This case study will detail the process of how we achieved, in a 5 months period of product disclosure, without any investment in media:
increase in life
insurance sales
16%
of scale potential each quarter
25%
less calls to
the call center
10%
more financial protection with...
3x
less cost to the
final customer!
17%
of users retarget
to brokers
60%
The Context
✓ SulAmérica is the biggest independent insurance company in Brazil, serving more than 7 million beneficiaries, with life insurance protection for over 4 million lives.
✓ In Brazil, a broker is legally required for insurance sales. As such, the good relationship between the company and brokers was crucial, as they served as the sole sales channel.
✓ The purchase of life insurance has not yet become popular in Brazil, as only 15% of the Brazilian population has life insurance. For comparison, the percentage in the United States reaches 70% and 90% in Japan.
The Challenge
Our objective was to design a digital life insurance eCommerce platform that provides personalized services. And also:
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✓ Identify the target audience
✓ Define products and services
✓ Find the product-market-fit
The Design Team
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Senior UX Designer | Thaís Petry
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UX Designer | Sophia Alliot
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Senior UI Designer | Alina Sanches
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UI Designer | Adriana Fernando
The Process
Our iterative process for product development involved testing hypotheses through small experiments and research, gradually evolving prototypes and refining our understanding of product-market fit. This logical flow allowed for continuous iterations and improvements.
Immersion
1. Desk Research
To develop our understanding of life insurance and its key products, I researched extensively by reading relevant articles and watching institutional, broker, and client videos.
Through this process, I gained insights on how to choose the best life insurance and identified the main points of attention to consider.
2. User journeys and blueprints
To ensure alignment among the design, technology, and business teams, I created journey maps and blueprints for both the current and desired processes.
It helped me identify areas for improvement and guided our efforts in aligning our teams' efforts effectively.
3. Benchmark + Safari
I examined the major market players and obtained life insurance quotes from 21 insurance companies.
✓ As time went on and the design goals became more specific, I also analyzed several companies from other industries, such as finance and education, to gain insights into their communication styles and processes.
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✓ I used the 'Service Safari' search tool, experiencing a first-person service when quoting and contracting life insurance with several competitors to better explore the real experience of users with the various market players.
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✓ While some insurance companies offered online simulators for instant quotes (Cheap, mass products), others required to provide contact information for brokers to reach out and schedule a video session at a later point (Presenting highly priced and personalized products).
✓ By then it was clear that there were different approaches to life insurance in the Brazilian market, and that not all approaches would work for all customers. But then, what kind of approach would be ideal for the scenario of SulAmérica?
4. Interviews
8
interviews with brokers
I interviewed SulAmérica's brokers in a semi-structured way, first asking about the market and their approaches to clients, and then presenting a first prototype that we built, in order to obtain insights. Some learnings:
✓ Their criteria for suggesting insurers for each client (mainly the right product, commission amounts and after-sales services)
✓ Their main pains in daily activities (mainly prospecting, influencing the purchase in a country that has no insurance culture and the bureaucratic after-sales of insurance companies)
✓ Their approach, vision of the market, customers and services/products of SulAmérica.
8
interviews with customers
I also interviewed individual life insurance clients who purchased their insurance from brokers or online tools, starting with questions about motivations, insurance contracting criteria and main doubts, and then also presenting our first prototype in a usability test format. Some learnings below:
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✓ Their criteria for choosing the insurer and main motivators.
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✓ Their main pains when choosing the insurer, the product and overall experience after contracting (Mainly difficult language, understanding what the products and benefits really cover, the fear of not being compensated, the cost of a product that typically does not provide benefits in life...)
5. Brokers Protopersonas
When interviewing the group of brokers, it became clear that there were two different types of approaches:
Financial consultants, who approach life insurance in a rational way as part of financial planning, and traditional brokers, who approach it emotionally, applying neurolinguistic techniques to shift the client's reality to an undesirable situation in order to raise awareness.
I understood that it was mandatory to align the brokers' work style with the purpose of the channel, as not all brokers would perform services according to the profile of the user accessing the platform. It was clear that the company should start by focusing on the financial advisor profile for the digital insurance platform.
6. Financial Profiles
After the interviews with clients and brokers, I sought more information about the financial profile of Brazilians. I analyzed a ANBIMA research that shows that there are 5 Brazilian financial profiles: Planners, Builders, Dreamers, Chameleons, and Carefree. We understood from reading the materials and discussion with the teams that the Planner and Builder profiles are the ones who currently purchase life insurance in Brazil.
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Planners need rational strategies and prioritize long-term vision and calculated risks, while builders need emotional strategies and focus on short to medium-term goals and safety. Planners understand finances well and are generally more financially successful, whereas builders grow gradually and consistently, but view the possibility of losing money as painful.
7. Hypothesis and experiments
I facilitated a session for the team to generate and prioritize hypotheses for problems or solutions in order for the team to validate it with experiments or to focus on the research, all connected to OKRs and to user or business value (check the following image).
