Role

Product Designer

Team

7 engineers, 2 product designers, 1 Product Owner, 1 Project manager

Client

Ergo Digital IT GmbH

Scope

Stakeholder Workshops

Design Library

Ideation

Wireframes

UI Design

User Testing

Timeline

Feb 2019 – Aug 2019

Link

see live form

Challenge

The client had a huge amount of car accident reports happening over the phone which resulted in huge waiting times for the clients and high costs for hiring more customer support employees.

We needed to create a web application that will be used by Ergo's customers to report a car accident and file an insurance claim online.

Outcome

The redesigned Schadenmeldung web app shifted car damage claims from phone to digital, significantly reducing support calls while enabling thousands of customers to file claims online with confidence.

Impact

The new app significantly reduced calls to customer support

The project was released in 2019 and is currently serving thousands of customers filing claims and reported a significant lower numbers of calls.

Project background

Ergo Digital IT was in the process of digitalizing various insurance products- for business clients as well as end clients. As a Senior UX/UI Designer, I was involved in the product design of 5 different insurance products:

  • a product for applying and managing bank Guarantees (B2B)

  • a product for filing auto insurance Claims (B2C + B2B)

  • a cyber insurance product (B2C)

  • a B2B portal serving high-end business customers

  • a business insurance online calculator (B2B)

The product development at Ergo Digital IT was following the SCRUM Framework. I was communicating with the Product Owner and the Development Team on a daily basis.

Main Challenges

Simplifying the file claim process

I received the project brief and spent the first days clarifying the current process of filing an insurance claim (about 20 steps) and tried to re-design it while cutting back on the process steps. You see, filing a claim after you've had a car accident is something no one likes doing. Most of the time, people are still shocked or angry while recalling the event and having to complete 20 steps just makes them more angry.

Simplify the complex logic behind the insurance products and create user flows that reduce the drop-off rate

The insurance market is Germany is one of the oldest insurance markets in the world. As such, most of the processes behind applying for and purchasing an insurance policy are very long and complicated and were created on the premises that the client will be sitting in-person next to the insurance broker. By working closely with some of the Product Owners inside Ergo, we were able to streamline the processes and alter them in a way that doesn’t require the clients to be in direct contact with the Insurer in order to purchase policies, change their data or file a claim.

Design products for target users that are not easy to get access to

It’s best practice to do user research prior to the design phase. However, in some of the projects, the target users were really hard to get access to and the product had to be either designed and tested afterwards or tested with a target group closer to the original one. To help gather feedback in the initial design stages, I facilitated remote user testing. This was one of the best ways to find usability issues and required little time for completion, so the target users (business executives, insurance brokers) were willing to participate without losing valuable time. It was a win-win for both sides.

Design the Interface with accordance to Ergo's Design System

While it may seem obvious that the UI needs to be done according to an existing style guide, it was actually quite a challenge because Ergo had just transitioned into a new Corporate Identity and there were a lot of design components missing in the new library which had to be created from scratch.

Main Challenges

Simplifying the file claim process

I received the project brief and spent the first days clarifying the current process of filing an insurance claim (about 20 steps) and tried to re-design it while cutting back on the process steps. You see, filing a claim after you've had a car accident is something no one likes doing. Most of the time, people are still shocked or angry while recalling the event and having to complete 20 steps just makes them more angry.

Simplify the complex logic behind the insurance products and create user flows that reduce the drop-off rate

The insurance market is Germany is one of the oldest insurance markets in the world. As such, most of the processes behind applying for and purchasing an insurance policy are very long and complicated and were created on the premises that the client will be sitting in-person next to the insurance broker. By working closely with some of the Product Owners inside Ergo, we were able to streamline the processes and alter them in a way that doesn’t require the clients to be in direct contact with the Insurer in order to purchase policies, change their data or file a claim.

Design products for target users that are not easy to get access to

It’s best practice to do user research prior to the design phase. However, in some of the projects, the target users were really hard to get access to and the product had to be either designed and tested afterwards or tested with a target group closer to the original one. To help gather feedback in the initial design stages, I facilitated remote user testing. This was one of the best ways to find usability issues and required little time for completion, so the target users (business executives, insurance brokers) were willing to participate without losing valuable time. It was a win-win for both sides.

Design the Interface with accordance to Ergo's Design System

While it may seem obvious that the UI needs to be done according to an existing style guide, it was actually quite a challenge because Ergo had just transitioned into a new Corporate Identity and there were a lot of design components missing in the new library which had to be created from scratch.

Main Challenges

Simplifying the file claim process

I received the project brief and spent the first days clarifying the current process of filing an insurance claim (about 20 steps) and tried to re-design it while cutting back on the process steps. You see, filing a claim after you've had a car accident is something no one likes doing. Most of the time, people are still shocked or angry while recalling the event and having to complete 20 steps just makes them more angry.

Simplify the complex logic behind the insurance products and create user flows that reduce the drop-off rate

The insurance market is Germany is one of the oldest insurance markets in the world. As such, most of the processes behind applying for and purchasing an insurance policy are very long and complicated and were created on the premises that the client will be sitting in-person next to the insurance broker. By working closely with some of the Product Owners inside Ergo, we were able to streamline the processes and alter them in a way that doesn’t require the clients to be in direct contact with the Insurer in order to purchase policies, change their data or file a claim.

