Case Study: Re-Engineering the Asurion Claims Experience

Philip Burgess
Aug 12
2 min read

Updated: Aug 16

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader

Overview

Asurion Insurance Services, the world’s largest provider of technology protection services, was facing a costly problem: its consumer-facing claims portal and customer service center claims application were slow, inconsistent, and frustrating to use. This friction resulted in high abandonment rates, long handle times for CSRs, and increased operational costs.

By applying UX research, usability evaluation, and cognitive modeling techniques, we re-engineered both the online claims portal and the internal CSR claims application—dramatically improving completion rates, reducing task times, and delivering millions in savings.

The Challenge

Consumer-facing claims portal

16 pages required to complete an initial claim.
Average time on task: 7.5 minutes.
Low conversion rate: 35% claim completion.
High drop-off at multiple touchpoints.
Navigation and flow inconsistent with CSR systems.

Customer service center application

20 pages needed for claim processing.
CSR average handle time (AHT): 8+ minutes.
Poor integration, numerous pop-ups, and frequent tabbing.
One monitor to view all claim process parts.
No consistency between CSR and consumer systems.

Goals

Increase online self-service claim completion rates.
Reduce CSR AHT to lower operational costs.
Streamline both consumer and CSR workflows.
Align front-end and back-end systems for consistency.
Measure and demonstrate ROI.

Approach & Framework

1. Research & Discovery

Contextual Inquiry & Ethnography in global call centers.
Context of Use Analysis for both CSR and consumer environments.
Participant Observation to understand real-world workflows.

2. Usability Evaluation

Heuristic evaluations.
Cognitive walkthroughs.
Usability & remote testing.

3. Cognitive Modeling

KLM GOMS modeling.
Analytic log analysis.
MODAPTs (time standard analysis).

4. Redesign

Wireframes & prototypes (Axure, Visio).
Interactive simulations.
A/B testing of critical flows.
Reduction of steps, pages, and inputs.

5. Measurement

System Usability Scale (SUS).
Task time metrics.
Conversion rate tracking.

Results & Impact

Consumer claims portal

Conversion rate increased from 35% → 92%.
Claim completion time reduced 66% (7.5 min → 2.26 min).
Pages reduced 16 → 6.
SUS score increased 48% → 95%.

CSR claims application

CSR AHT reduced 8+ min → 3.5 min.
Pages reduced 20 → 7.
MODAPTs decreased by 66%.
Call volume reduced by 77% for claim assistance.

Financial ROI

$3.41M savings in the first quarter post-launch.
Significant long-term operational cost savings.

Key Takeaways

Aligning front-end and back-end UX is critical for efficiency.
Applying cognitive modeling to real-world workflows uncovers hidden inefficiencies.
Incremental usability improvements can produce massive operational ROI.