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I also worked with research-focused hypotheses, with immersion planning to address them:
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The SulAmérica brand is strong enough for customers to trust that they will be indemnified safely.
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The products are competitive enough in their coverage, benefits, and prices.
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Two main profiles will access the platform: builders, focused on family security, and planners, focused on financial strategies.
8. Digital Profiles
There are great differences in needs and expectations of experience for different profiles in a digital life insurance contract.
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With this study, it was clear that the audience profile cut as primarily naturalized and secondarily natives.
With this, it was possible to align several discussions:
✓ The right products and benefits,
✓ The need of new payment methods,
✓ Focus efforts on testing hypotheses consistently with the digital public that would access the platform.
9. After-Sales services
I researched call center data to understand the main audience and contact touchpoints experience in order to improve it.
I also interviewed call center agents to gain insights into customer profiles and gather more detailed information about the triggers.
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Enhancing the after-sales experience was important because we understood that:
✓ It was essential for the end-customer in the new digital platform;
✓ It was a criterion for brokers to choose an insurance company;
✓ Reducing the number of calls would also be extremely relevant financially to compose the digital solution delivered.
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10. Quantitative User Research
Our team has conducted quantitative research in three different moments:
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Firstly, we utilized email marketing to gain insights into the profile of current Sulamérica life insurance consumers. This research allowed us to understand why customers choose SulAmérica and to gather suggestions on how we can enhance the overall customer experience.
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Secondly, we leveraged open sea research, which was later refined by a contracted Research Institute. Through this approach, we were able to connect financial profiles to online insurance purchase profiles. Additionally, we gained valuable insights into coverage preferences, main doubts and purchase motivators of both native and naturalized digital profiles.
Overall, these quantitative research efforts have enabled us to better understand our customers and to develop solutions that cater to their needs and preferences.
11. User Personas
We generated four personas to consolidate the audience research and align initiatives between different teams, highlighting
- Their digital profile and main preferences
- Their financial profile, main behavior and insurance products
- Motivators
- Pains and objections
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​We connected the personas studies with SulAmérica's life insurance products and Brand's active customer base in order to segment marketing actions and align stakeholders.
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We created a specific persona to connect it with traditional brokers and advisory products, in order to facilitate our communication with stakeholders.
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Ideation & Prototyping
12. Layouts
The design team worked on at least 5 complete layout deliveries, always aligned with the hypotheses being tested and new agreements among stakeholders.
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✓ Layout offering 3 products in bulk
✓ Layout offering 3 mass products and a channel to talk to a broker and assemble the ideal personalized product
✓ Layout offering 2 mass products and a third option with a flow to customize the product
✓ Flow to customize the product, with short information
✓ Flow to customize the product, with longer explanations
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13. Communication
Me and the other designers generated various pieces of communication, such as the complete reformulation of the insurance policy sent to users, to make information clearer and more accessible, providing users with a comprehensive understanding of the terms and conditions of their coverage.
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In addition, we elaborated the email communication sent by the brokers and simulator with insurance proposals, aiming to assist customers in making the decision about purchasing life insurance.
Validation
14. Design Critiques
I facilitated several design critique sessions with the business and technology teams aiming general alignment and understanding of constraints or efforts.
15. Usability Tests
During our usability tests, we used metrics to keep track of how our prototypes were improving in a few key areas:
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Level of complexity in the simulation, as an effective life insurance product suggestion requires analysis of many different topics.
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Clarity and depth of information sufficient to generate confidence and security in order to generate sales
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Overall satisfaction with the process
of usability tests done for sales + after-sales
15 rounds
performed and analyzed
200 tasks
of iterations and refinements
15 rounds
participated in the usability tests
70 users
16. Refinements & Prioritization
By recognizing the importance of refining our product through various stages, such as research and usability testing, I also suggested a prioritization of the necessary changes.
Impact
The Impact
What was the impact of discovery on the project development?
✓ Understanding Customer Needs: Discovery helped identify the target audience, pain points and improve overall experiences before and after contracting life insurance.
✓ Positive Business Outcomes:
It delivered tangible results, representing 16% of life insurance sales, reducing costs, and improving the post-sales experience in only 5 months.
✓ Market Insights:
Through competitor analysis, we identified gaps and opportunities for the new platform, aligning initiatives with brokers and internal areas.
✓ Work Model Transformation:
The project introduced a new way of working, encouraging experimentation, customer-centricity, and a culture of learning from mistakes.
✓ Assertiveness:
Discovery provided enough understanding to generate hypotheses and interpret data in a coherent way, directing experiments assertively.
✓ Future Opportunities:
Learnings from the project influenced future initiatives, enabling scalability, integration with larger brokers, and ongoing customer-centric practices.
The team achieved, in a 5 months period of product disclosure, without any investment in media:
increase in life
insurance sales
16%
of scale potential each quarter
25%
less calls to
the call center
10%
more financial protection with...
3x
less cost to the
final customer!
17%
of users who left the site retarget to brokers
60%
