Conversational AI Use Cases for Insurance Policy Holders

You and fellow stakeholders at your insurance business are likely investigating the use of conversational artificial intelligence to streamline operations and improve the way you do business. 

Customers are already aware of conversational AI and may be more predisposed to engaging with them than you and your team realize. Consider that 44% of consumers report feeling comfortable using conversational AI systems to put in insurance claims, and 43% of them are willing to use a virtual assistant to apply for an insurance policy, according to the latest figures available from Statista. 

The willingness to use such advanced software and technology solutions is based on customer motivation to obtain the most affordable premiums possible. With the digitalization of many processes, customers don't fear sharing this data electronically. Instead, they see the value in its convenience, security, and accuracy. 

But before you can commit to deploying such a solution as conversational AI, chances are high that you and the rest of your team want to know more about how these systems can make a difference.

With that in mind, here are five ways that insurance policyholders can use and benefit from conversational AI today:

Customer Service

Suppose an upset customer calls your insurance company, angry about a situation and needing help with coverage. This can frazzle an ordinary human worker taking phone calls, but it's not disruptive or off-putting to a virtual AI assistant, who can display infinite patience and politeness in the face of an argumentative or unhappy individual on the other end of the line.

Virtual AI assistants "are increasingly being used in the insurance industry to support agents and in customer-facing applications such as onboarding new clients and processing claims," per a report from Risk And Insurance. It noted, "pretty much every insurance company is coming up with some version of a virtual assistant for claims or applications."

Think about an average day in your customer support department. Managers have to maintain a delicate balancing act, making sure that they have sufficient staff on hand to answer the current incoming volume of calls.

But when extenuating circumstances intervene, you can have a harder time meeting the staffing levels you anticipated for the latest crush of calls. For example, conversational AI can either independently handle customer claims or provide human agents with fast and accurate insights and customer data to help human agents work more effectively and accurately. Plus, with 24/7 availability, conversational AI can always be there to support customers--even outside of business hours.

Answering Customer Inquiries

Each customer who calls in with a question about their policy deserves your undivided attention. But when you spread the calls out among a limited staff of people, there will inevitably be delays while your team puts callers on hold for an undetermined time. The time it takes to finally speak to your customers could make some of them eager to do business elsewhere.

You'll be doing your human customer service operators a favor when you relieve them of the repetitive work that frequently comes from addressing incoming calls. Letting conversational AI do much of the basic work of answering simple or complex questions will allow human agents to address the more sophisticated and niche questions that arise.

This means you can show your employees a clear path to advance in your organization as they take over the more detailed customer inquiries and no longer have to engage in the low-level tasks that conversational AI is able to handle now.

Claims Management 

How quickly you respond to new claims and then move them through the system before a policyholder receives payment can make a big difference in customer retention and loyalty. Furthermore, you want to keep your customers happy with speedier service in hopes that they will refer you to their friends, family, and coworkers. 

There is a lot of struggle when handling new claims for insurance policies. It's an area in the insurance industry that is ripe for disruption with the help of conversational AI systems.

Usually, the settlement of claims is a tardy process that requires the involvement of providers, adjusters, inspectors, and agents and could sometimes take 30 days or more to complete. Meanwhile, the customers have to constantly follow up with a customer rep to check the status of the claim.

Instead, the conversational AI solution will provide customers with ongoing support. The benefit here is that you can quickly ensure that updates can be provided automatically and regularly, saving both customers and businesses time and frustration. Customers prefer such efficiency, and your team will appreciate that they have more time and resources to devote to more pressing tasks.

Monitoring Financial Assets

Another area where insurance businesses can use virtual AI assistants is when tasked with monitoring the financial assets of their customers. With so many moving parts in financial asset control and management, conversational AI is an ideal interface between the customer and the trove of data you've amassed and are analyzing behind the scenes. 

You'll be selling customers advanced risk management when they have a virtual AI assistant they can speak with whenever they want about the current disposition of their assets. It shows that you are looking after them throughout the year. 

Additionally, if customers stay in the loop with their financial assets, they're more likely to experience greater satisfaction and continue supporting your business.

Fraud Detection 

Reducing incidents of fraud is a high priority in your organization, naturally. Ideally, you will have a virtual AI assistant in place to watch over the data moving through your system to potentially identify instances of crimes in progress.

Conversational AI can monitor customer interactions for additional insights - which could even come in handy when detecting fraud. Should irregular behavior occur, the conversational AI agent will report the patterns for your staff to investigate as needed.

Deloitte recently described a "property and casualty peer-to-peer insurance that uses AI-powered claims analysis. Eighteen anti-fraud algorithms are run on the customer's image and video claims information, and a response is given within minutes." Conversational AI helps to control costs in multiple ways.

Conversational AI Can Become Your 'Insurance Policy' to Improve Your Company's Bottom Line

Still on the fence regarding the use of conversational AI in your company? It's not always easy to break with the past and depart from established ways of doing business. But, the risk of substituting conversational AI systems for human workers may be less of a concern than the idea of lowering profits because of decreased customer satisfaction and employee productivity. 

As a leading insurance provider, we imagine you take pride in the value you deliver to each policyholder. As such, it's essential to understand the value that adopting conversational AI into your insurance practices can bring. The advantages are clear between delighting customers, supporting your current workforce, and streamlining processes. 

You'll find that there are many ways in which deploying conversational AI can improve the core functions of your insurance business. From helping fill the gaps in answering customer service calls, addressing inquiries promptly, managing claims more efficiently, and effectively managing financial assets, there is a lot you can automate with intelligent agents. 

If you're interested in learning more about DRUID's conversational AI solutions, download our free whitepaper on "How Can Insurers Rethink Customer Experience?"