What comes to your mind when you think about the time you need to make some important changes to your insurance?
Is it the never-ending waiting time before you were finally able to connect with an insurance agent or is it the several calls and emails that you carried out to get that one change finalized?
Well, Insurtech was introduced so that you don’t worry about all of this, be it updating your contact details or applying for an insurance claim.
With the growing use of technology, incorporating its use in the insurance industry has become a necessity and Insurtech was a result of this necessity.
Insurtech was introduced to provide better customer service and improve work efficiency, though with time it started to offer much more, hence resulting in its continuous growth. According to BUSINESS WIRE, Global Insurtech Market revenue is valued at 5.48 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach 10.14 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 10.80% during the period 2019-2025.
What is Insurtech?
Insurtech, short for insurance and technology, is the technology that is used to provide better services to the insurer and their customers.
Latest technologies like wearables, fitness apps, online claim processing, and policy handling are all part of Insurtech, used to collect and analyze customer data to provide better services.
Insurtech may also refer to Insurtech companies that produce new technologies for the insurance industry. From 2010 to 2019, considered to be the first nine years of Insurtech, around $16.5 billion flowed to startup companies in the Insurtech field according to thebalancesmb.
Top 5 Trends In the Insurance Industry
With technology evolving every day, it is important to keep up with the latest trends. Let’s read more about the top trends in Insurtech:
1. Personalizing Experience Using Artificial Intelligence (AI):
According to the research firm Markets and Markets, the AI market is expected to grow to a $190 billion industry by 2025 probably because of its rapid adoption by almost every prominent industry with a motive to be able to provide a personalized experience to its customers.
Artificial intelligence acts as a guide to insurance companies by providing them with the available data on the consumer’s behavior and habits, allowing the company to make the consumer experience as personalized as possible.
AI not only provides a personalized experience but also helps in improving work efficiency. It takes over the repetitive tasks like the underwriting process, cutting down the human element, thus providing an error-free process.
2. Preventing Risk Using Predictive Analytics:
Predictive analytics refers to the process of using collected data to predict consumers’ next move. It helps in determining whether the customer is genuinely interested in the product or not, further helping the insurance companies to attract and grow their most profitable customers.
Along with observing consumer behavior, predictive analytics also helps in preventing risk by identifying which customers are on the verge of canceling their insurance policies, thereby providing a chance for the insurance company to adjust their prices accordingly.
Predictive analytics can also be used to identify insurance fraud and triaging claims, through the data collected on them.
3. Protecting Data Using Blockchain:
Being amongst the fastest growing industries around the world, the insurance industry needs to keep up with the latest technologies to provide the best services to its customers. Data security is amongst the most important services, as it puts the customer’s faith in the company.
Blockchain collects and holds customers’ information together in groups, also referred to as blocks. These blocks have certain storage capacities that, when filled, are linked to the previously filled block, forming a chain of data known as the “Blockchain.”
Blockchain eliminates suspicious and duplicate transactions by logging and keeping track of each transaction.
Blockchain’s decentralized digital repository verifies the authenticity of the customer, their policies, and transactions by providing the records, making it difficult for hackers to corrupt or steal files.
According to MARKETSANDMARKETS, The blockchain in the insurance market size was valued at USD 64.50 million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 1,393.8 million by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 84.9%.
4. Improving work Efficiency Using Robotic and Cognitive Automation (R&CA):
Robotic process automation (RPA) is used to automate the work process of an insurance company and with cognitive automation (CA) by its side, R&CA can help the industry to adopt a more customer-centric approach using algorithms and technologies like machine learning, data mining, among others.
R&CA can automate the work process, thereby reducing repetitive tasks, such as the underwriting process, data entry, and claim to process, hence improving work efficiency. Furthermore, without human elements in the process, data collection and analysis would be free of any errors.
5. Sharing Data Using the Internet of Things (IoT):
IoT makes the data-sharing process easy and secure and with different IoT wearable devices like Fitbit, insurance companies can monitor their customer’s health and help provide the best insurance plans.
Best Insurtech Software Ideas for Your Startup:
Let’s go through the different insurance software ideas that can help your startup reach new heights:
Agent/Broker Portal:
Being an insurance agent can be hard sometimes. There are times when an agent requires a customer’s information but to get it, he/she needs to go through various processes. Developing an app that allows an insurance agent to access important customers’ information, anywhere and at any time, can save a lot of time and effort.
Developing an agent/broker portal will allow insurance agents to have quick access to their customer’s policy documents and other policy-related information, saving them time and effort when renewing or upgrading their insurance policies.
This portal can also have insurance companies’ marketing documents, such as brochures and videos so that agents can use them when needed.
Using this portal can help agents as well as brokers to meet their daily targets and deadlines, thereby improving work efficiency and performance.
Smart Claim Engine:
Applying for a claim and receiving it on time is a hectic process but a smart claim engine can benefit both the insurance company and the customer.
Developing a smart claim engine software can help the insurance company to automate the whole claims process, by supporting claims adjustments, claims transfer, claims data entry, updating claim status, and notifying about new updates.
A smart claim engine can save both insurance companies’ and their customers’ time, further providing higher customer satisfaction.
Usage-based Insurance Software:
Customer satisfaction is an important element for the growth of any business, the insurance industry needs to step up its game and usage-based insurance can certainly help with it.
Using technologies like AI, ML, predictive analytics, and IoT, insurance companies can gather information about the customers’ behavior and his/her lifestyle, thereby providing an insurance plan that perfectly fits that lifestyle.
The usage-based insurance software solutions can help gain deeper insight into customers to create better products and develop more targeted marketing campaigns.
Insurance Policy Checking and Administration:
Policy checking and administration are a big part of the insurance industry and almost takes an army to get done daily. Developing Insurance policy checking and administration software can take a huge load on the companies’ employees, resulting in work efficiency.
Insurance policy administration software can help in reducing average handling times, training costs, and errors while upgrading service quality and revenues. It can help in ensuring whether the policy matches the proposal or in case of renewals, ensuring that the policy matches the previous term policies, reporting the differences to the insurance carriers, and at last ensuring that the final document is received without any variances.
Conclusion:
We are part of an era, where development has become very important. Not only do humans need to evolve but industries too. For the insurance industry, Insurtech is the only way to keep up with this digital movement.
If you are thinking about hopping on this digital train, then leading software development companies like Jellyfish Technologies can help your insurance company reach new heights.
