Digital sales journeys are now considered a critical factor in successfully securing market share and tapping into new sales potential, as convincingly shown by a study carried out by auditing and consulting firm Deloitte in April 2025. However, the study also draws attention to the fact that a good sales mix is still important. According to the study, 65% of consumers consider policies taken out online to be trustworthy in principle, but only 48% actually buy car insurance online – and for life insurance the figure is just 39%. It is evident that the digital possibilities are not yet being fully utilised. There is often a lack of user-friendliness, trust or personal support.
For insurers, the result is a clear mandate for action: sales journeys must not only be digitalised, but also strategically developed as end-to-end, hybrid sales platforms that combine customer experience, efficiency and regulatory certainty. IT service provider adesso shows how this can be achieved with five strategic insights from practical experience:
1. From pricing to the experience layer: conversion begins at the front end
A sales journey is more than just a digital application form. It is a first impression that determines conversion, brand loyalty and subsequent recommendation. Insurers need to transition away from technical replicas of analogue processes and towards context-sensitive, modular interfaces that guide users through smart dialogue paths. This is where UX design, behavioural analytics and data-driven personalisation come together. Insurers who understand front ends as strategic experience layers that are geared towards customer benefit stand out from the crowd not only visually but also functionally – and clearly set themselves apart from the competition.
2. Integration beats stand-alone solutions: sales journeys need a digital backbone architecture
Efficient sign-up processes are not created in the front end, but in the depths of the system landscape. An end-to-end, service-oriented IT architecture that flexibly orchestrates the product logic, inventory management, pricing engine and third-party systems for KYC, payment or signature is crucial. API-based integrations, low-code interconnections and AI-based decision logic enable a scalable system design that supports both classic and embedded insurance models. The way to achieve this is through clean data management, standardised processes and decoupling from legacy systems.
3. Real-time instead of mailbox: automation as a productivity booster in underwriting
The sales journey does not end when the user clicks on the “Apply now” button. Media disruptions often occur, particularly in underwriting and policy issuing, which delay processes and tie up resources. By combining rule-based decision-making systems, machine learning and input management, for example in the form of OCR or natural language processing (NLP), it is already possible to fully automate many processes – including risk assessment, quotation preparation and document generation. The goal is to have a straight-through processing rate of over 80% without manual intervention.
4. Compliance, data protection, accessibility: regulations becoming a driver of innovation
What appears at first glance to be an obstacle is actually a competitive advantage. Those who proactively map regulatory requirements to their digital systems create trust, legal certainty and scalability. Whether accessibility in accordance with the German Accessibility Improvement Act (BFSG), sustainability reporting that is compliant with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) or the EU AI Act – modern sales journeys must be designed to meet these requirements from the word go (‘compliance by design’). For insurers, this means automating documentation obligations, using transparent AI models and developing accessible front-ends, such as with screen reader compatibility and alternative authentication methods.
5. Sales amplifies success: user-centricity does not end with the customer
Digital sales journeys are not a substitute for the sales team, but a smart tool to be used. This makes it all the more important to involve brokers, broker pools and partners right from the start. Successful projects make use of co-creation, feedback loops and digital training to ensure acceptance. Sales portals, self-service functions and analytics dashboards strengthen the role of the sales team as an orchestrating interface. The aim is a hybrid sales model that intelligently combines digital and personal strengths, based on a centralised data pool.
