Top 3 Ways Technology is Impacting the Insurance Industry

In the modern-day, the impact that technology has on business operations is undeniable – no matter what industry the organisation is in. Allowing employees to be more productive and deliver a more personalised product to consumers, it’s not something that should be ignored. 

Over the last few years, the global insurance industry has started to advance by utilising the benefits that come with updating their technology. Noticing the importance of customer expectations, many businesses are stepping away from the traditional processes in favour of the contemporary. However, not all insurance companies are keeping up with the advancement – which has led to them collaborating with long-established insurtech organisations or an insurtech startup. 

If you work within the industry and are still getting your head around the digitisation, here are the top 3 ways that technology is transforming the sector:

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

It’s no secret that artificial intelligence is rapidly taking over the world. And paired with automation, it’s developing the way that insurance companies operate. Why? Well there are many advantages that come with implementing an AI system into your business, including the fact that they:

• Decrease the time it takes to handle claims – offering a better quality process, AI algorithms are designed to search through data and identify any errors within it. Saving your business time and money in the long run, it will give your employees more time to spend on other aspects of the business. 
• As well as data entry and property assessment, automation assists employees with complex tasks which will streamline the process. The reliability and accuracy of these processes will also help to cut down redundancy in the long term.

Chatbots

Under the umbrella of AI, chatbots have started to be used by 1000’s of insurance companies around the world. Offering customers personalised interactions, they ensure that the current workforce is more productive. They also save businesses money as less needs to be spent on hiring.

Machine Learning 

Machine learning is a development in technology which can reduce the chance of fraud in claims data, suspicious activity in payment systems and can help to expedite the process of underwriting. Using new tools and techniques, it can prove to be invaluable to insurance companies.

Partnering with an Insurtech 

As mentioned above, the collaboration between traditional insurers and insurtech firms is on the rise. With the latter showing a significant development in cyber, home and vehicle insurance, long-established insurance businesses are seeing the technology capabilities that they have and are starting to pair with them. Ensuring that they keep up with the ever-increasing demand for state-of-the-art products and services, this partnership is becoming essential for many. 

But it’s not only the traditional insurers that benefit from this collaboration. Insurtech businesses will in return get access to funding, expertise and large customer bases – which will give them higher profitability in the long run. 

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

Almost everyone knows the impact that AR and VR have within the world of business. Providing better experiences for customers, assisting with employee training and enhancing the way that employees carry out daily tasks, they are both now being utilised within the world of insurance – examples of which being:

• Using VR for digital consultations, determining the accuracy of a claim with virtual driving tests, etc. 
• To offer ‘real-life’ scenarios to help with the training of underwriters. 
• AR games/tutorials – invaluable marketing tools which can be used to reduce training costs, enhance the experience and gather useful customer insights. 

Final Thoughts

Of course, those are just three ways that technology is impacting the industry. On top of what is mentioned above, technology also opens the gate to predictive analytics and valuable insights into data analytics and the Internet of Things (which offers location-based sensors, telematics, blockchain etc.).

 It’s clear that the way that it’s impacting the industry will continue to develop as new processes and software is introduced. So only time will tell as to how many insurers will take the leap and go fully digital. One thing’s for certain, however, and that is that the benefits that come with technology will be invaluable for future growth.