User Experience Design for Financial Services

A friend called me last week, furious. Not because her claim was rejected… but because she couldn’t understand why. She’s educated. Senior role. Financially literate. Yet she spent 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 trying to decode a 24-page health policy. A report of India's insurance sector reveals that insurance complaints jumped 45% in Q2 2025, with health policies alone accounting for 67.5% of all disputes.  It’s easy to think customers don’t read documents. But you know what’s more true? 𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝. My friend’s complaint wasn’t about the rejection. It was about the fine print she never realised existed. And i view this more as 𝐦𝐢𝐬-𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧. So, what could be done to avoid this? 1. If a policy needs 24 pages, it needs a rewrite. 2. If exclusions require asterisks, they require clarity. 3. If sales scripts sound simpler than policy documents, that’s misalignment by design. Insurance doesn’t have a trust problem. It has an 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. The complaints are just the symptoms. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. And the companies that win the next decade... They’ll be the ones brave enough to make insurance simple. #Insurance #CustomerExperience #ProductDesign #FinTech #Simplicity #CXInnovation

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗥&𝗥 ☕️ 🧮 - 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮.𝟬 In a fortnight where UK interest rates rose to 5% and I was at yet another fintech event (this time at Fintech Week London moderating a panel about Fintech for Good and financial education), I’m covering the pressing subject of…Personal Finance Management. Open Banking led to a boom of PFM apps, making it easier to pull in transactions and analyse spending, agnostic of the banking provider. Now the initial novelty of seeing how much you spend at Pret or on Deliveroo in a given month has worn off. Consumers are a lot savvier when it comes to using these digital finance managers, and the expectations and reliance on these tools have increased, meaning they need to grow with the needs and ‘Jobs’ of customers. There’s also an ever-widening financial education and literacy gap between Baby Boomers and Millennials that needs urgent action. PFM apps are well-placed to provide solutions for this problem. 𝗦𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀, 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝘀 + 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴: 👉🏽 Statistics bringing the needs of PFM to light 👉🏽 The Jobs-to-be-Done of Personal Finance Management 👉🏽 PFM features (managing income, understanding outgoings etc.) 👉🏽 Fintechs helping in this space 👉🏽 Trends in the next version of PFM apps 👉🏽 4 key features of the next generation of PFM apps Some summary excerpts to give a flavour of this week’s edition: 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗨𝗫 "While in many areas reducing friction is a net positive, payments is an area where we could still do with a bit of friction. Friction can prevent a customer from making a bad purchasing decision. It can drive behavioural change. It can allow the customer to learn more about the product or service. ‘Positive Friction’ is where the customer journey is slowed down, but the experience remains positive." 𝗣𝗙𝗠 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝟱𝘆𝗿𝘀 🧠 Smarter Tools 📚 Finfluencer led educational content 🤖 AI 🔌 Embedded PFM 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗙𝗠 𝟮.𝟬 1️⃣ VRP to auto-allocate funds into high-interest accounts 2️⃣ Actual financial advisors to talk to 3️⃣ Custodian Services 4️⃣ Accountability to drive behaviours 𝗔𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗠 𝗺𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 🙂👋🏽 Dharmesh Mistry Matt Izadi Rie Alessandra✨ Sandra Mianda🖇 Theodora Lau Efi Pylarinou Paul Loberman Crawford Taylor Yoann Pavy Jinesh Vohra Money and Pensions Service Plum Snoop Nude #personalfinance #fintech #digital

Today I tried to find the best insurance for my pet. I checked three providers: my bank, my current insurer and a digital pet insurer. Then I asked AI to compare them, like customers already do. I got three different realities. On the websites, the price changes with every condition: breed, age, coverage. So many ifs that no two quotes are comparable. When I left without buying, better prices started arriving by email. The AI saw none of this. Each tool gave me different prices for the same products, all confident, all incomplete. The best offers lived in channels an AI cannot reach. That is the experience an AI finds today, and the one customers will trust to decide. This is a customer experience problem, not a technology problem. Where to start: 1. Treat the AI agent as a customer and map its journey like you mapped the human one: what it can read, where it gets stuck, what it says about you at the end. 2. Give it the same price, the same terms and the same answer in every channel, because an agent that gets inconsistent answers will not recommend you. 3. Run your own products through AI and see what comes back, something most companies have never done. Customer experience now includes another user. We need to add AI to the equation when we design how customers find, compare and choose. #CustomerExperience #AgenticAI #FinancialServices #Insurance

