It's a typical Tuesday morning, and Carmen, a claims manager at a mid-sized insurance company, is already feeling the weight of the day. Her phone has yet to stop ringing and her inbox is a sea of unread emails. Each task is a race against time, and the demands from clients and colleagues alike are relentless.
Now, picture Carmen's relief if all the repetitive, time-consuming tasks that make up the bulk of her workload could be streamlined through automation, allowing her the opportunity to provide white-glove customer service to the clients that need it most. Instead of stressing she could be automating.
Technology shapes every aspect of our lives. More than ever, the insurance sector is ripe for change. Insurance automation through messaging and chat platforms is changing how insurers interact with customers, manage claims, generate leads, and deliver services.
Call centres face exceptionally high employee turnover, with reports indicating over 80% of staff leaving each year. This high attrition rate is costly, inefficient, and unsustainable. Implementing automation addresses more than just customer satisfaction—it significantly improves employee satisfaction too.
An insurance industry without automation
Before diving into the power of insurance automation, it's essential to understand the existing struggles within the industry. Without automation, the insurance sector grapples with several significant challenges:
- High volume of calls: The sheer number of calls that claims managers handle is overwhelming, leading to long wait times and frustrated customers.
- Inadequate support channels: Many insurers lack support on popular platforms like WhatsApp, where customers increasingly expect to communicate and find help.
- Costly customer support: The expense of maintaining a large customer support team is significant, especially without automation to handle routine inquiries.
- Slow document transfers: The back-and-forth exchange of documents between customers and agents is often slow and inefficient leading to both customer and agent frustration.
- Feedback bottlenecks: Gathering and processing customer feedback is cumbersome, delaying valuable insights.
- Delayed information access: Agents and brokers frequently struggle to get timely access to relevant information from multiple sources.
- Manual processes: Many processes, from claim submissions to policy modifications, are still manual, leading to errors and delays.
The power of automation with messaging and chat
Let's explore how insurance automation can address these pain points through seven key use cases. These examples highlight the potential for improved efficiency, cost savings, and improved customer experiences.
1. Efficient claims management
What if a customer could make a claim whenever they needed to, not just when support was available?
Automation allows customers to autonomously make claims 24/7, providing unparalleled convenience and efficiency. By automating the entire claims process—from initial reporting to final settlement—customers can initiate claims through chat, upload necessary documents, and receive real-time updates and confirmations.
This automation not only reduces the workload for claims managers like Carmen but also ensures customers receive prompt and accurate service, significantly improving overall satisfaction. The results speak for themselves: insurance companies that have partnered with Hubtype to automate their claims processes have experienced a decrease in the share of customer queries at the call centre from 95% to 63%. Consequently, the cases handled via chat and messaging grew by 32 percentage points, increasing from 5% to 37%. Additionally, the cases solved by automation saw a significant increase, going from 12% to 55%.
By simplifying the claims process, automation helps to minimise errors, speed up claim resolutions, and improve the overall customer experience. This streamlined approach allows human agents to focus on higher-value tasks, driving efficiency and boosting customer loyalty.
2. Streamlining the FNOL process
First Notice of Loss (FNOL) is a critical moment in the claims process, often occurring under stressful circumstances. Automating this process through messaging apps like WhatsApp and Webchat can significantly improve efficiency and customer satisfaction without the customer having to wait. Customers can report incidents, upload photos, and provide necessary documents directly from the accident site, providing them with peace of mind. The automation system then uploads this data instantly to the claims system, reducing delays and errors.
Imagine Carmen's day again. Instead of manually logging each detail of an accident report, she now receives an automated, pre-filled form with all necessary information. This allows her to stay focused on high-level tasks while all customers continue to receive excellent service and care.
3. Automating policy quotes and acquisitions
One of the most impactful uses of insurance automation is in lead generation, generating policy quotes, and facilitating acquisitions. Customers can inquire about products, compare plans, and receive quotes through automated messaging platforms. The entire sales process, from quote generation to policy acquisition, can be conducted seamlessly through chat.
Imagine a prospective customer reaching out via WhatsApp, curious about your offerings. A conversational assistant immediately engages them, collects essential details, and asks insightful questions about their needs.
