There are surprisingly few moments in the insurance value chain when customers proactively interact with insurance companies. Apart from when they vet new policies, the only real “moment of truth” to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty is when they submit a claim.

Within that context, in the present day and age, customer expectations are higher than ever, driven by the advent of a new age of tech-savvy customers adopting various digital touchpoints. Today’s customers expect a consistent experience irrespective of whether they are shopping on Amazon, buying securities through Robinhood, or for that matter of fact, submitting a claim. Customers expect a high degree of quality in every interaction, and they want you to take care of their needs as swiftly as possible.

Modern insurers must adapt to this new reality: More than 80% of millennials are open to switching to another insurance provider, which means it’s essential to adopt an “outside-in” perspective and put the customer first.

Reimagining the claims life cycle from the customer’s point of view can introduce engaging, value-added interactions throughout the journey. By helping customers manage and prevent risks, you can also create additional touchpoints outside of traditional claims handling.

So, how can you make customer-centric claims a reality? The main avenues of innovation include discovering new ways to use the cloud and mobile, creating and accessing new data sources, and leveraging advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). These technologies let you fully automate the claims-handling process for simple cases, and they can also fast-track complex claims for adjusters and handlers.

In other words, each stage of the claims journey can be automated and improved to boost customer satisfaction. To illustrate, let’s understand how Sarah, a 22-year-old from California, might experience an AI- and ML-driven claims process with her auto insurer, after hitting a mailbox next to her driveway.

A customer-centric claims journey such as the one described below can be powered by smart solutions, including chatbots, damage estimators, fraud analytics, and intelligent document understanding capabilities.

Claims prevention
- Sarah is reminded to maintain speed limits through app notifications.
- How it’s improved: Know your customer (KYC) on a deeper level and enable preventive measures.
First notice of loss (FNOL)
- Sarah uses the automated contact center to notify them of the loss.
- How it’s improved: Fully automate the FNOL process with AI-driven contact centers and self-service capabilities.
Case management
- Sarah’s claim is analyzed in real-time, checked for fraud and marked as a simple, minor damage claim.
- How it’s improved: Intelligent case management helps identify the optimal next step for each customer.
Assessment and repair
- Sarah is notified through the contact center to upload photos of the damage via a web app link. The damage is automatically assessed based on the photos. She is offered a choice of nearby repair centers through push notifications.
- How it’s improved: Fully automate specific back-office processes such as damage estimation and repair-center selection.
Settlement
- Sarah is offered reimbursements. Once accepted, the money is credited to a PayPal account.
- How it’s improved: Automated repair-invoice verification and payment to the end customer.

To learn more about these AI-driven solutions and to understand how you can begin implementing them into your own claims process, check out the first guide in our ‘Insurance 2.0: Reinventing the Traditional Insurer’ series.

In this guide, we’ll help you start using advanced technologies to create an intelligent, customer-centric claims journey that drives revenue, satisfaction, and repeat business.

Download the ”Insurance 2.0 eGuide” now to automate and improve your claims process.

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