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Language Support for Insurance: What You Need to Know

- March 16, 2023
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Have you ever tried to understand a complicated insurance policy and needed clarification on its legal jargon? It can be an overwhelming experience, worsened by linguistic barriers that lead to misunderstandings, arguments, and severe financial and emotional outcomes. To provide the best service to their policyholders, carriers must prioritize language support for insurance that caters to their customer’s diverse needs.

In this article, we will discuss the importance of linguistic aid in the insurance industry, share best practices for effective language support, review the challenges that insurers face, and offer insights into the promising future of language support in insurance.

 

Why is Language Support Important in Insurance?

Insurance policies are often complicated and can be compared to solving a puzzle without any clues. Filing claims, comprehending the regulations, and obtaining financial assistance are challenging enough, and even more so for individuals who need to speak the jargon. That is why linguistic support is incredibly vital. By offering multilingual aid, insurance companies can:

 

Improve Customers’ Understanding of Their Policies

Carriers can assist policyholders in comprehending the terms and conditions of their policies, making it simpler for them to access the coverage they require by offering linguistic support.
Pharmaceutical software solutions can streamline and simplify policy documents to make them more understandable to customers.

 

Minimize Mistakes Made by Customers

If policyholders don’t fully understand their policies, it can lead to misunderstandings and errors, which can cause delays in processing claims and frustration for customers. To minimize the risk of misunderstandings and errors and ensure quick and efficient claims processing, insurers can offer multilingual aid. 

 

Provide Better Service to Customers

Policyholders who can communicate effectively with their insurance providers are more likely to be content with the service they receive. By providing language support, carriers can better understand the needs of their varied customer base and provide personalized and effective service to each policyholder. This can result in improved customer loyalty and positive recommendations.

In addition, offering such assistance can help insurance companies establish trust with their customers, leading to overall satisfaction. By prioritizing this method, insurers can increase their success and enhance the experience for everyone involved.

 

Customer Reactions to Insurance Language Support

#1 – Relief and Gratitude

Insurance policies can be overwhelming and confusing due to their complex terminologies. Language support can alleviate this confusion and provide policyholders with relief and gratitude, knowing that their needs are being considered and addressed.

#2 – Improved Understanding of Policies

Policyholders can gain a clearer understanding of their insurance policies with language support. This reduces misunderstandings and errors, leading to greater satisfaction and a more streamlined claims process.

#3 – Perception of a More Professional and Caring Company

Carriers can enhance their image as professional and considerate by providing linguistic support that meets the needs of their diverse customer base. This can help improve customer satisfaction and loyalty towards the company.

 

Best Practices for Providing Effective Language Support

Insurance providers can assist their diverse customer base through various means, such as:

  • Translation services. 
  • Multilingual staff. 
  • Online resources and interpreters. 

To provide efficient multilingual aid, it’s essential to follow some best practices like using simple terminologies, ensuring precise translations, and training staff. Here are some effective practices for providing better assistance:

#1 – Use Plain Language and Ensure Accurate Translations

Using plain terminologies and avoiding technical jargon is crucial in making policy documents and other materials easy to understand for policyholders. This approach can help policyholders comprehend their policies better and minimize any confusion that may lead to disputes.

Furthermore, it’s crucial to guarantee that policy documents and other materials are translated accurately by collaborating with professional translators with expertise in the given industry. This guarantees that the translations are precise and suitable and that policyholders can comprehend the information provided.

#2 – Train Staff in Cultural Competency and Communication Skills

Insurers should train their staff to provide linguistic support effectively. The training should include instruction on cultural competency and communication skills to ensure that staff can communicate efficiently with policyholders from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. 

Cultural training helps staff be more sensitive to the cultural nuances of policyholders and avoid misunderstandings that can arise from differences in cultural norms and values.

#3 – Utilize Technology and Offer Multilingual Customer Support

Insurance providers can also utilize technology to improve language support. They can use:

  • Machine translation
  • Chatbots
  • Speech recognition

While technology can be a helpful tool for providing multilingual aid, it’s crucial to acknowledge its limitations and supplement it with other options. Insurance companies should also offer multilingual customer support, which can include:

  • Phone support;
  • Email support;
  • Chat support. 

Carriers can offer online resources, such as multilingual FAQs and glossaries, to help policyholders comprehend their policies and file claims. By implementing these practices, policyholders can receive optimal service, leading to the establishment of trust and the cultivation of long-term relationships with insurance providers.

 

Challenges of Language Support in Insurance

Language support in the insurance industry is essential for effective communication between providers and policyholders. However, some challenges need to be addressed, including the cost of this method, the availability of professional translators, and quality control. To overcome these challenges, insurers must have a system in place to review and verify translated materials and also be aware of cultural differences that can affect the understanding and application of insurance policies.

