25% Faster Call Handling, 1.8x More Outbound Calls: How AI Search Transformed an Insurance Call Center

SBI Ikiiki Small Amount Short-Term Insurance Co., Ltd.

Insurance·1-500 employees·Internal Helpdesk

25% Faster Call Handling, 1.8x More Outbound Calls: How AI Search Transformed an Insurance Call Center

At a glance

• Average handling time cut 25% (8 min → 6 min per call)
• Outbound call volume increased to 1.8x previous levels
• Knowledge base consolidated from 8,000 items to 300 essential articles (less than 5%)

The Challenge

SBI Ikiiki Small Amount Short-Term Insurance holds approximately 100,000 policies covering death, medical, and nursing care. Their call center operators faced a critical information problem: policy documents, terms and conditions, and operational knowledge were scattered across teams in separate spreadsheets and PDFs, with no standardized approach.

When customers called with questions, operators often didn't have the right information at hand. If an inquiry fell within another team's scope, the operator couldn't respond immediately. Customers were put on hold while the operator checked with a supervisor, or were promised a callback. For operators who did need to look up policy details, the process meant opening multiple PDFs and scrolling through dense documents or flipping through stacks of paper, hunting for the right section while a customer waited on the line.

The fragmented knowledge environment created stress for operators, frustration for customers, and limited the center's ability to do anything beyond handling inbound volume.

Why Helpfeel

The call center needed to centralize information across all teams so every operator could answer any customer question accurately and immediately. SBI Ikiiki was already using Helpfeel as their customer-facing FAQ on the company website, so the team knew how user-friendly the interface was. Using the same tool internally would keep management costs down, and the editing interface required no specialized knowledge and reflected changes in real time. The team could operate it themselves without relying on IT resources.

Helpfeel's PDF Search feature was particularly compelling: operators could search across all policy documents and navigate directly to the relevant page within a PDF, similar to arriving at a FAQ page through a search, eliminating the need to scroll through long documents.

What They Did

• Consolidated scattered knowledge: The team aggregated all knowledge stored across teams in the Business Center, totaling 8,000 items. After eliminating duplicates, outdated information, and edge-case content, they narrowed it down to approximately 300 essential items, less than 5% of the original volume.
• Built operator adoption habits: Supervisors pointed operators to relevant FAQ articles during escalations and advised them on effective search terms. They tracked adoption by monitoring each operator's FAQ access frequency, search count, and article views.
• Embedded tables and PDFs: Using Helpfeel's extension features, the team embedded tables and PDFs directly within FAQ articles, making content more readable. Operators could use Ctrl+F to instantly search for specific information within an article even while on a call with a customer.
• Deployed PDF Search for policy documents: All policy documents and manuals became searchable in one place, with direct access to the relevant section within each PDF. The feature eliminated the need to open multiple files and scroll through long documents.
• Gathered continuous feedback: Using Helpfeel's Feedback feature, individual operators could submit improvement suggestions whenever they noticed something, rather than requiring organized feedback collection sessions.

Results

Call handling time dropped immediately. Previously, when a customer inquiry required identifying the relevant policy document or manual, operators had to open multiple PDFs and search through them, or flip through large stacks of paper. With PDF Search, average handling time per call dropped from 8 minutes to 6 minutes, a 25% reduction and a maximum saving of 2 minutes per call.

Escalations to supervisors shifted in character. Simple questions decreased noticeably. When escalations did occur, instead of a vague "I don't know, can you help me?" operators now came to supervisors having already looked it up in the FAQ, asking "Is this correct?" Customers received accurate answers without being kept waiting, and operators grew more confident in their own skills.

Operators began using downtime between calls to search the FAQ and learn on their own. Previously, supervisors were spending significant time giving individual coaching sessions. Now, operators proactively developed their own skills. Operators also began helping each other through the FAQ. When a supervisor wasn't present and one operator had a question, another operator would show them the relevant FAQ article.

The efficiency gains freed up senior operators' time for outbound activity, proactively calling customers to introduce new plans and provide personalized guidance. Outbound call volume grew to approximately 1.8 times its previous level, enabling more attentive customer outreach.

"Implementing Helpfeel was more than just adopting a tool. It planted a new culture of knowledge sharing in our Business Center. Going forward, Helpfeel will serve as the foundation for creating better experiences for both customers and operators alike."

Momoko Hidaka, Deputy Center Manager, Business Center, Customer Service Division

Looking Ahead

The team is working toward eliminating the need for escalations to supervisors entirely, a state where every operator can resolve uncertainty through the FAQ alone. Customers often ask hypothetical "what if" questions, and the goal is for the knowledge base to handle even irregular questions entirely through Helpfeel.

The immediate next step is consolidating all remaining information into Helpfeel, creating an environment where operators can handle any customer inquiry without needing to open other files or tools. When all the knowledge in the Business Center is in one FAQ, even new employees will have access to the same level of knowledge as veterans. The goal is to make it possible for new employees to provide high-quality responses to customer inquiries from day one.

“Implementing Helpfeel was more than just adopting a tool. It planted a new culture of knowledge sharing in our Business Center. Going forward, Helpfeel will serve as the foundation for creating better experiences for both customers and operators alike.”

— Momoko Hidaka, Deputy Center Manager, Business Center, Customer Service Division