PoliSync

Case Study: Simplifying Enterprise Insurance Policy Management.

BACKGROUND

The idea for PoliSync was sparked by a casual conversation with a Finance Admin for one of the companies I worked with as a freelancer. He expressed frustration over an insurance issue that was becoming cumbersome to resolve.

This led me to consider how businesses handle insurance today, and how a digital solution could streamline the experience. PoliSync was designed for individuals responsible for insurance policy management within companies, aiming to reduce their reliance on insurance company agents & customer support teams.

TIME PERIOD
Nov 2024

ROLE
UX/UI Designer

TEAM
Solo

COMMISSION

Unsolicited

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

PoliSync is intended to:

Make insurance policy management more autonomous, empowering users to handle policies without constant back-and-forth with insurance agents.
Reduce customer support dependency, leading to fewer calls for insurance companies and faster resolutions for businesses.

HYPOTHESES & ASSUMPTIONS

That:

All policy needs across different categories (e.g. health, fleet, property, equipment etc) for one company are covered by one insurance provider (for purposes of this design exploration, I named the company InsurNext).
Most customers of the insurance provider are able & willing to self manage their policies through the provided platform (PoliSync).

A. RESEARCH

Through conversation & observational research, I identified several pain points, most pressing among them:

For the User:

Difficulty initiating claims & later tracking the status of claims filed.
Over-reliance on customer support, even for simpler tasks.
Fragmented policy document storage and inconsistent alerts & renewal reminders caused frustration.

For the Business:

An over-reliance on insurance agents for customer support.
Operational inefficiencies & fragmented service delivery.
Low customer satisfaction.

How can both these sets of needs be addressed?

(i.e. what is the Product Strategy for PoliSync?)

Prioritising features that are valuable to both the clients & the business.
Building flexibly to ensure that the product can adapt to different & diverse client needs.
Investing in continuous user testing, feedback & data driven iteration.

B. NARROWING DOWN

To create PoliSync, I decided to adopt a minimalist approach, focusing on first designing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Who Are We Designing For?

On a general level, we are designing for HR Managers / Operations Directors / Finance Admins of medium sized companies with multiple policy needs, who are tasked with managing their companies' insurance needs.

What Are They Currently Using?

Asking around revealed that the main platforms that are used for insurance policy management are:

Custom Software: A solution from the past, these have largely outdated UX & UI, offer inconsistent support, and have little flexibility to meet modern day needs.
Google Sheets: While this offers secure cloud storage & allows access for multiple people, there are still disrupted flows (e.g. for document access), and for a large workload, could get very time consuming.

C. IDEATION

•How might we make it easier for Frank to view & manage (add, remove, update) all of his company’s policies in one place?

•How might we make it easier for Frank to file new claims & monitor the progress?

•How might we go beyond, and accommodate Frank’s company’s future insurance needs?

Thinking Wide Before Going Deep

Before diving head-first into Figma, I considered what else might be possible. Thinking wide before going deep helped me consider what else was possible, and look at any existing solutions that met a significant part of user needs & could be iterated on.

1. Custom/Desktop Program

Why Not?

Would need customisation for very specific business-by-business needs, making it expensive & time consuming to build
Necessary iterations & upgrades would be faster on web.
Access would likely be limited to in-office only to enhance security

2. Phone App

Why Not?

In order to be truly one-stop, one needs a view of most, if not all of their existing info. Phone app has a limited view, so web app viewed on laptops or desktops would be more ideal.
A phone app would make them feel like they were taking their work with them wherever they were, delineating their work & personal life.

3. Google Sheets

Why Not?

Different processes of the policy management would still remain fragmented

Prioritising Core Functionality for the MVP

What do you wish your insurance policy management tool could do for you?

Home Page

A view of all Alerts & Reminders, plus the Status Updates on Claims

Request Quote Tab

A tab within the home page to request a quote for any additional policies the user might need across any category.

Policy Management Hub

One place to view all policies across different categories.

Claims Status Tracker

Functionality to monitor the status of claims previously tracked.

AI Integration

InsurNext's Proprietary AI Tool. This functionality provides additional insights that bring users up to speed on their insurance matters & empowers them to make strategic decisions.

Document Hub

Centralized storage for all policy related files.

Add a new Policy

File a new Claim

Add a new Document

SOLUTIONS & IMPACT

PoliSync addresses the frustrations of insurance policy management by simplifying key processes and reducing reliance on agents & customer support teams.

While this project is hypothetical, the design demonstrates how businesses can save time & improve efficiency, while enhancing user autonomy. The AI integrations highlight future-facing possibilities for the global insurance industry.

CHALLENGES FACED

A limited research pool: Without direct access to a diverse user base, I lacked the kind of rich insights for both research & testing, that would enhance the functionality of PoliSync.

However, to address this, I relied on informed assumptions to guide the design.

REFLECTIONS

Creating PoliSync taught me the importance of prioritizing essential features in an MVP and working within constraints. While this project didn’t include iterative testing or feedback from real-world users, it showcases my ability to address real-world frustrations, conceptualize, and design a user-focused solution, even with limited inputs.

While this MVP serves as a starting point, its scalability (for instance, in regional adaptability for companies that operate across different regions) and future-facing features (AI Integration) highlight its potential to transform enterprise insurance management.

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