Answering Insurance Questions

Overview

Progressive Answers is a self-serve content hub that simplifies the complex world of insurance. It provides clear, jargon-free answers to help users make confident insurance decisions—whether they’re shopping for policies, understanding coverage, or filing claims. The first version was released to help increase organic quote starts on Progressive.com, this version aimed to revisit and reduce friction points within the experience.

Problem

The primary challenge faced was poor discoverability and navigation on the website, resulting in a high bounce rate of users arriving from Google to articles and promptly leaving. The homepage lacked effectiveness, and the absence of category pages further compounded the issue, hindering users' ability to explore and find relevant content

Key insights from user testing

1. Users tend to go back to their search engine instead of staying at insurer’s site to address new topics.

2. Users unaware of, but appreciate, Answers. An FAQ page was expected but the article library was not. Header navigation of “Answers” unclear on Progressive.com.

3. Opportunity to improve Search functionality on Progressive.com as well as within Answers to yield more accurate results.

Card sort study findings

50 topics with descriptions from Progressive Answers were provided for participants to organize into groups that make sense for finding the information in a redesigned site other than “By Product.”

1. By Product categories remained the dominant mental model. Of the 106 participants, 63% still categorized the cards this way.

2. Other categories included: Categorizing by Questions, How To’s, Tools, Education/Learning, General/Basic Info, Specific Info/Questions, Tools , or People/Family Related, Vehicle/Transportation Related, Home/Possessions Related, All Others

Content strategy and wire-framing

Defining how to navigate Answers based on usability findings

Answers Homepage Version 1, Curated Journey
Here we promote the depth and breadth of Answers through a curated journey. This journey starts with broad categories and as a users scrolls down the page gets more refined in how the content is organized—setting the stage to the entire site structure.

Answers Homepage Version 2, Path to Answers
This version aims to simplify the path to an answer by using products & topics as entry points. It relies on establishing a clear and distinct organization of content that will efficiently guide users deeper into the site where users will benefit from the additional functionality on those pages.

UI Design Concepts

Creating a unique identity within the overarching Progressive.com architecture

V1: Curated Journey
A familiar grid structure, type scale and modular approach that made the Progressive.com Redesign a success—but adding in branded Answers elements and trying a darker UI throughout gives this experience it’s own flavor while still feeling like part of the Progressive family.

V2 Path to Answers
Keeping the visuals light and airy create a sense of unity and familiarity between the two experiences. The colors maintain their bright and playful nature, keeping with the original essence of Answers.

Final Designs

Ultimately, the broader team of stakeholders decided the more simple and airy approach presented in the Path to Answers wireframe was the best route to go. When it came to the UI, many felt the dark interface felt too heavy and preferred the lighter version with weaving in moments of the dark. See it live here!

Outcome

The navigation and categorization issues are solved by high level buckets of information for users to scan and understand from the homepage. There’s more context into what Answers is, allowing a more clear guided experience for users.