🔵 Even with Agentic AI in Financial Services, TRUST remains central to Finserv! The Edelman Trust Barometer provides valuable insights relevant to trust in financial services and fintechs: 📍   𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠: According to Edelman’s 2024 and 2025 Trust Barometer, 62% of respondents globally said they trust financial services companies to “do the right thing,” marking 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟖 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧’𝐬 “𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝” 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 (defined as 60%+ trust). In 2025, the trust score for financial services globally stands at 71% in leading markets such as Indonesia, and 62% globally, reflecting a significant recovery and growing confidence in the sector. 📍    𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭: The 2024 data shows trust in Fintech companies is slightly lower than traditional banks, with fintech scoring 52% globally, compared to 66% for banks and 62% for the overall financial services sector. Cryptocurrency and digital assets remain the least trusted, at 38% (no surprise). 📍      𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭: Edelman’s research highlights that 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬—echoing the shift you described. For example, fintechs like #Revolut have gained trust by proactively investing in fraud prevention, security features, and customer education. Meanwhile, traditional banks are also building trust by blending digital innovation with their established reputations and regulatory compliance. 📍   𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬: Trust levels vary widely by region. Developing markets like India and Thailand report trust levels above 80%, while some developed markets remain below 50%. 📍 The Edelman Trust Barometer confirms that trust remains central in financial services, but the way it is earned is evolving. Both fintechs and traditional banks are focusing on security, transparency, and seamless digital experiences as key trust drivers, even as institutional reputation and regulatory compliance remain foundational. #fintech #banking #innovation #trust #efiinsights Relevant links in the comments Paolo Sironi Dharmesh Mistry Ron Shevlin Leda Glyptis PhD

Why Superapps Typically Struggle to Succeed in Insurance❓ Some superapps—Grab, WeChat, and partially GoJek or Paytm—have found footing in insurance by embedding simple, relevant products (often micro-insurance) within high-frequency user journeys. They succeed due to strong partnerships, seamless user flows, and brand trust within their ecosystems. However, most superapps stumble because insurance is a complex, low-frequency product that requires heavy regulatory compliance, deep consumer trust, targeted education, and sustained customer support. These requirements don’t typically align with superapps’ high-volume, fast-paced model, leading many attempts to stall or fail. Here are some challenges which come to mind (non exhaustive and not in any particular order): ❗️Insurance (especially life or health) is more complex than simple financial services like payments or micro-credit. Most superapps excel at fast, frictionless transactions—whereas insurance often entails more detail, consultation, and trust-building. ❗️Low-Frequency Nature of Insurance creates a mismatch in engagement cycles can make it harder to keep users interested and convert them into policy buyers. ❗️Insurance is heavily regulated - Distribution licenses, capital requirements, underwriting rules, and compliance processes - which can be daunting. Many superapps do not have the core competency or appetite to invest in and maintain these regulatory obligations. ❗️Brand Positioning and Trust in key in selling Insurance. If the superapp brand is not perceived as an “expert” or “safe pair of hands,” consumers can be reluctant to buy higher-value insurance products. ❗️The conversion rates for insurance cross-sales (without targeted marketing or real-time context) are often much lower compared to something like loyalty programs or micro-lending. ❗️Insurance has Longer Sales Cycle and Service Requirements and many superapps favor low-touch, automated models to keep costs low, and they may not allocate sufficient resources to specialized customer care for insurance queries. ❗️Limited Consumer Awareness of Micro-Insurance as a solution and the cost of educating these customers is high ❗️Profitability Challenges as Insurance distribution often has slim margins unless the volume is extremely high or the products are carefully segmented. ❗️ Competition from Established (or Insurtech) Platforms. Unless a superapp can differentiate (e.g., by embedding insurance seamlessly in other services), they may be outcompeted by specialized providers. What do you think 🤔? Share your thoughts 💭 in the comments section below 👇 #insurance #superapps #insurtech #embeddedfinance

