3 life insurance predictions for the coming year | Insurance Blog
Life insurance stands at the end of a new chapter in innovation. Until now, insurers have been moving slowly through the broader digital transformation. But with the implications of AI, including generative AI, change is coming fast. We’re in for a healthy new year, and life insurers are starting to accelerate and implement their renewal strategies. This is the time to be brave.
These underwriting predictions provide insight into how carriers can take action to become truly digital this year.
Generative AI brings customer focus to the next level
Generative AI-enpowered customer focus will further bridge the gap between carriers and customers for personalized product offerings and services. This trend will continue to reach new heights in the coming year as new technologies allow deeper communication between customers, advisors and carriers. A recent study by Accenture found that today’s customers feel a need for protection in areas beyond what traditional insurance provides. For example, the next generation of insurance customers say they feel less secure about mental health. To address these concerns and more, guidance from a counselor is essential. However, insurance providers have not been able to provide that level of customer experience—until now.
Generative AI extends the care and knowledge of crowdsourced solutions to the crowd. Digital agents, versatile chat functionality, ask-me-anything capabilities and the emergence of enterprise-class productivity AI solutions are rapidly filling the gaps within the client-advisory framework in the industry—and this is only in the early stages.
In last year’s predictions, I highlighted how new levels of AI and automation capabilities will improve real-time underwriting decisions and enable faster digital shopping experiences. We believe this trend will continue this year as more and more health insurers begin their implementation strategies.
It is worth monitoring the development of AI-powered underwriting tools in 2023 that work to improve the efficiency and accuracy of underwriting and risk management as well as simplify processes and generate valuable insights. Commonly referred to as the Underwriter Co-pilot at Accenture, this technology will play an even stronger role in 2024 as it continues to be thoroughly explored with developments in LLMs.
I want to be clear that new technology will not replace consultants. This expertise is needed as insurers continue to face a shortage of skilled workers across the insurance value chain. Solutions that are personalized and customized to address a different type of skills shortage. With the retirement crisis looming, Human + Machine collaboration will be even more important as we look for new ways to support employees across all core business functions of underwriting and claims.
To share practical and industry-leading performance, Accenture helped insurance giant A&H automate its claims process by using advanced voice AI, AI-powered human assistance skills, a virtual digital assistant and multi-day workflows. The journey involved two-way event-based messaging that helped complete the customer’s request in the same channel for a seamless experience while an AI-powered assistant worked to provide real-time AI-based guidance to agents during customer conversations.
Digitization will pick up speed to start the regeneration journey
Life insurance brokers may express digital underwriting processes and aspirations, but many are still stuck in analog operations. Carriers were paper-based companies with paper-based processes, and this continues to be the basis of business as today’s paper takes the form of PDFs, Excels and Adobe. But by 2024, true digitization and the transition to real-time data will be more achievable than ever if carriers have the mindset and leadership to embark on a journey of renewal.
The revolution will be to make life insurance digital end-to-end—converting everything in your business to real-time data. From improving your claims content and engagement system to improving your underwriter workflow, once information becomes data, there are many ways to rewrite processes. And the benefits are there, including cost savings, adoption and more. While I don’t believe this will be the year to complete a full rebrand, it is the year to start your journey by focusing on parts of your business to rebrand.
I would recommend taking inspiration from one of today’s leaders who are transforming the industry. Ping An launched a digital assessment solution to improve agent planning, increase sales performance and improve its life insurance business. This test resulted in a 30% reduction in development time and a 25% re-use rate.
Now is the time to take off testing for use
Starting any journey requires action. Several health insurers will take significant steps in their digital journey this year by moving beyond proof of concept to use the revolutionary tools and mature technologies currently available.
Entering the startup phase will drive business transformation, impacting everything from the underwriting experience and claims experience to the customer experience and more. As a growing technology area in insurance, smart import (the ability to import data digitally) offers incredible benefits as a starting point for this category.
As a final thought for this blog post, another significant development to keep an eye on is the emergence of comprehensive beneficiary care services as a differentiating value proposition for new product sales—a topic I will explore more in my next blog. Stay tuned.
Let’s talk about starting plans for your reinvention journey.
Additionally, check out Accenture’s new network of AI productivity studios.
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