Digital Transformation & Analytics Heritage Insurance

Sai Giridharan

The word Digital means so many different things based on the context. The spectrum of interpretations range from Digital data replacing paper – all the way to Digital currency, and everything in between. Within the insurance realm – “Digital” is used in a myriad of context - Using Data, Analytics & AI, Providing consumers with Web 2.0 experience, Sales & Marketing Strategies leveraging social media, An API based architecture enabling open integrations.

Insurance is one of the unique industries where the cost to produce good sold is not “known” until 1-3 years after the product is sold. However, using Big Data, Machine Learning and AI, carriers are getting to more fine-grained pricing models that have higher probability of matching the loss experience for risks based on the specific attributes. This also has the potential to provide a lot more transparency on pricing to the consumers.

An average consumer thinks about insurance only in 2 situations  after they have purchased it – a) when making the renewal payment and b) if/when they have a claim. It is not enough to make it easy for someone to pay their bills - making these experiences enjoyable to theconsumer needs a lot of thought.

What if the consumer is provided assistance in case of a loss – even before the consumer had a chance to file a claim? With the  amount of data at disposal for carriers from various sensors and IOTs, weather data, all the connected devices, etc. surely the insurance company knows about a loss event a lot quicker than what it takes for the consumer to report the loss.

No discussion around CX will be complete without addressing its impact on new Customer acquisition. “Insurance on Demand” – would be shop when you need it without long term commitment. Products like Pay as You Drive are slowly getting there. How about products like “Don’t Pay while you use” – for property related insurance – with the thought that if someone is home, there is less likely chances of losses related to theft, broken pipes, etc.

For the consumers to have the capability to buy insurance when they want it – this is where API based architecture comes in. At the time of buying a vehicle, buying a house – rather than be forced into a captive market – the consumer should have the ability to shop for insurance in real time in the platform of sale for the risk itself. This provides marketing   and sales without the consumer having to think about insurance explicitly.

Finally, will Digital Insurance mean – Insurance in the    Metaverse ? Maybe …