A week ago, I was speaking to a customer He asked an important question "Mahavir, Beshak claims to be "independent" Yet you connect me with agents?" This might come across as doglapan, but it’s not This unique formula actually helps create a trust-first insurance experience👇🏻 Let's first understand the current experience Customers approach a distributor website to buy insurance They face 2 problems: Problem #1. They are unsure about bias in the advice. Problem #2. They are unsure about claims support. People who care, aren't able to trust easily Also, DIY in Insurance is quite iffy. With 150+ plans, it was very difficult for customers to research on their own to find the right product. Even if the product is found, there is uncertainty about claims support. People who care, aren't able to trust easily. With Beshak, our mission was to solve for "trust" in the insurance space. Especially for people who care, to buy right. To solve for trust, we had to solve not only for the buying experience, but the entire journey. From product selection >>> to purchase >>> to claims. After all, Insurance ≠ Getting policy Insurance = Getting claims So, we headed out to solve both the problems (biased advice + lack of claims support) one by one. First stop: Resolve the confusion around biased advice. Solution: We ruled out bias, completely. How? Beshak decided it will never team up with insurers for commissions/marketing This will ensure recommendations on the website are solely research backed, 100% undiluted. Next stop: Solve for personalized support during claims We found that the best people who can help customers during claims are not call centres, but a type of expert Experts who are customer centric, who thrived solely on the goodwill they built by assisting customers on claims But wait! Is personalized support during claims even required? Yes, it is. Since post-sales service, esp. claims are manual, insurers have a massive upper hand during conflicts Claims disputes are common A legit expert on customer's side has helped fight disputes effectively So, we scouted for specific experts Experts who can help with 2 crucial processes in the journey, after the product is found to ensure seamless claims 1. Handholding - ensuring right declarations when buying the plan 2. Expert assistance during claims We don't just list all of them. All experts are empanelled after 3 rounds of rigorous screening. 1. Initial screening to assess product + claims experience 2. Test on fundamentals, knowledge 3. Rigorous Interview to assess customer centricity, processes Only 8% get through That's what Beshak is We are an independent platform that solves for bias. We are also a community platform of experts that solves for human expert support. A home-grown concoction to counter two major hurdles, for people who care to buy right.

39% of consumers now say it’s a good idea for their insurance company to use AI to improve service. That’s nearly double last year. Here’s the part most carriers are missing: consumer trust is not an AI model problem. It’s an operating model problem. The survey says people are comfortable with AI helping with narrow, repeatable tasks. 46% would let AI generate a quote. 39% are good with AI tracking claim status. 38% would use AI to update their info. But comfort drops fast when the decision starts to feel "final." Only 22% are comfortable with AI filing a claim on their behalf, 16% with AI canceling or renewing a policy. That gap is the whole game. If you want consumers to trust AI, start by building audit-grade plumbing underneath it: 1) Clear data lineage (where did the answer come from?) 2) Policy and claims rules enforced in the workflow, not in someone’s head 3) Human-in-the-loop checkpoints where it matters 4) Logging that stands up in an exam (not just a dashboard screenshot) AI can absolutely move the ball on experience. But the sequencing matters: governance first, then acceleration. We’ve been building this kind of integration and audit-ready infrastructure for carriers, TPAs, and IA firms, especially where legacy systems and third-party vendors make the workflow messy. Happy to compare notes. Where do you see the biggest trust gap today: quoting, policy servicing, or claims communication? #InsurTech #AIinInsurance #InsuranceOperations #ClaimsManagement #DigitalTransformation

