 6 insurance firms. Data were obtained through the instrumentation of the questionnaire forwarded to selected staff and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The test of hypotheses revealed that insurance claim services have been digitalized in the Nigerian insurance industry, also a significant positive effect of claim process automation as a parameter of digitalization of insurance claims was observed on customer satisfaction, a proxy of efficient customer service delivery. Moreover, digitalized claim services have a positive and insignificant effect on premium reduction for insureds. We conclude that the digitalization of insurance claim services can promote efficient customer service delivery in the insurance industry. It is recommended that more effort should be made to increase the digitalization of insurance claim services and regulators should ensure that the public benefits from the digitalization process through efficient service delivery and premium reductions.