Background
KAUS is an established insurance provider offering everything from life to auto insurance.
KAUS has been selling insurance nationally through regional agents and wants to start selling directly to consumers online.
Problem Space
Customers want a frictionless insurance experience that satisfies all their needs.
The process of getting a quote is a specific area identified for development.
Challenge
I need to create a product that balances the needs of the consumer and stakeholder.
Specifically, problem solving how to collect information from users in the least intrusive and time-consuming manner as possible.
01 RESEARCH
Goals
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Understand how consumers purchase insurance
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Identify pain points in this experience
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Uncover strengths and weaknesses of competitors
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Pinpoint the areas of the insurance-buying process that would benefit the most from improved design
Methods
Individual Interviews: To understand the insurance-buying process
User Survey: To collect quantitative data on insurnace-buying habits
Direct Observation: To understand how users navigate insurance websites and gather data on preferences
Competitor Analysis: To understand what competitors are doing to meet user goals
Competitor Analysis
Revealed homogeneity of features amongst industry leaders
Differences were primarily found in the style and branding of the sites
The primary CTA on all sites was to get a quote indicating that this is very important to users
Interview Findings
Data entry and giving away personal information are major pain points.
Third-party sites are used to compare policies across companies.
Feedback from friends and family factor strongly into decision-making.
Auto insurance is the most commonly shopped for insurance.
Some users want clearer explanations of insurance jargon.
02 DEFINE
Persona
Developing a persona helped bring the research to life, so I could better imagine the user’s goals, needs, and frustrations.
It also led to the following storyboard, which envisions a sequence of events that lead Emily to purchasing KAUS auto insurance.
Storyboard
The storyboard revealed what might cause someone to leave their current provider in favor of KAUS.
It also identified the process for getting a quote as a point of emphasis for the project. Improving the user experience on this front could help KAUS stand out in a competitive market.
Project Goals
Defining the project goals ensured that I’d design with both the stakeholder and technical constraints in mind.
It also revealed another important area of inquiry: How much information does a company need to give a customer an accurate quote?
Quote Wizard Requirements
I went through the process of getting a quote on three competitor sites (Geico, Allstate, and Progressive) and documented what information was asked for.
I used all the information that overlapped to determine what would be required by KAUS.
Site Map
Using Optimal Workshop, I conducted a card sorting activity to determine categories for insurance types.
This allowed me to lay out a site map and begin envisioning how users would navigate the site.
User Flow
Creating the userflow revealed different avenues through which a user might get a quote.
It also predicted at what points a user might be compelled to look for more information on the KAUS website or a third-party site.
Upon completing the define phase, it was time to start designing with one primary task (getting a quote) and two secondary tasks (browsing and bundling) in mind.
03 DESIGN
Low-fidelity Wireframes
High-fidelity Wireframes
Wireframing allowed me to organize information on the site so that users can accomplish key tasks.
Most of my time was spent developing a novel idea for the Quote Wizard.
The Quote Wizard:
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Collects basic information on the vehicle and a user’s driving history before personal information.
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Provides quote estimates (in the form of a price range) as users fill out the forms.
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Gives the user an idea of what they can expect to pay in under a minute.
First Design
The Quote Wizard was the primary focus.
I brought my design to life by adding pictures, icons, and color to my wireframes. My detailed wireframing allowed me to focus on aesthetics.
Feedback received between the wireframing and design steps informed minor changes.
04 TEST
Usability Testing Results
Of the main tasks, the ability to compare quotes easily required further attention.
In addition to the primary tasks, testing also revealed additional problems to solve:
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The chat box in the Quote Wizard needed to be more apparent.
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The bundle upsell feature at the end of the Quote Wizard was ineffective as no users scrolled to see it.
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Basic, Standard, and Enhanced Coverage was confusing and difficult to remember.
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The Quote Wizard navigation needed to be more clearly labeled to indicate that each tab is a step in the quote process.
05 FINAL UI
Chat function is more evident.
Numbers in wizard navigation decreases ambiguity.
Changing the names of the tiers to bronze, silver, and gold makes them more memorable.
Adding a compare feature allows users to get a quick synopsis of differences between bronze, silver, and gold options.
