If you are exploring self-service inspections, do not ignore the engagement level. Do you want 28% of your invites to transition to a completed report or would you prefer 85%?
Two major benefits of self-service inspections are lower cost and faster turn around time. Self-service commercial inspections can cost $10/completion as compared to $100 per traditional inspection. You should average getting a policyholder completed survey back in 3 days as compared to 30+ days for field completed.

Engagement Matters: How To Save $50,700 in 3 Days

If you have 1000 commercial inspections and your strategy is to run them run them through the self-service process for 10 days and then transition to a field survey, here is the financial impact of low engagement.

Different Usage Cases, Different Approaches

Today’s inspections are not the ones my Dad used to do.
Today’s inspections are all about removing friction, adding value, gamification, education and connection.
Carriers, agents and even loss control vendors benefit from integrating self-service or contactless inspections into their workflow.

It Takes a Platform
Inspections as a Platform are the best way to transform your old approach to loss control. Legacy systems are just not built around connecting to the client nor have the ability to be configured to capture hyper-personalized information.
An inspection platform will help you create the digital moment that engages the client in the loss control process and expands that value that both the agent and carrier can create from a formerly, friction based experience.

What’s In It For The Policyholder
In my prior blog, “The Biggest Barrier to Successful Self-Service Inspections”, we discussed the main value-adds in self-service inspections which benefit the policyholder. They are:

● A Digital Experience
The consumer expects at a minimum, a digital choice for interaction. The policyholder of today wants to be involved in building out their risk management experience. A natural place is the inspection. When given a choice, we only see 20% of policyholders who will opt out of doing a self-service inspection.
● Reducing Friction
A traditional inspection is a nuisance at best. At worst, it can harm the agent-policyholder relationship. The policyholder appreciates the option to complete it themselves and not have a stranger on their premises and the hassle of yet another appointment.
● Getting a Credit/Discount
An Amazon or Starbucks gift card is sometimes all that is needed to put a smile on your policyholder’s face in return for engagement on the inspection.
● Connection to Agent
I do not think that consumers want to avoid interactions with their agents. Recent studies state that they want a tangible value delivered by their agent if they choose to interact. The self-service inspection connects the agent more solidly to the person and the property…but does not require a time-consuming site visit by the agent.

Build It, But Will They Come?
A great web page is worthless if you do not draw people to it. A self-service program that does not engage is a wasted effort.
Our companion infographic to this blog, “29 Ways To Improve Completion Rate of Self-Service Inspections” will set you on the right track to maximizing your self-inspection efforts.

If you want more detail on any specific approach, please feel free to reach out to me at jim@viewspection.com