Contact UsLeader recognized for innovation, award-winning disaster response
Using technology to improve the customer experience
March 4, 2014
The Dilemna
If you're like the average Twitter and Facebook user, you have 208 followers* and 388 friends**, respectively. If 20 percent of those followers and friends (almost 120 people) sent you a message at almost the same time - and all of them expected a reply within about an hour - how would you manage the response?
Consumers had different disaster response expectations in the pre-digital era
When Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne devastated the Sunshine State in 2004, the iPhone hadn't been invented and social media was in its infancy. Fact: One out of five residents filed a loss report with their Florida homeowners insurance company as a result of the storms, and most did so the old-fashioned way - using their landline to call in their claim in the days immediately following the storms.
What if you work for an insurance company with 180,000 customers? How would you manage post-disaster response?
You must have the vision and courage to innovate and survive
Back in 2011, Werner Kruck, chief operating officer of Ormond Beach-based Security First Insurance Company, recognized that when disaster strikes in today's socially connected world, people are increasingly turning to their smartphones and social networks to access help and information - particularly when all other lines of communication are unavailable. He wondered how Security First Insurance would manage the response if 20 percent of the company's nearly 180,000 customers (36,000 people) reached out to the company in a short period of time via social media for help after a natural disaster.
Don't quit, even if there's no ready-made solution available
SMC4, a first-of-its-kind solution, allows Security First Insurance to effectively manage a high volume of social and email communications and respond effectively to customers after a disaster
There was no off-the-shelf tool available to address this issue. Werner was the driving force behind the company's co-development of SMC4, a first-of-its-kind solution launched by Security First Insurance in 2013 to effectively manage a high volume of social and email communications and respond effectively to customers after a disaster. The system uses content analytics to detect the tone and sentiment of each message, and prioritize and route it to the correct employee, expediting the recovery process.
The company has been the subject of various case studies and won awards as a result of its co-development of SMC4.
Security First Insurance wins 2013 IBM Smarter Commerce - Service Award
Lifetime achievement award recognizes a legacy of industry firsts
SMC4 is just one example of the type of forward thinking that earned Werner recognition as a 2014 Premier 100 IT Leader by IDG's Computerworld. In addition to SMC4, Werner's award acknowledges his involvement in a variety of other technology initiatives implemented by Security First Insurance, including the launch of the nation's first all-inclusive homeowners insurance iPhone App, the industry's first contents valuation system based on predictive analytics, and, most recently, a personalized video designed to highlight important coverage information specific to each customer's policy and clear up common insurance misperceptions.
The Premier 100 spotlights information technology leaders for their innovative approaches to business challenges. He was chosen for this distinct honor out of hundreds of nominees from notable organizations around the world. Past winners include IT executives from Fortune 500 companies such as AT&T, Bank of America, Dell, DreamWorks Animation, FedEx, IBM, Toyota, UPS, Verizon and Wyndham Worldwide. Computerworld is hosting its annual Premier 100 IT Leadership Conference March 2-4 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona, at which 2014 Premier 100 IT Leaders will receive their awards.
*http://www.beevolve.com/twitter-statistics/
**http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/6-new-facts-about-facebook/