Providing instant quotes and detailed policy information through personalised interactions keeps prospects engaged and informed, increasing the likelihood of conversion. By leveraging WhatsApp and other messaging platforms, insurers can seamlessly integrate into customers' daily routines, transforming everyday interactions into meaningful engagements.
This automation not only streamlines operations but also significantly reduces call volumes, speeds up resolution times, cuts costs, and decreases customer churn, all while boosting overall satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Instant health insurance coverage checks
Health insurance queries are often urgent and complex. Automation can provide instant responses to coverage questions, ensuring customers have accurate information at their fingertips. Additionally, customers can schedule, modify, or cancel appointments through messaging platforms, making the process more convenient, autonomous, and efficient.
For Carmen, this means fewer frantic calls about coverage details and more satisfied customers who can manage their appointments and inquiries autonomously.
5. Connecting customers with advisors
Automating connections between customers and advisors through messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram streamlines communication and ensures GDPR compliance. Customers prefer these channels for their convenience and immediacy.
For example, Hubtype Advisors facilitates seamless, secure interactions by guiding customers through intuitive prompts to gather necessary information. Advanced smart routing technology then directs them to the most suitable agent, ensuring efficient and personalised service.
This automation reduces delays while offering data security and customer satisfaction by keeping all interactions within a centralised, encrypted platform. By leveraging messaging apps, insurers can meet customer preferences, reduce operational costs, and increase efficiency, ultimately boosting customer loyalty and satisfaction.
6. Handling feedback and surveys
Gathering customer feedback is essential for continuous improvement but can be time-consuming. Automation enables insurers to send out surveys and gather responses via chat, instantly processing the data for actionable insights.
Carmen can now access real-time feedback, helping her team quickly address any issues and continuously improve the service they provide.
7. Simplifying document transfers
Document transfers between customers and insurers are often fraught with delays and errors. Automation can streamline this process, allowing customers to submit documents directly through chat. These documents are then automatically categorised and uploaded to the relevant systems.
For Carmen, this means no more chasing down missing documents or dealing with misfiled paperwork. Everything is organised and accessible, improving efficiency and reducing the chances of errors.
Strengthening automation with advanced features
At Hubtype, we understand the complexities of the insurance industry and the unique challenges faced by claims managers like Carmen. Our solutions are designed to integrate seamlessly with existing systems, providing a robust platform for automating interactions across various messaging and chat channels.
Real-time data integration
One of the standout features of Hubtype's insurance automation is real-time data integration. By connecting with multiple data sources, our platform ensures that all information is up-to-date and readily accessible. This capability is crucial for tasks like FNOL and claims management, where timely data can significantly impact the outcome.
Secure document handling
Security is a top priority in the insurance sector. Hubtype's conversational apps offer secure document handling through the use of webviews, ensuring that sensitive information is protected throughout the process. Automated document transfers are encrypted, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring compliance with regulations such as GDPR.
Personalised customer interactions
Personalisation is key to customer satisfaction. Hubtype's platform leverages advanced AI and machine learning to personalise interactions based on customer data. This means that every automated message feels tailored to the individual, improving the customer experience and building trust.
Scalability and flexibility
Hubtype's solutions are designed to scale with your business. You can never be too prepared for when crises strike, and our platform can handle increasing volumes of interactions without compromising on performance. Additionally, our flexible API integrations allow for customisation to meet specific business needs.
The horizon of insurance automation
Insurance is changing rapidly and the adoption of automation technologies is accelerating. The benefits are clear—increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved customer experiences. In the next five years, messaging, and chat are expected to handle 80% of all B2C communications, and insurers must embrace automation to stay competitive.
Providing agents with the right AI-powered tools has been shown to significantly reduce turnover in call centres. Carmen's story is just one example of how automation can transform the insurance industry. By leveraging these technologies, insurers can not only address current challenges but also position themselves for future success.
Are you ready to explore the full potential of insurance automation? Discover how Hubtype can help you transform your processes and elevate your customer experience. Download our white paper on the state of messaging in insurance to learn more about the future of this essential industry.
Haven’t found your use case?
Hubtype works with the world’s leading insurers to build bespoke messaging experiences. We’ll help you define your unique use case and objectives, and develop a roadmap for success.
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