Excerpts from Krishna Datla's talk at the Biz Tech Conference, Jamaica by JTDA
So, what are 'these' - the MLs, C Visions, NLPs, LCs/NCs, Robotics, IoTs, BCs, AR/VRs, AVs, QCs - All there in the CLOUD & beyond - the unfathomables? Are these for us in real?
We have, time & again, been asked these questions: Are these technologies really disrupting the way we have been doing insurance business? Is the surge sporadic or is it going to stay here, rewriting the rules of the game? Are they helping us shift our traditional mindset to 'Customer-Centric'?
What are these disrupting technologies and what can they help us do differently? Scores of examples - just a few of them here to set the stage right...
- Intelligent machine-driven decisions (AI) replacing humans: 24/7 availability, anytime, anywhere
- Instant Quote, Policy, and Claims Management through Self-Learning AI BOTs
- Customer-specific offerings, personalized pricing through deep-data analytics, and service/recommendations through customer behavior assessment
- Big data for fraud detection, risk assessment, etc.
- IoT for personalized alerts and behavioral patterns
- Ease of Insurance - just a few clicks on the Mobile
- Robotics Process Automation for repeat processes, etc.
All that sounds great. But where do we start? What do we do with what we already have? What about us? Are we going to be displaced from our jobs/roles?
And here, begins the Story!
Insurance Companies have traditionally been and continue to focus primarily on "Inside-Out," with occasional "Outside-In". Price and value - those Objective and subjective Realities - are determined by Insurers, with little control/discretion left to the Customers. This is exactly where the new-gen technologies have the capability to help shift the Industry Focus to "Demand-Driven". These technologies have the potential to narrow down the pricing to the most granular level and make the perceptions of the customers for service come true.
In terms of acceptance, we see that there are ways to embrace disruptive technologies - either 'INCREMENTALLY' or 'TOTALLY',
- Incremental - If you are an existing Insurance Company, carrying the legacy of people, processes, technology, and data - take one step at a time (as your core focus must be on driving acceptance) - e.g.: initiatives around Customer Experience and satisfaction, Efficiencies, Ease of Doing Business, etc.
- Total - Starting Completely New or Starting separately (offshoot with an intent to shift current to the new) - e.g.: Peer to Peer Insurance, Direct to Consumer, Embedded Insurance, On-Demand Insurance, Usage-based Insurance, Parametric Insurance, etc.
On embracing the change through technology per our market research, more than 90% of the market is preferring Incremental Disruption.
To go the 'incremental' way, embracing the change must start with knowing where you are on the digital maturity journey first and where you want to go - from a multi-dimensional context, products, people, process, tech & data. From here to where is a plan of action. Our thoughts on the approach explained with an example,
- Identify those low-hanging fruits that need your immediate attention
As a part of the claims business function, you know that you need to be proactive in giving status updates to claimants, providing an easy way of lodgement, and satisfying them with touchless settlements.
- Prioritize what you want to pick up first based on the value/acceptance, and those that warrant a minimum change to your current state
Of the changes to be done, what's that combination of immediate attention & immediate value? Proactive updates to the customers?
- Identify the tech & implement
Start with one mode of communication, maybe email? Not much of a leap in terms of tech
- Review the results: Drop or Re-calibrate or Build upon
Customers are happy, they know everything, and there is no need to ask, call volumes come down - employees are freed, employees now better appreciate the initiatives - they want to extend this to policy
In one sentence, we are asking you to focus on those 'Little Bets' 
The answer is 'YES', you just have to take that leap beyond fear (of change/risk/uncertainty), experience the little wins and grow. For these are just TOOLS in your hand.
"Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favour another small win."
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