Page 26 - Insurance Times March 2021

products or offers should be added in their marketing The bulk of these solutions are fuelled by use of artificial
activities. intelligence. It's not wrong to say that AI is beginning to play
a key role in enabling insurtech start-ups to bring 'smartness'
Artificial intelligence is increasingly going to allow consumers to insurance. However, not all types of AI techniques can
to derive better value from their communication with the add value to insurance processes in the same way. In order
insurer's interface. AI-powered service executives and to understand the role of AI, we need to understand what
advisor bots, for instance, can be leveraged to offer AI is and what it is not. Contrary to general perception, all
consistent counseling, recommendation and post-sales AI techniques don't automatically learn from the data.
services to customers. It's all about using automation
efficiently for simple, repetitive tasks and simple questions, How is Artificial Intelligence in Insurance
whilst bringing in human help, such as a human claims
handler for more complex tasks, where they can add more addressing key challenges?
value. To be competitive, insurance companies need more
customer insights, and the ability to turn these insights into
Faster settlement of claims: actions, which requires focused effort and expertise. Many
insurance companies struggle in this area which is why
The world is changing and insurance is changing with it. This
change is being driven by customer expectation and insurtech start-ups play a key role. They are able to move
faster and identify these gaps and provide solutions. The
technological advancement. Filing a claim has traditionally
insurance industry, after the trade market, is another sector
been time consuming, usually requiring human intervention
and manual form filling. It is a part of the workflow that is where it is hard to predict the next big paradigm shift.
ripe for generating efficiencies through greater digitization Given the tentative stability and natural catastrophes,
of processes. It is also the element of contact with the insurance companies often stand on a trembling ground and
confront massive challenges, even when it comes to
consumer where the insurer can really enhance their brand
adopting seamless and intuitive digital solutions such as
and create a positive experience through data knowledge.
Artificial Intelligence in Insurance.
This potential to create productivity gains through
automated processing is a global phenomenon and it's an The greatest concerns that loom over the insurance sector
area where insurance has tended to fall behind other today are the subdued premium rate, mild interest rates,
industries such as telecoms or airlines. With touchless claims shifting consumer behavior, slow economic growth, need for
or low-touch claims requiring minimal human intervention regulations and technological innovations and blazing
a new claim can in many cases be stratified and scored market competition. What boosts optimism, though, for
instantly and respective damages validated. Customers these insurance companies amid much disruptive chaos is
benefit from a better and faster experience without having the fact that digital revolution is everywhere, increasingly
to go through the proverbial 'red tape'. The elements of transforming conventional business models and adopting
fraud, waste or abuse can be made more visible by such data digital solutions such as:
enrichment in the claims process. Y Bot-based advice system
Y Pay-as-you-go commerce
AI and algorithms can be used to sort claims, dissect
Y GPS-sensing software
aberrations in data patterns and single out spurious claims.
The machine learns from past patterns of fraud, across a Y Automated business processes
claims database of the market that is as wide as possible,
and is able to apply this predictive analytics to current Over the last two years, there has been the widespread
claims. Once the claims are sorted and stratified, the human advent and adoption of AI across multiple industries. Many
resources of the claims handler can be applied to those global financial companies and banks in those days relied on
cases where the benefit is greatest, such as the larger punch card and basic computing system to monitor customer
complex claims and those requiring a challenge or most activities. Hence, the concept of Artificial Intelligence in the
likely to result in costly legal action. In conclusion, when Insurance industry analyzing data, anticipating results and
leveraged at the right points in the insurance workflow, and helping with decision making is not so far fetched after all.
powered by enough data, AI can bring many efficiencies and AI could help insurance companies deliver service with
process improvements. efficiency and quality as it has done for major leaders in other

26 The Insurance Times, March 2021