The story begins…

Allianz Life had a big problem. The global insurance provider had already been sued once due to the lack of accessibility features present on their website, and had since been cautious not to put themselves in that position again. But now we were looking at a glaring example of tech debt and seeing all of the accessibility flags piling up behind it.

The Customer Experience team had done a check-in with the Life Insurance channel and saw that not only were users not engaging with the Life Insurance Needs calculator, they were practically running away from it, frequently abandoning it within the first 15 seconds.

They conducted user research and found the most users were roadblocked by the first two questions, which inquired about a user’s finances at a level above most users.

Ahhh, I realized as I read the research findings. We took the easy route, and thus passed the complexity on to the user instead of absorbing it.

My team had been chomping at the bit to redesign this calculator, as it was one of the last vestiges of pre-redesign Allianz tech, but as is often the case with large companies, small projects like this are seen as low in priority.

Thankfully our chance had finally come.

Overview

The Life Insurance Needs calculator is an open-access financial tool on Allianz Life’s website that allows users to receive a suggested life insurance amount, learn how different factors affect their outcome, and connect with a broker who can suggest a policy. The previous calculator had been incredibly rigid, as well as falling short of a number of WCAG standards, which resulted in users abandoning the process quickly.

Rather than recreate yet another precision financial calculator, my team and I set out to lower the barrier for entry and reframe the tool as a simple way for a customer and broker to get the conversation started.

Team

I was lead designer and worked with one PM/BA, a front-end developer, a React developer, and a Sitecore page author. We also had a junior UX designer join us for the discovery portion of the project.

Goals

Allow users to calculate how much life insurance they need to maintain a certain lifestyle
Replace the dated interface with a modern, engaging, mobile-first experience
Keep users engaged through the process so they can get their summary and contact a broker

Highlights:

150%

Increase in user engagement

32%

Increase in lead gen

1

Nomination for Team of the Year

Project Details

Background

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America had a life insurance needs calculator on their public site for many years, but user data showed that most users left very early in the process. Our Customer Experience team noticed incredibly low utilization rates, and saw that most users abandoned it immediately after starting to use it. The team conducted user interviews and found that most people found the questions unnecessarily specific, over their heads, and the design rigid.

As the lead designer on the Tools & Calculator team, I was tasked with redesigning an intuitive, user-friendly tool that would be engaging for users of all levels of financial knowledge, and carry it from 0 to 1 in two months.

In addition to designing the calculator, we were also asked to engage with a third-party company that creates custom videos explaining each user’s results, which would entail not only working their video into our design, but also creating an API that would feed the results from our calculator to their matrix to return personalized content to the video player.

Discovery: “Digitizing an in-person consultation”

Conducted research to understand the average user, many in their late 40s/early 50s with limited financial knowledge.
Emphasized accessibility and inclusivity in the redesign process, aiming to create a more intuitive tool.
Found the existing calculator experience rigid and non-compliant with AA accessibility standards, hindering user navigation.

Making an accessible, inclusive experience

Identified that users desired a ballpark figure rather than specific answers, allowing them to skip unanswerable questions.
Miro was used to map out the existing user flow, highlighting areas for improvement in the user experience.
Focused on creating a flexible calculator that would adapt to the user's knowledge level and comfort.

Early prototyping

Developed a rough wireframe prototype illustrating the tool's core functionality and presented it to stakeholders.
Received enthusiastic feedback, sparking excitement for further development.
Continued refining the design based on stakeholder input, ensuring it met user needs.

Designing for ease of use

Aimed to create an engaging experience that encouraged users to return repeatedly.

Drew inspiration from online tax tools that display running totals, keeping users engaged throughout the process.
Integrated features to allow users to navigate freely between question sets and input average financial figures when needed.

Cross-functional collaboration

Collaborated closely with developers to explore feasibility and begin building a rough prototype.
Engaged with a third-party vendor to ensure accessibility in personalized video content integration.
Conducted regular feedback sessions with stakeholders and other designers to address compliance and content accuracy.

Design iterations

Iterated on user flows and content until a solid journey map was established for the calculator.
Fine-tuned colors and icons during the mockup stage, leveraging Allianz’s global design system.
Ensured the design adhered to branding guidelines while maintaining user-centric principles.

Scrappy user testing and challenges

Conducted informal testing within the QA environment due to limited resources.
Discovered precision issues with slider ranges for financial questions, leading to their removal for simplicity.
The decision aimed to streamline the user experience, addressing feedback from initial tests.

Outcomes

Achieved a 27% increase in user engagement for the life insurance channel post-launch.
The redesigned calculator successfully met user needs and enhanced overall user experience.
The project earned recognition, with the channel manager nominating the team for a Team of the Year award.

Life Insurance Needs Calculator