Site-wide authentication
As a digital insurance provider, our aim is to automate the underwriting creation process, from design and testing to execution. This initiative is deemed as one of the most difficult design and developmental tasks within our organization due to the project's broad scale.
Role
Product Designer
Worked with 2 Engineers
Key Methods
Affinity Mapping, User Flows
Results
Reduced number of complaints tickets around login issues by 100%!
Duration
1.5 months
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How may we ensure a consistent and clear authentication experience for all users?
context
Received 25+ complaint tickets per month
The problem began as a UX issue: postponed customers couldn’t log in to their accounts to answer underwriter follow-up questions because there was no way to create a password after submitting contact information. The only option was the “Forgot Password” feature, creating a frustrating and unintuitive user experience. This led to increased drop-off rates and customer complaints, prompting an urgent investigation into the root cause.
goal
Consistent authentication experience across all B2C flows
All customers should be able to create an account and log in across all 3 touchpoints across the B2C user journey:
Save an application to resume later
Leave contact for when a customer is unhealthy
Submit an application successfully
discovery
Uncovering a 3-year old authentication experience
While enabling password creation during registration seemed simple, we realized it would disrupt the entire authentication flow. To explore solutions, I led a two-part workshop: problem-finding and solution-finding. We mapped the account creation journey, uncovering three key issues:
Insight #1: Inconsistent authentication flows
Inconsistent authentication flows across B2C user journeys caused login issues for unhealthy customers, who couldn’t set passwords during registration, unlike healthy customers. This inconsistency also led to varying UI designs across flows, creating confusion, and accumulating technical and design debt that was difficult to maintain.
Insight #2: Poor user awareness
Customers were unaware they were creating accounts when saving progress or leaving contact details, as the registration form was disguised as a lead form. Additionally, they didn’t know how to log in unless prompted by a notification, leading to frustration and drop-offs.
Insight #3: Missed opportunities
The lack of a robust registration process blocked potential features, such as identifying high-intent buyers and generating qualified leads. It also limited opportunities like offering health vouchers before insurance applications.
iterations
Challenges
While enabling password creation during registration seemed simple, we realized it would disrupt the entire authentication flow. To explore solutions, I led a two-part workshop: problem-finding and solution-finding. We mapped the account creation journey, uncovering some key issues:
Iteration 1: Incentivizing Account Creation
Customers lacked motivation to create accounts because the benefits weren’t clearly communicated. To address this, I designed a pop-up before users exited the journey, explicitly stating the advantages of account creation. Additionally, I developed Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) frameworks to better understand user motivations and align the messaging with their needs.
Iteration 2: General Flows vs. Domain-Specific Flows
Some flows required users to return to where they left off, while others didn’t, creating confusion about where to go after account creation. I solved this by adding visual cues to confirm successful account creation and guide users to the correct page based on their specific flow.
Iteration 3: Unifying top navigation bars
The top navigation bar's design varied across platforms and devices. My initial design did not address this so I had to standardize it for the application portal to ensure consistency. I decided to keep it consistent with our application start page.
solution
Introducing a site-wide authentication experience
1 - Clear account creation screen
2 - "Bowtie-branded" authentication screens
3 - Seamless account creation process
impact
✦ Reduced number of complaints by 100%!!!
Before this project, majority of customer complaints centered around account creation and logging in. Since the launch, complaints around authentication have disappeared, allowing the customer service team to handle more complex inquires.
✦ Opened doors for more ambitious flows
Previously, customers could only create an account by submitting an application. With this launch, customers can register from anytime which opens doors to stronger lead-generation content, alternative sign-up flows, and exclusive health voucher discounts and streamlining access across all platforms.
✦ Kickstarted the tracking authentication performance to continue improvements
The original authentication flow lacked proper tracking, slowing down our ideation process and making it hard to measure success. I collaborated with engineers to implement analytics, enabling us to track key metrics like account creation and dropoff rates—helping us refine the experience.
✦ Nudge B2B teams to improve authentication UX
B2B platforms face the same flaws in the authentication experience. Since the launch, B2B and B2C engineering teams are motivated to discuss how we can align the experiences.