Gen Z doesn’t hate insurance. They’re just not sold on how it’s being offered. It’s not that they don’t care about planning ahead. It’s that the way insurance is presented doesn’t feel relevant to them. Here’s what’s getting in the way: 1. The messaging feels out of touch. “Secure your future” isn’t relatable when they’re focused on managing monthly rent. Try something like: “What if your phone breaks and you can’t work for a few days?” 2. The process feels unnecessarily complicated. Too many steps. Too much paperwork. If it’s harder than ordering food or booking a cab, they’re likely to drop off. 3. The language is too technical. Terms like “deductible” or “annuity” don’t land. Clear, simple language works better, like explaining it to a friend over coffee. 4. Fear-based selling isn’t effective. They’ve grown up in uncertain times. What works better is showing how insurance can offer peace of mind, not panic. 5. Their lives don’t follow a fixed path. Many are freelancers, creators, or switching careers. They need flexible plans that reflect that, not just ones built for 9-to-5 routines. 6. They do their research. If there are no reviews or your website feels outdated, it raises doubts. 7. Values influence decisions. They care about things like mental health, sustainability, and how a brand shows up. They’re more likely to choose brands that align with those values. 8. They expect clarity. If something feels hidden or vague, trust is lost. Break down the costs. Be upfront. At the end of the day, it’s not the product they have a problem with. It’s how it’s being explained and delivered. Make it clear, relevant, and easy, and they’ll listen.

I see a lot of complaints on social media ranting about health insurance claims being denied or policy cancelled due to non-disclosure and such other issues. A lot of such people have purchased the policy online or directly from insurance companies. When you are buying directly, you are your own intermediary. That is fine as long as everything goes well. Unfortunately, not everything goes well. There will be exceptional situations. The insurance companies are large human organisations. Processes and people are optimised/trained to handle the routine, not exceptions. All exceptions travel upstairs through the escalation matrix till someone higher up gives a solution. The more exceptional the exception is, the more time it will take to resolve it. Training for exception handling is universally poor, be it in insurance, airlines, consumer goods, or any other business. There is hardly any business in the world that will have excellent reviews of how they handle exceptions. Even the hospitality industry, which is critically dependent on positive customer experiences, comes up short on exception handling. There was a case recently in which one of our clients’ cars was involved in an accident. The vehicle was repaired and was to be released on a Saturday.  There was no cashless facility with the insurer, so the dealer wanted an email from the insurer stating that, subject to the production of the satisfaction voucher, the payment would be released to the workshop. But being a PSU Insurer, no one was there to send such an email from their side. So we, as the broker, sent a comfort email to the garage stating that we would make every effort to have the claim amount released to the garage on Monday. The surveyor had already verified and confirmed that the claim was in order. On the strength of our mail, the vehicle was released, and the client, who is otherwise a hard man to please, was impressed. If it were not for insurers' inefficiencies, the intermediary profession would be largely dead. People would flock to buy insurance themselves, and the issue of big commission payouts would be resolved.

The thing is, insurance is complex. If I, with my background, struggle to meaningfully compare insurance products, how can anyone else? The inherent complexity of insurance makes it difficult for consumers to understand product differences, features, and associated risks. Trust in financial and insurance services remains low compared to other markets, with consumers often viewing insurance as a "necessary evil." Traditionally, disclosures have been used to address complexity and build trust, operating on the assumption that correcting information asymmetries enables consumers to make optimal choices. However, this overlooks a key challenge: consumers must navigate inherently complex insurance products and processes — a task disclosures alone cannot solve. Many consumers struggle to understand their overall insurance situation: - What exclusions apply? - What policies do they have? - What is covered under each policy? - What risks are covered multiple times? - What additional products might be needed? - What products might not match their demands and needs? Currently, consumers cannot easily access a comprehensive overview of their insurance policies unless they have consolidated everything through one broker or insurer. Even then, the provider may not offer a user-friendly, holistic overview — and embedded insurance (coverage bundled with other products) often goes unnoticed. Comparing different insurance products — including existing and new options — remains difficult. This makes informed decision-making a real challenge. Personally, I don't believe there's an easy solution to this problem. However, initiatives like open finance and the FiDA proposal could drive meaningful change in the ecosystem. You could build — whether as an incumbent or an InsurTech — an insurance dashboard that aggregates and displays all existing policies (including embedded coverages) from across different providers in one place, serving as a central point of contact. Broader money management tools that integrate insurance into financial planning. Solutions that assist with advisory processes across online and offline consumer journeys. And this is not a "nice-to-have." - It's about consumer experience. - It's about building trust. - It's about efficiency. It might take time, but ultimately, everyone will benefit. How do you buy insurance? P.S. How do you buy insurance? Are you able to compare products? What are your main pain points in the process? Let me know in the comments.