Design products for target users that are not easy to get access to

It’s best practice to do user research prior to the design phase. However, in some of the projects, the target users were really hard to get access to and the product had to be either designed and tested afterwards or tested with a target group closer to the original one. To help gather feedback in the initial design stages, I facilitated remote user testing. This was one of the best ways to find usability issues and required little time for completion, so the target users (business executives, insurance brokers) were willing to participate without losing valuable time. It was a win-win for both sides.

Design the Interface with accordance to Ergo's Design System

While it may seem obvious that the UI needs to be done according to an existing style guide, it was actually quite a challenge because Ergo had just transitioned into a new Corporate Identity and there were a lot of design components missing in the new library which had to be created from scratch.

Main Challenges

Simplifying the file claim process

I received the project brief and spent the first days clarifying the current process of filing an insurance claim (about 20 steps) and tried to re-design it while cutting back on the process steps. You see, filing a claim after you've had a car accident is something no one likes doing. Most of the time, people are still shocked or angry while recalling the event and having to complete 20 steps just makes them more angry.

Simplify the complex logic behind the insurance products and create user flows that reduce the drop-off rate

The insurance market is Germany is one of the oldest insurance markets in the world. As such, most of the processes behind applying for and purchasing an insurance policy are very long and complicated and were created on the premises that the client will be sitting in-person next to the insurance broker. By working closely with some of the Product Owners inside Ergo, we were able to streamline the processes and alter them in a way that doesn’t require the clients to be in direct contact with the Insurer in order to purchase policies, change their data or file a claim.

Design products for target users that are not easy to get access to

It’s best practice to do user research prior to the design phase. However, in some of the projects, the target users were really hard to get access to and the product had to be either designed and tested afterwards or tested with a target group closer to the original one. To help gather feedback in the initial design stages, I facilitated remote user testing. This was one of the best ways to find usability issues and required little time for completion, so the target users (business executives, insurance brokers) were willing to participate without losing valuable time. It was a win-win for both sides.

Design the Interface with accordance to Ergo's Design System

While it may seem obvious that the UI needs to be done according to an existing style guide, it was actually quite a challenge because Ergo had just transitioned into a new Corporate Identity and there were a lot of design components missing in the new library which had to be created from scratch.

Main Challenges

Simplifying the file claim process

I received the project brief and spent the first days clarifying the current process of filing an insurance claim (about 20 steps) and tried to re-design it while cutting back on the process steps. You see, filing a claim after you've had a car accident is something no one likes doing. Most of the time, people are still shocked or angry while recalling the event and having to complete 20 steps just makes them more angry.

Simplify the complex logic behind the insurance products and create user flows that reduce the drop-off rate

The insurance market is Germany is one of the oldest insurance markets in the world. As such, most of the processes behind applying for and purchasing an insurance policy are very long and complicated and were created on the premises that the client will be sitting in-person next to the insurance broker. By working closely with some of the Product Owners inside Ergo, we were able to streamline the processes and alter them in a way that doesn’t require the clients to be in direct contact with the Insurer in order to purchase policies, change their data or file a claim.

Design products for target users that are not easy to get access to

It’s best practice to do user research prior to the design phase. However, in some of the projects, the target users were really hard to get access to and the product had to be either designed and tested afterwards or tested with a target group closer to the original one. To help gather feedback in the initial design stages, I facilitated remote user testing. This was one of the best ways to find usability issues and required little time for completion, so the target users (business executives, insurance brokers) were willing to participate without losing valuable time. It was a win-win for both sides.

Design the Interface with accordance to Ergo's Design System

While it may seem obvious that the UI needs to be done according to an existing style guide, it was actually quite a challenge because Ergo had just transitioned into a new Corporate Identity and there were a lot of design components missing in the new library which had to be created from scratch.

Process

Process

Process

Process

Process

UI Design and Prototyping

I took over the wireframes from another designer in the team and started creating the user interface.To make my life easier, I named the files inside Sketch to match the Tickets created in Jira. F.e. ECM 446, ECM 448 etc. This way, I could easily connect the exact screen the developers needed with the corresponding ticket. Next, I connected all the ready screens and created the User Flows. There was a total of 7 different user flows, based on the different car accident types.

You can view some more screens here.

In-Person Interviews/ Usability Testing

In-person user interviews and usability testing  were used to validate the initial assumptions and fix usability problems. The test person had to file an insurance claim  after an imaginary incident, using the prototype. A total of 3 scenarios were tested with 20 participants.

Key questions

  • Would the test users report their vehicle damage online? What is important for them?

  • Online claim reporting: how user-friendly is our solution?

  • Are all questions easy to understand?

  • What happens if the user is stuck? Do they stop using the online claim form?

  • How can we improve the process?

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

Successfully launched a mobile-responsive car damage claim web app that enables customers to file insurance claims fully online.

The redesigned Schadenmeldung web app shifted car damage claims from phone to digital, significantly reducing support calls while enabling thousands of customers to file claims online with confidence.

Project Impact

01

01

01

Significantly reduced calls to customer support

Addressing long waiting times and lowering operational costs for the insurer.

02

02

02

Improved user experience for a high-stress scenario

By simplifying a previously ~20-step claim process and reducing cognitive load.

03

03

03

Established reusable UI components and documentation

Supporting development handoff and long-term maintainability within Ergo’s new design system.

"Iglika was a great addition to two teams with legacy design libraries and new features that required UI design and user research. Highly recommend her design skills and understanding of B2B & B2C business processes."

Nakeema Stefflbauer

Senior Program Manager, Ergo Digital IT