Frist Notice of loss

Overview

The First Notice of Loss (FNOL) experience serves as the entry point into Prudential’s life insurance claims process. The goal was to create a digital experience that allowed beneficiaries and representatives to begin a claim without contacting a service representative during one of the most emotionally difficult moments in their lives.

The challenge extended beyond digitization. The experience needed to balance empathy and efficiency while supporting multiple user types with significantly different goals, motivations, and information needs.

Through thoughtful experience design, persona-driven workflows, and cross-functional collaboration, the team delivered a streamlined digital claims experience that reduced friction for customers while creating a foundation for future automation efforts.

Business Context

First Notice of Loss represented the highest-volume claims transaction within Prudential’s ecosystem and was one of the few experiences available to users without requiring an authenticated account.

Historically, initiating a claim often required contacting a representative, navigating lengthy wait times, and providing information during an emotionally stressful event. Prudential sought to modernize this process by creating a self-service experience that was accessible, empathetic, and efficient.

The initial MVP focused on digitizing claim intake and reducing customer effort, while parallel work streams focused on Straight Through Processing (STP), policy validation, and downstream automation capabilities.

Leadership Scope

An initial design concept had been developed by another Salesforce team; however, implementation challenges quickly emerged.

The proposed solution relied heavily on custom development and diverged from the standards established within Prudential’s evolving design system. To ensure long-term scalability and consistency, the initiative was reassigned for redesign and implementation.

As a Design Manager and Salesforce Design System lead, I served as a subject matter expert throughout the effort, helping teams balance customer experience goals with platform constraints, design system governance, and implementation feasibility.

My role focused on:

• Design system alignment and governance

• Cross-functional stakeholder consultation

• Custom development review and risk mitigation

• Experience strategy across multiple user personas

• Coaching teams on scalable design approaches

Designing for Different Moments

One of the earliest discoveries was that not all users entered the experience with the same emotional mindset.

A grieving spouse, child, or parent approaches the process very differently than an attorney, power of attorney representative, or funeral home professional.

Rather than forcing all users through a single experience, we designed two distinct pathways optimized for their unique needs and expectations.

Empathic Flow

The Empathetic Path was designed for family members and beneficiaries navigating the loss of a loved one.

Research indicated that these users often experienced elevated cognitive load, reduced confidence, and difficulty processing large amounts of information during the claims process. Because Salesforce limitations prevented users from easily saving and returning to the experience, reducing friction became a primary design objective.

The experience focused on:

• Minimizing unnecessary questions

• Eliminating duplicate data collection

• Grouping related information into logical sections

• Reducing cognitive burden through progressive disclosure

• Providing reassurance throughout the process

Direct Flow

The Direct Path was designed for professional users, including attorneys, powers of attorney, financial representatives, and funeral home personnel.

Working closely with Prudential’s Journey Management team, we identified a very different set of expectations among these users. Their primary objective was speed, efficiency, and data submission rather than emotional support.

Impact and Outcomes

“Designing a payment flow is straightforward. Designing for someone who has just lost a loved one is not.

This initiative challenged our team to think beyond forms, workflows, and data collection. It required us to understand how grief impacts decision-making, attention, and confidence. The experience reinforced my belief that great design is not simply about helping users complete tasks—it's about helping people navigate important moments with clarity, confidence, and dignity.”