How is Technology Changing Customer Expectations in the Insurance Industry?

With competition on the rise, customers expect more convenience in managing their insurance policies, and more importantly, without the minimum disruption of the insurers. Aryana Simpsons, Senior Business Associate, Insurance Support World shares how use of technology makes the insurance process faster and convenient

The technological trends in diversified businesses are making the customers more satisfied, eventually changing their expectation levels for the better. When the insurance business embarked upon its technological journey, customers were in awe of its new move. Now that the customers are being offered enhanced satisfaction and experience owing to competition amongst the insurance firms, their expectations are changing like anything.

It is imperative for the brokerages and agencies to understand the customer expectations in the present modern scenario and know how technology can help them to not only meet but go past these expectations in the best possible way. An extensive guide needs to be put in place for the insurers to understand the work evolution and incorporate vital measures to make significant changes, if any.

TOP  FIVE TECHNOLOGIES  TRANSFORMING THE INSURANCE SECTOR 

New technologies emerge with every passing year but not each and every technology creates an impact so positive that it leads to a change in the working of an insurance organization. However, some technologies have definitely hit the bull’s eye in this regard:

1. Blockchain

The distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain has already garnered worldwide recognition and is used in the insurance industry at large. With the help of blockchain technology, data is stored in the decentralized form, which can be accessed only through verified login credentials. It is completely secure to save important insurance information in the blockchain like medical records, insurance policies, and more.

2. Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is a technology which makes the Internet connected to the non-traditional objects. Some of its good examples include a connected smart refrigerator, car, smart watches, and more, along with its major uses explained below:-

• Tracking Vehicle

For auto insurance, IoT is a boon with carrier setting precise information regarding a vehicle’s position, mileage and driving habits. Problems related to the maintenance can be detected and insurance policy adjusted, in case problems do not find a solution.

• Biometrics

When it comes to people, wearable pedometers, sensors for heart rate, and other sophisticated tools can be used to assess the health of a person. In extreme cases, these devices can alarm the insured people of a medical condition for which they might have to visit the hospital.

• Sensing Weather

The insurance models can be integrated with detectable environment factors such as fire, rain, and snow. The policyholders can be warned against the rise of such disturbing factors, and the rates can be revised in case nothing of this sort happens, eventually leading to decreased rates and an overall beneficial situation for both the customers and the insurance firms.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The number of applications that are using artificial intelligence in the insurance industry is growing at a great pace. Chatbots have been really successful in terms of AI usage in the past and are surely going to stay for long. An AI insurance agent makes the experience of a prospect personalized by drawing on his social media information and physical location easily, leading to a better chance of a conversion.

4. Automation

Automation has lowered the human efforts and enhanced work productivity in the following ways:-

• Investigating the Claims

The automation tools go one step further than you would have assumed after reading its above functionalities. These tools are capable of clicking a picture of the car accident, and recommend a rough estimate of the loss or repair before the assessment of any person, explains a provider of claims administration services.

• Self-Service for Clients

Due to the decreased rate of patience in the customers, providing them with an option to update their information, which further requires human verification is something problematic. The solution to this is met by automation wherein the information entered by the customers is updated automatically.

• Managing Documents

With the help of smart management and OCR, repair bills, policies, and all the other vital documents can not only be scanned but also filed to the relevant account holder. Despite the fact that a lot of paper is generated in the insurance sector, there is no need to have an office due to this smart technique.

5. Big Data Analytics

If there is one thing which holds maximum importance in the insurance industry, it is nothing but the data. From driving habits to medical records, a lot of data points are taken into consideration for the calculation of premiums and payouts. With big data, the task of assessing the claims with respect to the location, age, and other personal information can be automated easily. The risk calculation becomes more precise, resulting in premium payment to occur most probably close to the real risk.

• The Online Access Importance

Customers look forward to manage their tasks on their own, especially when it comes to monitoring their policies or insurance claims management. They do not want to go through the hurdle of calling someone and getting assisted in doing the same thing, which demands more efforts and time from their side. The use of technology benefits the customers by letting them have service flexibility of making the basic changes to their account. It is also beneficial for the employees as they do not have to deal with such minute tasks anymore.

CONCLUSION

The use of technology ensures error-free processing of the insurance tasks, along with providing convenience to the customers. So, all the mid and large-sized insurance firms need to incorporate such technologies and benefit themselves as well as the customers.