#1 – Cost

Offering multilingual aid can pose financial challenges for insurance companies, especially for smaller businesses that need more resources to employ multilingual staff or hire professional translators. For larger companies operating in multiple languages, the cost of language support can also be substantial, as they need the services of language service providers. 

Therefore, insurance providers must consider the financial implications of language support when creating their business plan.

#2 – Professional Translators

Insurance companies may face difficulty in finding professional translators who have expertise in the insurance industry. They should ensure that the translators they work with are qualified and capable of accurately translating complex insurance terms and policies. It is important to collaborate with translators who have a good understanding of the industry as even minor translation mistakes can lead to serious legal and financial consequences.

#3 – Quality Control

Companies must maintain the quality of translated materials when providing linguistic support. This involves reviewing and verifying translations to ensure their accuracy and cultural appropriateness. As a result, insurance providers should have a process in place to monitor the quality of translated materials and ensure that they meet the needs of policyholders.

 

Using Technology to Improve Language Support in Insurance

Insurance companies can enhance language support with machine translation, speech recognition, chatbots, and multilingual websites. However, it is crucial to understand the limitations of technology and use it in tandem with other language support solutions.

Machine Translation

Machine translation uses software to translate text from one language to another automatically. While more accurate than professional human translation, machine translation can be a cost-effective way to provide basic assistance for policyholders.

Chatbots

Chatbots are software programs that mimic human conversation and can be utilized by insurance providers to offer real-time language support to policyholders. They can provide basic information about insurance policies and claims and answer frequently asked questions.

Speech Recognition

Speech recognition technology can convert spoken language into text, which can be useful for insurance providers who want to provide real-time translation services during phone calls and in-person meetings.

Multilingual Websites

Insurers can create websites that support multiple languages to offer linguistic assistance to policyholders. They can offer translations of policy documents, online resources, and customer support to make it easier for policyholders to understand their policies and file claims.

 

The Future of Language Support in Insurance

The importance of effective language support in insurance will continue to increase. Carriers must continue to adjust to the evolving needs of policyholders and discover new strategies to offer effective language support. Future trends include a greater reliance on technology, increased emphasis on cultural competence, and enhanced partnerships with language service providers.

#1 – More Emphasis on Technology 

Insurance providers must adapt to the changing needs of policyholders and find innovative ways to provide great assistance. Emphasizing technology, particularly with machine translation, chatbots, speech recognition, and multilingual websites, will be essential for companies to remain competitive in a diverse and connected world. This includes:

  • Artificial intelligence;
  • Machine learning.

To ensure effective and efficient language support for policyholders, insurance providers should prioritize accuracy and use various tools to communicate with their diverse customer base. Providing quality assistance can improve customer satisfaction and better communication between the policyholder and the carrier.

#2 – Increased Focus on Cultural Competency

Insurance providers must increase their focus on cultural competency to understand better the needs of their policyholders from different cultures and backgrounds. This can be achieved by:

  • Providing training to staff;
  • Partnering with language service providers.

By developing a deeper understanding of their policyholders’ cultural backgrounds, insurance providers can offer more personalized and effective language support.

#3 – Greater Language Support Collaboration and Expansion

Insurance providers will need to collaborate with language service providers to ensure that translations are both accurate and culturally appropriate. This can involve working with:

  • Professional translators; 
  • Interpreters;
  • Cultural advisors.

Insurers can ensure that all policyholders have access to the coverage they need by offering support in various languages, regardless of their cultural or linguistic background.

 

Conclusion

According to a recent study by Avenga.com, effective language support is becoming increasingly important in the insurance industry. 

The study found that policyholders are more satisfied with carriers that prioritize accuracy and use various tools to communicate with their diverse customer base.

Insurance companies must offer effective language support to non-native English speakers to provide quality services. They can provide language support in different ways, such as:

  • Employing multilingual staff;
  • Using translation services;
  • Providing online resources and interpreters. 

To ensure that language support is effective and caters to the diverse needs of their policyholders, insurance companies must follow best practices. Though technology can play an important role in improving language support, it must be used along with other language support options to ensure accuracy and effectiveness.

The need for effective language support in insurance will continue to increase. In the future, language support in insurance may involve: 

  • More emphasis on technology; 
  • More cultural competency;
  • Greater collaboration with language service providers.

Insurance providers must adapt to changing policyholder needs and develop new ways to offer effective language support. By prioritizing language support, they can establish customer trust, increase customer satisfaction and ultimately provide better service.


Author bio:

Dmytro Sokhach is an entrepreneur and the 6-Figure Flipper Club member. Founded Admix Global (web agency) that builds websites, makes them profitable, and sells them as business.