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Ralph Chapman
Vice President, Financial Services
IBM Canada
There is this whole concept of improving customer engagement and experience.
We are finding that in some instances, the turnaround time is going from days to minutes – getting
quotes, getting approval, process it, and you’re done. A lot of insurance companies are starting to realize that they’ve got to pick it up. They are seeing threats from other market entrants with non-traditional business models – folks like Amazon, for example. So there is definitely some disruption going on.
Some are deploying what we would call artificial intelligence virtual assistants. In that scenario, you are taking the personal interaction out of the process, at least initially. You are making it more efficient and making it more self-serve from a client perspective. Your clients can ask questions, file a notice
of loss, check on payments or claims status, get quotes – all of the things that would normally involve human interaction and taking a lot of time from start to finish.
These processes are becoming automated because insurance companies will have the ability to leverage these cognitive platforms. That’s a trend we are seeing.
Chris Cornell National Sector Leader, Insurance
KPMG Canada
Brokers are trying to get better insights into the data that insurance companies have, such as telemat- ics, for example.
It is conceivable that a broker would look at a client’s driving data, gleaned from telematics, and then call the customer and say something like, ‘If you change your driving behavior this way, you might get an opportunity for a better discount.’ As a broker, you would have the information available to you in terms of what the carrier is providing, but you are relying largely on the information from a historical perspective.
If driving patterns or things of that nature are available to you from an insurance carrier, better access to that information can provide the broker with a better opportunity to improve the underwriting experi- ence for the customer. In addition, the broker would be aware of how customer behaviour is potentially influencing their underwriting experience, and ultimately the premiums on the policy. Obviously, however, there are privacy matters.
Denise Garth
Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing, Industry Relations and Innovation
Majesco
Leading-edge technologies are going to change insurers’ traditional processes.
Traditionally, a client would submit an application. The underwriter would rate it, give the client a
quote, and, if the client agreed, the policy would be issued. You bill it, you collected the premium on it, and then you collect a claim.
That linear process is not necessarily how real people live, nor does it reflect how a business operates. It doesn’t really allow for engagement of the customer – whether it’s a person or a busi- ness – in an innovative or digital way. New, leading-edge technologies could help create a customer experience to engage customers on a regular basis – not just when you quote them, bill them, or handle a claim.
We are going to see an intensification of that going into 2020. I don’t see it stopping any time soon.
TECH OUTLOOK 2020 l FEATURE
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