Problem

The customer experience team at Franklin Madison requested an addition to our servicing website to allow customers to view their payment and billing history for their specific policies.

Research

To better understand the request, I began to interview key stakeholders inside the business to learn about the type of information we might want to display, possible legal implications, and any technology issues or suggestions there might be. Through these interviews, I discovered that a customer’s payment history is composed of four distinct tables of information, each displaying different data points, and using different information architecture. I requested examples of all of those tables and I was able to find a couple of common data points that could be used to sort the information displayed (date posted, and amount paid or billed).

Additionally, I learned that due to the nature of our account balancing system, which is tied to the types of insurance we offer, we couldn’t display an overall account balance. Instead, we have 'open periods' where money is only owed for the period it’s due; if a payment is missed, coverage lapses and no debt is carried forward. If an over payment is made, the money is refunded. Policies also varied in their payment schedules, with some being monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly, or yearly.

Collaborating with the customer experience team, we explored the most common customer needs regarding payment history inquiries. We identified seven primary use cases:

Duration of policy and payment history;
Determination of the billing schedule;
Confirmation of the most recent premium paid;
Identification of payment lapses affecting claim approvals;
Payment history for claims submitted through Medicare/Medicaid;
Clarification of billing frequency discrepancies (monthly vs. quarterly); and
Account history for estate research after the insured's passing.

In discussions with the engineering team, we addressed concerns about the potential load times and server strain from retrieving extensive customer records, which could span decades. They recommended implementing pagination to optimize loading performance.

Lastly, I researched current models for presenting complex billing and payment histories through utility companies and banking systems.

Solution

Not wanting to deviate too far from current mental models of how a billing history should be presented, I designed the layout to present information in a chronological order with commonly used typographic treatments of the information to inform the user of the period to period status of their payments. Emulating some utility companies, each period is also an accordian. When the period is clicked into, the billing and payment details are displayed.

Leveraging our current 'Payment' section of our servicing website, I added an accordion button to the bottom of a policy card. This draws a direct relationship between the policy and the button, in case the user has multiple policies on their account. Clicking this button expands the card and displays an on-page loading animation while the paginated payment history loads. Initially, the first six payment periods are shown, along with the year it was posted and amounts owed and paid.

When a user clicks on a specific period, it expands to show detailed charge and payment information for that period, including the exact dates of each event. These events are displayed in descending order, so the amount billed is displayed above the payment made that period. For users needing a more comprehensive history, we provided options to download their entire payment history in PDF or CSV formats, allowing them to interact with the data in their preferred format or archive.

Outcome

The implementation of the new payment history interface significantly enhanced the user experience for Franklin Madison’s customers. The ability to access detailed payment histories online reduced the need for call center inquiries, leading to increased customer satisfaction. The paginated approach ensured efficient load times, preventing server overloads, and the downloadable options catered to diverse user preferences, further improving user engagement and accessibility. Overall, this project successfully addressed the identified needs and streamlined the user experience, aligning with industry standards while meeting specific customer requirements.