Incipient Insurance: Attitudinal Variations amongst Gen Z in India

The Insurance industry is experiencing tectonic shifts across consumer expectations and process digitalization.

As digital adoption increases for Indian customers, the expectations and corresponding digital experiences that companies need to cater to are also on the rise. The collaboration between insurers and insurtech is critical to bring in the next era of Indian Insurance, especially with the renewed emphasis of GOI and IRDAI towards increasing the number of insured in India. As per a recent BCG report, there has been a 7X growth in global funding for the insurtech industry over the last 5-6 years. Making it essential that collaboration between insurers and insurtechs continues seamlessly.

While companies have been introducing digital touchpoints across the customer lifecycle, a major chunk of focus remains on the pre-purchase and purchase stages of the journey. Amidst rising customer acquisition costs, companies must provide efficient solutions to enhance the experience in the claims and renewal stages of insurance. 

Understanding Insurance Claims Process

Claims processing involves the activities that an insurance company carries out to verify a claim request. During the process, an insurance agent, known as an adjuster, checks information accuracy and provides the claim amount. 

The claims process includes five important steps:

• Insured informing the insurance company 
• Initial claims investigation
• Policy check
• Claims calculation
• Payment Terms and Settlement

Based on a survey conducted by SPS Global, 59% of policyholders were dissatisfied with their claims handling. Digital claims processing introduces digital touchpoints to improve the claims customer journey. And, making the process more time and cost-effective for insurers while boosting the overall customer experience. This is why businesses should migrate to digital claims management.

How would a company benefit from the Digital Claims Process?

1. Faster Claims Processing – The traditional claims process has a long cycle and friction due to multiple physical and digital touchpoints. The verification process involves multiple teams which would be tough to coordinate in a manual setup. Digital channels make it easier to collaborate and settle claims faster.
2. Reduced Duplication of Effort – Digital means help streamline the operations by leveraging a single unified portal for the teams involved in the process. Providing clear action items, timelines, and statuses for each stakeholder, the platform helps reduce business costs. 
3. Improved Fraud Detection – AI-powered fraud detection systems help reduce the chances of fraud significantly. Companies such as TagX and DataTrade provide extensive data sets to help insurance companies develop and train their own algorithms and models. 
4. Higher Customer Satisfaction – Amidst an unfortunate scenario, the insured would prefer minimal delays, simplified processes, and quick settlement. Digital claims processing not only helps speed up the process but also personalizes it for the user. Eventually, the service and support provided boost customer satisfaction and renewal rates. 

A digital future is imminent in every industry today. While the insurance sector remains relatively low in terms of digital maturity. Leaders and Early Adopters will continue to have an edge in attracting and retaining customers.

We’ve listed down potential use cases for the digital claims process which can help companies kick-start their digitalization journey as well. 

1. Self-Service Insurance Portals – Modern customers require cohesive omnichannel support. Portals that allow users to file and track their claims as well as reach out for further assistance are preferred. A Gartner study observed that 85% of initial customer service interactions start with a well-suited self-service portal. And, technology disruptor, Whatfix claimed that 44% of insurance users would jump to another company if they can’t have control over their claims process. 

Indian Insurtech firm Go Digit allows its customers to file their health insurance claims through their website or mobile application. They provide assistance through videos, faqs, and call assistance to their users. 

Source: www.godigit.com

2. Conversational Chatbots – The 24×7 available online assistant helps customers with queries and claims assistance without putting them in a long queue. Mostly embedded in a self-service customer portal or the insurance website, conversational tools use AI and Sentiment Analysis to answer customer queries in the most responsive way possible. 

Mantra Labs recently worked with Ageas Federal on a “Claims with Empathy” process to help reimagine messaging and nudges in case of an insurance claim. 

Our conversational tool Hitee offers insurance customer support in multiple local languages to ensure ease of access and understanding to its users. 

3. Remote Claims Estimation – Leveraging mobile cameras to take a visual estimate of damage incurred on the insured object, assess the extent of damage remotely, and provide an estimate to the insured instantaneously. Helping lower the claim cycle and reduce cost per claim. 

InsurTech companies such as Lemonade and MUA Insurance offer telematics-based apps, which help users file claims through their app, get instant roadside assistance, and provide settlements faster with AI-driven algorithms. Altoros provides a Car Damage Recognition API that leverages computer vision to determine the extent of damage in case of an accident.

Conclusion

The digital transformation of a company’s claims function lies in the redesign of its customer claims journey – Where the changes are not piecemeal solutions or interactions, but a reimagining of how the end-to-end journey will be actionized, perceived, and experienced. As companies begin their journey toward digital claims processing, they need to understand and deliver the core value that users gain from digitalization. 

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