How digital services measurably increase sales quotas and customer loyalty
In today’s insurance market, it is no longer enough to simply sell policies. If you want to grow, you have to offer real added value: digital, scalable, and relevant to customers’ everyday lives.
Digital value-added services, like automatic pre-contract termination, digital vehicle registration for the user, or legal advice, deliver customer benefits. They also strengthen sales. When well executed, they boost closing rates and build loyalty.
This article shows how insurers can unlock the potential of value-added insurance services. Strategically sound. Economically viable. And operationally scalable.
Interchangeable products, increasing competition
The insurance market is undergoing radical change. Standardized products are now facing a new generation of informed, digitally fluent customers. They expect more than price comparisons or marketing promises.
Price alone no longer convinces. And even traditional differentiators like product scope or brand image are losing traction. At the same time, familiar sales channels are under pressure. Digital-first competitors with platform models and customer access have a growing market share.
This is where digital value-added services create real room for action. They enhance the product portfolio across the entire customer journey. They add new touchpoints. And they deliver personal value that resonates in everyday life. That relevance builds trust and emotional connection. It turns an insurer from a contract provider into a valued companion.
If integrated, these services shift from being “nice add-ons” to strategic building blocks
Why great digital ideas often fail
The relevance of digital services is mostly undisputed. Still, many insurers don’t convert their potential into business success. Time and again, the challenge lies not in the idea but in the implementation. What begins promisingly often fails because of the basics. No clear framework exists to link the service with the current business model. This means impact isn’t developed in a structured way. Without this foundation, digital value remains an isolated add-on. Internally disconnected. Externally ineffective.
In practice, we see the same blockers again and again, patterns that slow down or derail digital initiatives:
- Isolated developments
Digital services are often created as isolated solutions, detached from the core business.
They’re not linked to existing products, operational processes, or the overall strategy. - Unclear monetization
Many projects lack a clear understanding of how the service adds value. This applies whether it drives sales directly or supports conversion, retention, or cross-selling. - Technical hurdles and lack of anchoring
Even strong services often fail due to missing integration.
Without a connection to systems, data, and processes, they can’t deliver value.
More critical is the lack of organizational anchoring. - Insufficient use
The go-to-market strategy is often missing, even at launch. Target groups aren’t reached. Touchpoints remain inactive.
The offer doesn’t scale. The result is low usage, no impact, and early shutdown.
The outcome is always the same: the initiative costs time and money, ties up internal resources, and delivers no demonstrable ROI.
Value-added services as a strategic part of the business model
We don’t see value-added services as a gimmick or customer loyalty tool, but as a strategic growth lever. These services deliver customer value and support business goals. Examples include improving acquisition, reducing churn, or generating new revenue.
Digital services shouldn’t be seen as isolated add-ons. They must be part of the business model and a core part of modern value creation.
Our approach is clear and systematic. It aims not just to promise impact, but to deliver it in measurable ways.
Recognize relevance from the customer’s perspective
It starts with a central question: Which services meet real needs along the digital sales & customer experience? This isn’t about features, but about functions that improve the customer experience. Examples include digital prevention tools in healthcare, on-demand legal advice after a claim, or automated processes that reduce waiting times.
For a service to be used, it must be understandable, useful, and relevant from the customer’s perspective.
Ensure profitability from the business perspective
A digital offering is only viable long-term if it makes economic sense. That’s why we identify and analyze the key economic levers from the start: How big is the usage potential? How high is the willingness to pay? What influence does the service have on central KPIs such as conversion, customer loyalty, or upselling?
This economic perspective helps us ensure that a good service results in sustainable growth logic.
Enable integration, technically, organizationally, strategically
Many digital offerings fail not because of the idea, but because of the implementation. That’s why we plan for integration from the start: Technically, through a smooth system connection. Organizationally, through clear responsibilities and processes. And strategically, we embed it into product development, sales, and marketing. A service only reaches its full potential when it’s fully embedded in the digital operating model.
From added value to measurable business impact
Digital value-added insurance services do far more than just contribute to customer satisfaction.
If designed correctly and integrated consistently, they directly impact key performance indicators.
These services increase sales, improve customer bonds, and open up data-driven growth. Done right, they evolve from “add-ons” to core elements of the business model.
This shows up in 9 key areas of impact:
- Higher likelihood of closing a deal
Digital services create relevant touchpoints across the customer journey. Trust built through service leads to faster, more frequent buying decisions. - Stronger customer loyalty
Service-driven interactions keep the insurer present in daily life. This builds emotional connection, reduces churn and increases long-term value. - Lower sales costs
Digital channels activate customers efficiently—no need for sales force or call center. The result: reduced cost per lead and deal. - Increased cross-selling revenue
User data enables targeted follow-up offers with high relevance. This creates automated, low-wastage sales opportunities. - Clearer competitive positioning
Insurers offering more than coverage are seen as modern solution providers. This elevates brand perception and reduces price sensitivity. - Faster product development
Real-time service data provides insight into user needs and behavior. This speeds up development cycles and improves product-market fit. - More activation among existing customers
Services re-engage contacts and create new interaction points. That increases wallet share and portfolio transactions. - Stronger brand perception
Proactive, supportive insurers gain relevance and trust. This boosts customer advocacy and recommendations. - Enhanced sales enablement
Digital services offer tailored advice and offers at the right time. They actively support and strengthen sales conversations.
Insurers as platform providers with added value logic
Companies that have value-added services shift from product providers to full solution partners. Instead of managing contracts, they build ongoing relationships that deliver real, everyday value.
- From touchpoints to trust
Insurers become active partners in customers’ lives, not just a contact point when things go wrong. - More than communication
This shift opens the door to new business models, data-driven services, and smarter sales logic. It also enables more relevant, personalised customer engagement, no longer defined by price, but by proximity and value. - Built to scale
Together with our partners, we’re creating digital ecosystems designed around real customer needs. Modular. Scalable. Economically viable.
Our goal is always to generate real impact: for customers, for the business model, and for the future viability of the organization.
Act now before the market does
Digital value-added services are not a gimmick. They are a strategic growth lever.
Anyone investing in relevant services today is not building an accessory, but a sustainable business model. A business model that thinks with the customer, asserts itself on the market, and activates sustainable growth.
Our recommendations for getting started:
- Identify services with real benefits
- Consider monetization and integration right from the start
- Use MVPs to drive fast learning
- Optimize iteratively and embed services long-term
Let’s talk about digital added value.
Which services deliver real benefits, and how can they be integrated economically? We’re happy to explore the potential of your business model and how to turn digital ideas into measurable impact. No pressure. Just possibilities.