Insurance agencies looking to capture market share should consider focusing on a large but often-underserved market segment: Spanish-speaking insurance customers. By delivering the same level of responsive customer service you give English speakers, you’ll win this segment’s business and grow your market share.

The U.S. Spanish-Speaking Insurance Market Is Significant

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 41 million Spanish and Spanish-based Creole speakers in the U.S. Furthermore, Spanish speakers account for nearly two-thirds of people who speak a language other than English at home. 

This means a significant percentage of the U.S. population is more comfortable speaking Spanish than English. It also means that if you want to add a language to your customer service options, Spanish is the obvious choice.

Spanish speakers drive cars, own homes, rent apartments, and run businesses – meaning they need insurance and expert guidance. McKinsey & Company says revenue from financial services in the Latino market may grow to more than $90 million by 2030. This is a huge opportunity for market growth. However, to capitalize on it, insurance agencies must be ready to meet the needs of this population.

Would You Want to Buy Insurance or Report a Claim in a Different Language?

To understand why it’s important to deliver customer service in Spanish, it’s helpful to look at the experience from the insurance customer’s perspective.

Spanish speakers in the U.S. have varying levels of English proficiency. Some speak English as well as native speakers, others only know a few words, and many fall somewhere in between. Regardless of their proficiency, English is their second language, meaning they are likely more comfortable with Spanish. This is especially true for confusing or stressful situations – and insurance scenarios can be both.

Insurance terms may be confusing. Even if everything is in your native language, it may feel like a second language. Spanish speakers with a high level of English proficiency may still be confused about complex insurance terms, which may lead to misunderstandings. In a worst-case scenario, insurance customers may think they have coverage they don’t have.

If insurance customers are calling about a claim, language barriers may lead to even more dire consequences. Insurance claims tend to involve highly stressful events. Imagine calling for help because you’ve been in a car crash and need guidance filing a claim, but you’re overwhelmed and can’t remember the right words. According to research published in Emotion, bilingual speakers tend to switch to their native language during periods of high emotion. Providing quality customer service during stressful times requires capabilities in the customer’s preferred language.

Having One Spanish Speaker in the Office Isn’t Enough

Let’s say an insurance agency who wants to appeal to the Spanish-speaking segment hires a Spanish speaker. That’s a good start, but what happens when the worker is busy with another call? Or on break? Or out sick?

In a previous article that dove into the need for better insurance phone support, we looked at customer expectations regarding wait times. According to AT&T, anything over 90 seconds is likely to result in customers feeling frustrated and hanging up. 

Having one Spanish-speaking worker isn’t enough. Neither is having two, or three, or even four. To keep up with consumer expectations, it’s impossible to say what number is sufficient. If everyone calls at the same time and expects immediate assistance, how can insurance agencies possibly deliver? In fact, the same challenge exists when serving English speakers.

Service in Spanish Can Be a Big Differentiator

Liberate research reveals that fewer than 6,000 insurance agencies in the US offer policyholder services in Spanish. If you operate in a state with a high number of Spanish speakers, having multi-lingual capabilities could be a huge differentiator.

Voice AI Offers a Solution

Thanks to breakthroughs in Voice AI technology, it’s now possible to deploy friendly Voice AI agents to answer your phones. 

Voice AI agents always offer zero wait time, meaning customers never become frustrated with long holds. Here’s how it works. You:

• Pick the voice, language and dialect for your friendly AI agent.
• Set the conversation rules.
• Integrate the AI agent with your other systems so it can complete tasks autonomously.
• Watch your customer satisfaction surge!

Liberate’s friendly Voice AI agents can help with many common customer service needs, and they can be trained quickly – and at a much lower cost than hiring new employees. Amazingly, they can resolve 80% of calls independently – with transferring! 

Multilingual Voice AI represents a fantastic opportunity for insurance agencies that want to capture new market share without making a huge investment in additional team members or technology. Learn more.

‍