Optimizing Insurance Conversion: Strategic Decision-Making in Complex Org Structures

The Challenge

The creditor insurance integration faced a fundamental organizational challenge: two departments with competing priorities and conflicting ownership models. The Banking department controlled the entire customer experience for line of credit and mortgage applications, while the Insurance department needed to make changes to insurance-related steps but had to wait for Banking team prioritization—creating bottlenecks and delays.

Line of Business Dynamics

Current State Problems

The existing model created operational inefficiencies that impacted both departments:

Key Problems:

• Dependency Bottlenecks: Insurance team waited for Banking prioritization, delaying improvements
• Ownership Conflicts: Banking owned the entire experience, limiting Insurance's ability to iterate
• Development Complexity: Every insurance change required Banking coordination, reducing agility

The Solution: Widget Architecture

I proposed creating a self-contained creditor insurance widget that could be owned and managed by the Insurance department while seamlessly integrating into Banking flows. This approach would minimize Banking development work while giving Insurance the autonomy they needed.

Widget Benefits:

• Insurance team can iterate independently on their screens
• Banking team maintains control of core banking experience
• Shared screens enable cohesive end-to-end flow
• Clear ownership boundaries reduce coordination overhead

Strategic Decision Framework

I led a comprehensive analysis of two placement options, evaluating multiple dimensions including technical complexity, revenue impact, user experience, and ownership autonomy.

The Two Options

Inflow Widget (During Banking Activation)

• Technical Complexity: Moderate—required shared screens implementation
• Revenue Impact: Faster uptake—users encounter insurance during active engagement
• User Experience: Seamless—insurance feels like natural part of the process
• Ownership: Partial—some screens shared with Banking
• Integration: Complex—shared screens and content management

Post-Activation Flow (After Banking Completion)

• Technical Complexity: Lower—standalone widget with single handoff
• Revenue Impact: Potentially lower—risk of drop-off after primary task completion
• User Experience: Seamless but separate—clear division between Banking and Insurance
• Ownership: Full—Insurance owns all steps independently
• Integration: Straightforward—single handoff point

Decision: Inflow Widget Approach

Despite the moderate technical complexity, I recommended and successfully advocated for the inflow widget approach. This strategic decision prioritized revenue optimization and user experience over technical simplicity.

Key Rationale:

• Revenue Optimization: Capturing users during active Banking engagement would deliver significantly higher conversion rates than post-activation approaches, where drop-off was a significant risk
• User Experience Excellence: Insurance would feel like a natural extension of the Banking process rather than an afterthought, increasing perceived relevance
• Strategic Timing: Users were most receptive to additional financial products during their primary Banking task, not after completion
• Manageable Trade-offs: The technical complexity could be addressed through careful shared screen architecture

Implementation Strategy

To address the technical challenges while maintaining departmental autonomy, I designed:

Shared Screen Components

• Created shared screens for document review (Step 5) and final completion (Step 6)
• Allowed both departments to maintain their experiences within a unified flow
• Established clear ownership boundaries

Independent Insurance Screens

• Steps 4a-4b fully owned by Insurance team
• Enabled independent iteration without Banking coordination
• Maintained widget encapsulation

Minimal Banking Development

• Focused on simple integration points rather than custom implementations
• Reduced Banking team burden while enabling Insurance autonomy

Impact