Connecting Young Adults to Insurance Advisors

🥉 This project won 3rd Place at the S25 uXperience Design Jam!

Project Overview

We reimagined how Co-operators can generate sales leads and build trust by combining digital tools with human connection. Our solution is an AI-powered matching service that connects users with the right advisors for their needs.

Team Members

Danielle Berry, Joy Zhang, Vivian Zhao

Role
Timeframe
Team Members

Product Designer

1 week

Danielle Berry, Joy Zhang, Vivian Zhao

Role
Timeframe

Product Designer

1 week

THE PROBLEM 

Young adults are overwhelmed by insurance decisions

Co-operators is a Canadian insurance and financial services organization known for its commitment to personalized support. Despite this reputation, the company struggles to connect with younger audiences as traditional lead generation tactics fail to translate to meaningful connections. 

COMPANY INSIGHTS

Learning the Co-operators playbook

We analyzed Co-operators' 2024 Annual Report to examine their customer demographics, sustainability commitments, communication channels, and core values. By affinity mapping our findings, we identified patterns that revealed both their competitive advantages and the gaps in their current digital strategy.

When do buyers get stuck?

We mapped out the journey of purchasing insurance to identify where customers struggle. Our analysis revealed that the consideration stage presents the greatest opportunity as customers have gathered background information but feel overwhelmed by research.

We mapped out the journey of purchasing insurance to identify where customers struggle. Our analysis revealed that the consideration stage presents the greatest opportunity as customers have gathered background information but feel overwhelmed by research.

USER RESEARCH

Surveying 25 young adults about their purchasing decisions

Most respondents share that they struggle to understand policy details because the process lacks transparency. While price remains a primary concern, brand reputation and trust emerged as equally important factors in final decision-making.

Here's what made buying insurance so hard for them…

Where do buyers get stuck?

We mapped out the journey of purchasing insurance to identify where customers struggle. Our analysis revealed that the consideration stage presents the greatest opportunity as customers have gathered background information but feel overwhelmed by research.

IDEATION

We landed on an AI-powered advisor matching tool

Designed for users aged 20–35, this solution addresses the primary pain points of our target demographic: the need for quick, adaptive guidance in a new environment. With this direction, we created the information architecture for how our tool would be integrated into the Co-operators website.

LOW FIDELITY

Finalizing page layouts

We created low-fidelity prototypes to help us refine the quiz length and determine how much advisor information to show upfront versus behind profile clicks. Early testing revealed that presenting three matched advisors with brief summaries worked better than five lengthy profiles.

FINAL DESIGN

Get matched with the right advisor in under five minutes!

Video Demo

Video Demo

The tool starts with an assessment of the customer's lifestyle, goals, and preferences. It then matches them with three suitable advisors along with recommended insurance bundles.

IMPACT & TAKEAWAYS

Here's what I learned

Build Urgency From The Start

Despite the generous competition timeline, we ended up scrambling the night before. Next time, I’d set firmer checkpoints to stay aligned, reduce stress, and leave room for iterations and feedback.

Expand On What Works

Examining how other insurance companies use digital tools was essential to conceptualizing our idea. Innovation often means building off what already works, not always starting from scratch.

Want to hear the full story?

Please reach out to me if you'd like to learn more! I typically share my complete research process and detailed design explorations in an interview setting or coffee chat.

IMPACT & TAKEAWAYS 

Designing for Canada's leading cooperative insurer

Build Urgency From The Start

Despite the generous competition timeline, we ended up scrambling the night before. Next time, I’d set firmer checkpoints to stay aligned, reduce stress, and leave room for iterations and feedback.

Expand On What Works

Examining how other insurance companies use digital tools was essential to conceptualizing our idea. Innovation often means building off what already works, not always starting from scratch.

IMPACT & TAKEAWAYS 

Here's what I learned

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