By – Preethi Menon, VP & Head – Practices, Clover Infotech InsureTech is ensuring optimum customer experienc
What can an insurance company achieve in a few seconds?
New Delhi, May 08, 2018: A few years ago, the answer would have been “nothing!”But, today the answer could vary from giving out policy information or gathering a lead to even settling a claim. Yes, you read that right. Lemonade, an insurance agency has claimed to set a world record by taking an unbelievable 3-second period to settle a claim through its AI-powered bot, Jim,something that used to take days or even weeks to accomplish. Jim processed the claim in a couple of blinks – in which he registered the claim, processed the details, verified the policy, regulations and compliance guidelines, sent a wiring instruction to the bank and also informed the customer that the claim has been settled! This is how far the insurance industry has come, receiving a welcome thrust from insuretech.
Every aspect of digital has been a crucial contributor in transforming the way people buy and use insurance products. And it is not just your smartphone. A lot of other digital aspects have made an impact and eased interactions, claim process and settlements. Let’s look at some of these digital aspects and how they have changed the world of insurance as vital enablers.
Mobile:
Mobile has been displacing other digital platforms/forms and quickly forming the nucleus of all digital transformations. Be it mobile applications, chatbots, Social Media, Service via SMS, etc., mobile often gets the center-stage with other platforms and devices also making pivotal contributions.
Smartphones have brought customers and businesses closer than ever before. Information, products and support are just a few taps away with some insurance companies even using mobile apps as the primary way to do business. What it has also resulted in is the elimination of tedious and tiring paperwork, multiple visits to the insurance office and the cumbersome and time-consuming claims process.Most importantly,smart phones have provided customers with the freedom of access and ease on-the-go or from the comforts of their homes or workplaces. Now customers could simply click their picture or of their properties to be insured, share digital copies of their documents, make digital payments and even request a claim in a single touch, thus enabling them to go through the entire product lifecycle on their smartphones.
Smartphones have immensely contributed in connecting peers and small buyers. It also gives you access to quick and contextual products such getting an on-demand car protection by sending an SMS just before hitting the road for a week-long road trip.
It hasalso enabled peer-to-peer insurance buyers to connect, communicate, track and settle claims with ease. As a result, insurance companies have been able to sellmore units of small coverinsurances as opposed to getting very few but large cover insurances.
Machine Learning (ML) & Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Much like Jim, the AI-powered bot used by Lemonade, machine learning has made business interactions easier, faster and more accurate for the customers. With new enhancements in these technologies each day, businesses are augmenting customer experience with every interaction. Leveraging them, companies can not only target customers better and offer them more relevant products, but also make the entire process quick and simple. Like Jim was able to register, analyze and settle a claim in just 3 seconds, it certainly is a testimony of the fact that with ML and AI, customer experience is scaling heights we didn’t even know existed.The document handling and processing time, cross-referencing and payout time have reduced considerably due to minimal human intervention and the lack of errors and obstacles.
Chatbots:
With chatbots quickly replacing humans for repetitive and mundane tasks, they have become a desirable option for businesses to optimize their resources and enhance customer interactions. Bots are enabling insurance companies to provide unbiased, error-free and accurate information and resolution round the clock.Our comfort and preference of using chat functions on our smartphones has only added to the benefits of deploying chat bots. With customers having the luxury of seeking information, documents and even raising service requests 24×7, chat bots are certainly creating a niche for themselves as the best customer service agents. They are not only improving the way businesses collect accurate data, but are also facilitating cross-selling or up-selling by leveraging customer data, personal preferences and buying patterns.
The way we perceive the insurance industry has been transformed by innovations and digital enablement. Gone are the days when getting insurance was a complicated and tedious task. InsureTech has made the entire process user-friendly and exciting with minimal paperwork, diverse and tailor-made offerings, increased service coverage and availability. It has empoweredinsurance companies at every stage of the product lifecycle through better targeting, easy information availability, faster and accurate documentation and information capturing, and a giant leap in the claims settling process. It is something customers have always dreaded and turned into a deciding factor while choosing an insurance provider. With the advent of more technologies, insurance,one of the oldest businesses in the world, has assured a bright future for itself.
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
