The Essential Role of Automation in Modern Insurance

Insurance may have begun in Babylon in 3000 BC, but it’s come a long way since a ship’s cargo was used as guarantee on a loan. Now the industry is struggling to keep up with new technologies and finding it hard to recruit new talent. Here we look at how automation can help with both these issues.

The Evolution of the Insurance Sector

In the past, insurance has been based on paper. Up until recently it’s been all about paper contracts, paper documents proving claims, and folders going from desk to desk before ending up in a filing cabinet.

However, the industry is changing. Insurtech startups have popped up to shake up the industry, and the pandemic forced large companies to switch to digital processes. Now we’re seeing a rise in the number of companies incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA). This movement is being pushed by the need for more efficiency due to the lack of new employees joining the industry, and customers increasingly high expectations.

Automation as a Response to Talent Shortages

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in the next 15 years, 50% of the current insurance workforce will retire, leaving more than 400,000 open positions unfilled. Currently, less than 25% of the industry is under the age of 35. Attracting new talent to an industry that is perceived as boring is a challenge. This difficulty puts current staff under more pressure as they are stretched thin, increasing the likelihood of burnout. 

By implementing automation, you increase satisfaction among current employees and new recruits. By freeing up staff to focus on more strategic tasks, and leaving automation to deal with manual, repetitive processes, you’ll encourage them to grow and upskill.

Customer Expectations in the Digital Age

80% of customers will switch to a competitor after more than one bad experience with a business.

When reaching out to customer support, clients expect a fast, personalized experience. They don’t want to be kept on hold or be transferred to another department and have to repeat themselves.

Customers are obliged to give over their data, they know calls are recorded, so they feel frustrated when that information isn’t used and their time is wasted.

You can use automation to help before clients pick up the phone and call. Including an AI chatbot on your website is a great way to automate customer service. It can help direct clients to find the answers to simple questions.

You can also use generative AI chatbots on phone lines. When a customer calls, a self-service AI tool can sort and field questions, solving simple problems efficiently and transferring clients to human support agents when their issue is more complex. 

Personalizing Insurance with Automation

Risk assessment is the basis of insurance and automation and artificial intelligence are the new ways to measure it. AI can also go one step further and rather than analyzing the median risk for broad data groups, it can take that information and adjust for each person. 

For instance, if a digital nomad was applying for life insurance, AI could analyze the person’s lifestyle and suggest life, travel, and electronics insurance bundled up into one package to provide them with an all-inclusive, hyper-personalized offer. 

For a human to analyze each new customer would take a very long time. AI can analyze massive amounts of data and provide a hyper-personalized recommendation within minutes. With this tool, your business can grow exponentially and keep surpassing customer expectation.

Use Automation to Improve Underwriting Efficiency

Using automated underwriting systems (AUS), you can analyze all the necessary data for underwriting in minutes. It will come back with an accurate, efficient report that can be followed or consulted during the underwriting process. Your improved speed will increase customer satisfaction and free up your employees. The rules that your AUS follows are defined by your company, so your analysts gain a top-speed assistant.

How Automation Transforms Claims Processing

You can streamline your claims processing by automating your processes. Imagine all the information that you require to process a claim being in one place - all documents, statements, and proof. So that you can analyze and share all the information easily. 

By using software to process recorded statements, that automatically uploads to the cloud and shares it with your claims management system you save time and improve efficiency.

Sustainable Growth Through Intelligent Automation

Without automating, you risk a diminishing, unfulfilled workforce. The insurance industry is currently facing a talent crisis, as we said above, over 75% of the workforce is over 55. 

If you don’t automate manual work, such as invoicing, data entry, and processing payments you will overwhelm your employees. Take advantage of the tools that exist to free up your analysts to focus on strategic work that will bring them satisfaction and grow your business.

Simplifying Insurance using Automation

Automating the claims process can come at different levels. You can reduce human intervention, as mentioned above using software. In this way, you ensure that processes are correctly followed and invoices and other key documents sent efficiently. Especially if you choose systems that integrate with others you save time. 

For instance, your recording software links to your claims management system that sends information to your billing tool. In this way, you don’t need to waste time copying and pasting and manual tasks get done faster.

You can also use AI software to automate assigning claims, it can analyze who has the least claims, or the most expertise and assign them new cases automatically based on rules that you set.

How to Navigate Regulatory Compliance with Automation?

Working with insurance in the US is complex, as each state has its own regulations to protect consumers and ensure fair markets. By embracing automation and AI, you can ensure that you’re always compliant with all laws in all your markets.

Regulatory compliance is made easier with AI as it can do your monitoring and audits automatically. It can flag any claim or process that doesn’t meet regulatory requirements so that adjusters can fix it quickly. 

Ensuring Data Security with Automated Insurance Processes

When analyzing any software or AI solution, ensuring that your data is fully secure is key. In insurance you deal with highly sensitive information, and you cannot protect that data enough.

Firstly, you need ensure that the solution you’re considering is fully encrypted. That means that your data is protected in transit and at rest.

Secondly, it must have access control. That means that only authorized people can access the information. So an intern may be able to login and see some key pieces of information, but their manager will have access to edit that information if needed.

Finally, it must have activity monitoring at all times. Any unusual activity must be flagged to protect from potential breaches.

Security should be part of your software’s design from the beginning, not added in as a last resort. For example, at n2uitive, we designed our software to have enterprise-grade security systems in place. 

The Future Is Automated: Embracing Change in Insurance

Automating processes, using AI in customer support and to create hyperpersonalized insurance offers. The future of insurance is exciting, despite its challenges.

Exploring the available softwares that can increase your productivity and decrease your costs are essential to the continued success of your business.

We are the industry-leading recorded statement lifecycle management solution, purpose-built for insurance claim professionals, by insurance professionals. n2uitive streamlines and standardizes your processes, allowing you to improve productivity by 30%. 

Get one centralized platform to record, review, store, share, and transcribe statements, all under one login. We automate your recorded statements and integrate with Guidewire and Allegis to improve your efficiency and save you time.

Get in touch with us today.