Modernizing the policy lifecycle with AI and automation

As artificial intelligence and automation continue to make waves in industries of all sizes, the insurance sector is no exception. These technologies have the potential to make a profound impact on every part of the policy lifecycle, from policy issuance and management to claims processing and approval. By embracing these technologies, and digital transformation as a whole, you can modernize the policy lifecycle, eliminating inefficiencies and pain points that have long plagued the insurance industry. 

The current state of policy management

Traditional insurance policy lifecycle processes involve a series of complex and often time-consuming steps, leading to various pain points and inefficiencies that have persistently burdened the industry. These include risk assessment, underwriting, policy issuance, management, and claims processing, evaluation, and settlement. 

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A major pain point in the traditional processes is heavy reliance on paper-based documentation. The processing of vast volumes of physical paperwork has a high administrative cost and creates many inefficiencies, with a high risk for errors. Manual data entry and storage also make it challenging to access information swiftly, slowing down customer service and creating a poorer customer experience.

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Another significant challenge is inconsistent communication between stakeholders such as brokers, underwriters, policyholders, and claims adjusters. These parties often work in silos, leading to delays, miscommunications, and a lack of transparency, which can result in policyholders feeling a frustrating disconnect during claims processing. 

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For both of these reasons, traditional insurance processes can be slow and labor-intensive, with underwriting taking weeks to complete and claims settlement frequently seeing delays. This is a major issue for policyholders facing urgent financial needs. 

The role of AI and automation

Thankfully, the new technologies of AI and automation have emerged as powerful tools revolutionizing the insurance sector and addressing many of the inefficiencies of traditional insurance processes. These improvements touch all parts of the policy lifecycle including:

• Policy issuance: AI can process vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, helping underwriters assess risks more efficiently. This leads to quicker policy issuance, as well as more precise pricing.
• Policy management: AI-driven analytics provide insight into policy performance, enabling data-driven decision-making for more effective management of policies. 
• Claims processing: AI chatbots and virtual assistants improve customer service and satisfaction by promptly addressing inquiries and simplifying the claims process. Automated workflows can further contribute to customer satisfaction by enabling faster assessment, settlement, and disbursement of funds, expediting the claims approval process. Moreover, AI algorithms can quickly analyze claims data, accurately identifying potentially fraudulent claims and reducing financial losses for insurers. 

Optimizing with EasySend.io 

Impact on efficiency

As we’ve seen above, AI and automation have a profound impact on the efficiency of policy underwriting and administration. Swift data analysis allows underwriters to make better, faster decisions, reducing the time it takes to issue policies. Automated workflows speed up claims processing and approvals, while AI chatbots enable faster, more efficient customer self-service. 

EasySend.io allows you to digitize a variety of manual processes involved in the policy lifecycle including: 

• Claims reporting
• Payments
• Policy changes
• Quotes

As a result, customers can go through various processes independently and quickly without having to go through extra steps such as calling customer service, filling out forms, or scanning and emailing PDFs. This saves significant time - as well as money - creating an overall more efficient system.

Enhancing customer experience

With 61% of customers willing to pay at least 5% more if they know they’ll get a good experience, it’s essential to strive to give customers what they want. One thing we’re certain they’re looking for? Personalization. Indeed, 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences. 

AI is an indispensable tool for personalization, able to analyze vast amounts of customer data to make tailored policy recommendations. The analysis of real-time data and customer behavior also enables dynamic pricing based on policyholders’ specific risk profiles. 

EasySend.io’s platform allows you to take a customer-centric approach, offering flexible, digital tools that allow customers to manage their accounts, request information, and report claims faster and with minimal effort. This streamlines policy management, reducing administrative hassle and wait times for higher customer satisfaction. 

Overcoming industry hurdles

One of the biggest hurdles to embracing digital transformation and modern tools like AI and automation in the insurance sector is the use of siloed, outdated legacy systems notorious for a lack of flexibility and scalability. This raises a number of obstacles such as:

• Organizational culture: Integrating new technology and tools may require changes in organizational processes and workflows. Employees may be skeptical or resistant to change.
• Data migration: Migrating vast amounts of data from legacy systems to digital platforms may be complex and time-consuming.
• Technical compatibility: Integrating new technology with existing systems may require modifications and workarounds when it comes to APIs, protocols, and data formats.
• Regulatory compliance: In as highly regulated a sector as insurance, it’s essential to consider compliance measures around data privacy, security, reporting, and customer protection when integrating new technology. 

EasySend.io helps insurers navigate regulatory challenges by ensuring that all digital processes are compliant with industry regulations. The platform upholds GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, WCAG, and HIPAA compliance. All internal network traffic is fully monitored, customer data is encrypted, and sensitive data is auto-deleted, ensuring the security of your customers’ sensitive data. 

Success stories and metrics

EasySend.io has a demonstrated track record of helping insurance companies embrace digital technologies like AI and automation to make significant improvements in policy lifecycle management. 

One example is VGM, America's largest and most comprehensive Member Service Organization for post-acute healthcare. In order to future-proof their business after the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the pressing need for digitization, VGM made a five-year plan for tackling customer pain points. With EasySend, they were able to meet these goals in only three months, building out eight distinct digital processes and reducing related operational costs by 30-50%.

On the other side of the world, Harel Insurance, one of the three largest insurance groups in Israel, looked to replace manual print-and-sign processes with eSignatures. They selected EasySend.io as their chosen solution for its web-based eSignature collection, real-time remote customer assistance, and easy two-way integration with internal systems such as Salesforce and legacy apps. By replacing manual processes with a fully digital experience, Harel Insurance was able to reduce drop-off rates and improve completion rates by 15%. Moreover, the decreased need for back-and-forth with customers reduced outbound customer calls by 20%. 

Future Trends and EasySend.io’s Vision

The insurance industry stands at a pivotal crossroads, with the rapid development of transformative technologies standing to completely transform the policy lifecycle. And the pace of this change can only be expected to accelerate as consumers, insurers, suppliers, and intermediaries become more adept at using advanced technologies like deep learning, AI, and automation to enhance productivity, improve decision-making, lower costs, and further optimize the customer experience. 

If you want to stay ahead of this curve – and remain competitive in an industry that may look completely different in another decade – embracing emerging technologies is a must. The good news? With EasySend.io, you can seamlessly integrate AI and automation tools into existing systems, offering your customers a more convenient, streamlined solution. At the same time, the digitized processes will improve efficiency throughout your organization, moving you toward a more modern policy lifecycle better for all stakeholders involved.