A Must-Have Policy for Insurance Industry: Automation

Today, technology determines how customers interact with companies and defines their perception of them. The insurance industry is no exception. A 2020 PwC survey found that 41% of interviewees stated they could change insurance companies due to the lack of digital capabilities in their service.
There is no doubt that the core of the insurance industry is people, as it groups millions of companies whose objectives are focused on the well-being of their clients. Sometimes, however, the CX with insurance companies can turn into a nightmare. As this Forbes article claims that, poor customer service, delays in responding to requests and cumbersome procedures are some of the most common problems.

How will automation affect insurance?

Here are a few expected benefits:

• AI-powered solutions don’t have the similar performance problems as the human workforce. Unlike humans, robots (virtual assistants) can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without taking a vacation or getting sick.
• AI-powered software can solve routine problems in a short while. This also eliminates possible human-induced errors in routine processes. With automation, employees can find time to focus on more strategic tasks instead of routine, repetitive tasks. In this way, employees can contribute more to their companies during working hours.
• Automation provides higher performance during busy periods, allowing businesses to run smoothly without the need for overtime pay. Besides, bots leave a perfect inspection trail behind them. This level of the registration system is critical for national and international legislation.

According to the article by Workfusion, successful implementation of an intelligent automation program can be incredibly beneficial for an insurance company, potentially allowing an enterprise to:

• Bring down the cost of automated job functions by 30–40%, while doubling their efficiency
• Achieve up to 80–90% accuracy improvement
• Save thousands of work hours annually
• Speed services delivery by up to 80%
• Free up to 30% capacity at the enterprise level
• Increase overall business productivity and profitability by up to 50%
• Reach up to 100% regulatory compliance

Success Case: “GUPI” The Virtual Assistant by Groupama Turkiye

As Sestek, we help companies use AI to automate customer-related processes, increase self-service rates and cut down their operational costs. We also focus on developing automation solutions for the insurance industry.
GUPI Virtual Assistant, which we developed for Groupama Turkey, the global insurance company operating in Turkey since 2009, is one of the successful projects we have implemented.
Groupama customers now can self-serve by interacting with GUPI as if they are talking or chatting with a live agent 24/7. With its high accuracy rate, GUPI achieved a significant success by 24 % of decrease in operational workload.
The achievements are unique in terms of the scope of GUPI’s capabilities to answer the customers’ demands and the level of personalization of the answers provided. The service channels are website www.groupama.com.tr, and customer service hotline (0850 250 50 50).
The capabilities and services provided are :

• Policy enquiries (types and limits of coverages, premiums, and collection information)
• Pre-claim notifications
• Claims enquiries (status of the claim file, expert information, payment information)
• Contact information for repair shops and hospitals.
• Contact information for assistance services.

The performance is demonstrated by the inputs below:

• GUPI performed with market-leading 96% speech recognition accuracy and 94% intent recognition accuracy for sentimental analysis.
• 24 % of decrease in operational workload was detected
• GUPI answered 17% of customer inquiries done during out-of-working hours.
• GUPI helped decrease 12% in non-FCR issues (non-First Call Resolution) at the Call Center
• 7% decrease in the number of calls was detected while the number of claim files opened by the call center has increased by 12%
• The project achieved cost saving of 3 full-time equivalent (personnel cost-saving of 3 agents)

For more information you may read our Groupama success case and watch the video of GUPI Virtual Assistant.

Insurance Industry in 10 years

Rapid advances in technology in the next decade will lead to disruptive changes in the insurance industry. The winners will be the ones that use new technologies to create innovative products, harness cognitive learning insights from new data sources, streamline processes and lower costs, and exceed customer expectations for individualization and dynamic adaptation. Discussing the near future of the insurance industry, this article by McKinsey claims that, most important, carriers that adopt a mindset focused on creating opportunities from disruptive technologies—instead of viewing them as a threat to their current business—will thrive in the insurance industry in 2030.

AI-powered automation comes to the insurance companies as a lifesaver — an injection of speed and efficiency to modernize workflows, boost productivity and completely revolutionize the user experience. Companies operating in this field are taking majors risks by not incorporating technological solutions into their business processes. The road ahead with less obstacles is the one where they embrace the developments in the digital field and restructure their business processes accordingly.