Road to 2022: Setting up an AI-Automation consumer service model to keep up with the FinTech advancements

With the ongoing technological disruptions, Shefali Khalsa explains how setting up an AI-Automation consumer service model can ease the processes and help keep up with the fintech advancements in the evolving insurance industry with newer trends and more.

Technology diversification is not just a buzzword today but has become a necessity post-pandemic. It has changed customer expectations, behavior, and hence, organizational strategies.

We all have witnessed a significant rise in the mobile internet user base thanks to mobile penetration and affordable rates for data. According to Statista, in 2020, 53% of Indians accessed the internet from their mobile phones which became their primary device to access information, entertainment, and shop. According to Cybermedia Research, an average Indian today spends 1/3rd of their waking hours i.e., approximately 1800 hours a year on their phone and by 2040, 96% of India's total population is expected to access the internet from their mobile phones. It won’t be too long before we will see a majorly mobile-first approach by consumers for fulfilling their financial and social needs.

Speaking of technology disruption, even the insurance industry, today has adopted technology innovation for a few years now that have led to few impacts on customer behavior including:

• Customers now expect access to more information that fit into a screen on their palms
• Like their experience with e-commerce, consumers today expect all service queries related to insurance also via DIY modes
• Their expectations were no longer limited to just quality products or services, but they also expected advice on what is best for them
• Like any other sector, today, the consumer prefers/expects personalized as well as regular and timely updates/ notifications from the insurance company, thereby prefers to stay connected.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have become increasingly integral to the world we live in across sectors, and businesses are deploying these technologies at scale to remain relevant. The companies in the financial sector are constantly looking for new ways to automate their business models and streamline processes that have traditionally required a large team of personnel to complete. Further, businesses have also adopted AI automation tools to streamline customer service and communications, in an uninterrupted manner.

Hyperautomation is also one of the trends, commonly used by fintech companies, which allows users to enjoy significant cost savings as well as increased productivity.

AI in the international Fintech market has huge growth potential and according to Business Wire, the global market share of AI in Fintech is projected to reach $22.6 billion by the end of 2025, with a predicted market growth of 23.37% CAGR over the 5 years.

As technology improves, software used by financial institutions is becoming more sophisticated. The AI-backed fintech software that is used, must be able to perform complex and demanding financial transactions in a highly efficient manner.

Also read: Road to 2022: Gen Z v/s Millennials – The fundamental differences between marketing to the two

For the insurance sector, the disruption caused by COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation and AI adoption journey for most insurers. The sector reacted almost immediately to accommodate remote working, extended their digital capabilities to facilitate distribution, and modernize their web channels.

From distribution to underwriting and pricing to claims, AI and associated technologies have a seismic impact on the insurance sector. The efforts are now to make significant digital shifts throughout the insurance value chain.

Customer expectations from businesses in terms of ease of transaction have changed over the past few years, and this change has accelerated throughout the pandemic. Customers are now looking for solutions at the tips of their fingers and they no longer tolerate lengthy insurance applications or a convoluted claims process. Insurers understand these changing customer needs and expectations and are integrating their offerings into AI and automated customer service models.

Setting up an AI-Automation consumer service model and keeping up with the fintech advancements can help insurers automate the analysis and classification of information by applying machine learning and using historical data.

It also helps insurers in transforming how they sell their products to current and potential customers. Speech recognition and CRM are commonly used to communicate with customers in a more personalized way by answering their common inquiries and selling the right product as per their needs.

The bots today have simplified and provided a structured 24x7 as well as a prompt model approach to multiple customer services like endorsements, cancellations, and renewals of policies. 

AI also processes unstructured data, which means fewer mistakes and better customer service. This allows the team to get on with more intricate work.

Building a digital infrastructure helps businesses in integrating a variety of systems, campaign activation and orchestration, and churning advanced information which helps them make better strategic decisions and get a better return on investment. By leveraging the efficiencies of AI, insurers can not only predict the customers’ needs and expectations but also resolve the service queries, much faster.

The article is authored by Shefali Khalsa, Head – Brand & Marketing, Corporate Communications & CSR, SBI General Insurance, as a part of Social Samosa’s #RoadTo2022 series.