NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LivePerson, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPSN), a global leader in conversational AI, today announced the findings of its 2020 Survey of Consumer Preferences Around Insurance examining consumer attitudes and behavior around interactions with insurers, messaging, and conversational AI and commerce.

The October 2020 survey of more than 2,500 U.S., U.K., and Australian respondents reveals that the vast majority of consumers trust messaging experiences and chatbots to help them with insurance questions.

The survey results point to the need for insurers to put AI-powered messaging options front and center to accommodate evolving behaviors. Nearly half (49%) of respondents said the pandemic has made them rethink their medical and life insurance policies, and 63% say they would use an insurer's chatbot that could instantly answer questions, including those related to COVID-19 symptoms and testing.

"The relationship between consumers and their insurers is built on trust, and the vast majority of consumers now clearly report that they trust insurance companies more if they provide the option to message to get advice, ask questions, and even make purchases," said Robert LoCascio, founder and CEO of LivePerson. "This is a win-win for policyholders and insurance companies. Policyholders can engage whenever and wherever they want on the messaging channels they love using with family and friends, and insurers can leverage conversational AI to reduce call volume, boost self-service, and exceed customer expectations with an end-to-end digital experience tailored to their needs."

Key findings of LivePerson's 2020 Survey of Consumer Preferences Around Insurance are summarized below:

Consumers say conversational insurance experiences are in high demand.

— 75% of consumers say they prefer to have a conversation with someone at their insurance company before making a purchase.
— 70% say they want the ability to securely text or message with their insurance company.

Consumers express high levels of trust in Conversational AI and messaging for insurance.

— 70% of consumers say they trust an insurance company more if associates are readily available via messaging to give advice, answer questions, and help with purchases.
— 71% say they would also trust an insurance company more if it provided personalized service, which Conversational AI can help insurers deliver at scale.
— The vast majority of respondents say they trust chatbots to help them:

- Provide a quote (76%)
- Change address (75%)
- Make a claim (71%)
- Add a member to coverage (74%)
- Calculate a rate (78%)
- Provide a renewal quote (77%)
- Tell them about waiting periods (82%)
- Update billing information (76%)

Consumers are much more likely to buy and continue service if given Conversational AI and messaging options.

— 63% said they were more likely to buy insurance from a company if they had the option to message them instead of just call.
— 65% said they are more likely to stay with an insurance company that offers this service.
— More than half (51%) say they'd purchase more from an insurance company that offered a chatbot concierge to help, as opposed to strictly self-serve.

The world's most innovative insurance brands, like Bupa and Zurich, have seen success deploying conversational experiences for their customers.

Bupa, an international health insurance and healthcare group with over 33 million customers worldwide, uses LivePerson's Conversational Cloud to connect with customers over Apple Business Chat, WhatsApp, and SMS and complement its Australian-based call center.

"We know our customers lead busy lives, and digital messaging gives them the ability to communicate swiftly with a real person while multitasking at home, at work, or on the go," said Daryl Niemandt, Director of Customer and Business Operations at Bupa.

Zurich Switzerland, a division of one of the world's largest insurers, is using AI-powered messaging to assist its customers, including fielding a digital assistant to immediately answer coronavirus-related questions. Their new assistant was created with LivePerson's Conversation Builder in less than 24 hours and runs on LivePerson's Conversational Cloud. It is multilingual, supporting customers in German, English, French, and Italian.

"We are very proud to be leading the insurance industry by deploying bots for several use cases. From simple automations that respond to button clicks to complex uses of natural language processing, we're continuously improving our customer service and simplifying purchasing," said Sara Bertone, eCommerce & Performance Manager at Zurich. 

LivePerson's 2020 Survey of Consumer Preferences Around Insurance was conducted in October 2020 via an online survey of 2,574 consumers aged 18 and older in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Respondents were asked a series of questions related to insurance and customer care topics.

Click here to view an infographic summarizing LivePerson's 2020 Survey of Consumer Preferences Around Insurance.

About LivePerson, Inc.
LivePerson makes life easier for people and brands everywhere through trusted conversational AI. Our 18,000 customers, including leading brands like HSBC, Orange, GM Financial, and The Home Depot, use our conversational solutions to orchestrate humans and AI, at scale, and create a convenient, deeply personal relationship — a conversational relationship — with their millions of consumers. LivePerson was named to Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies list in 2020. For more information about LivePerson (NASDAQ: LPSN), please visit www.liveperson.com.

CONTACT: Mike Tague, mtague@liveperson.com

SOURCE LivePerson, Inc.