It’s no secret that insurance companies globally are beginning to take digital technology, or more specifically insurtech more seriously. As a way of launching the industry into the digital future. Despite being ever so slightly behind the curve, insurance firms large and small are toying with technology like software bots, artificial intelligence and IoT. Helping to increase customer loyalty, push their expenses down, and create more competitive products.

According to CEO of Aviva, Mark Wilson, using digital technologies in the insurance space could reduce the cost of insurance products by 30%. While not being an insurance expert, this is something I could quite easily believe. Despite the sizeable up-front investments needed to start adopting emerging technologies like AI and Big Data, once these are up and running, expenses can be dramatically cut.

Thanks to Big Data, you no longer need anyone on the phone asking prospects questions about the size of their home, what materials it is made of or how many miles their travel per year. They don’t even need to fill these details out themselves in some long online form (I tend to get fed up after the first 5 screens of questions and if I get distracted, I might leave altogether). With Big Data, this kind of information can be pulled from massive databases and a product quote can be instantly served to the customer – without asking all the questions. The result, the customer is happy thanks to the simple, stress-free experience and the instant gratification gained, and there were less occasions for them to get distracted, lose interest and risk being lost to a competitor.

To gain real value from Big Data, further tech such as AI and Process Automation are needed. These are the wheels that will sit behind the scenes and make it all work. While Artificial Intelligence software will essentially substitute the previously “human” element, automation is what will tie it all together and streamline the process resulting in a clean, optimised, superior – and more profitable – overall experience.

Mark Wilson, in his interview, says that by adopting this kind of digital technology for selling insurance products, prices can be pushed down by up to 30% whilst profit margins are increased, creating a highly competitive and sustainable model.

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