For decades, insurance and technology ran on different tracks.
While tech was revolutionizing industries like finance and education in as early as the 1990s, insurance was content to keep using the legacy systems that had been in place for years. After all, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it–right?
This reasoning may have worked twenty years ago. But in 2023, insurance can no longer afford to resist the tides of technology–especially when it comes to policy administration. “Companies that are not utilizing the continuous advancements … are quickly going to be left in the dust by the companies that choose to utilize these functions,” says Hunter Kuykendall, Enterprise Sales Manager at InsurIQ.
Find out how insurtech can support the backend and frontend of policy administration, and how organizations that invest in this technology upfront end up saving time and money down the road.
Obstacles to Effective Policy Administration
Efficiency, accuracy, and user experience are the backbone of effective policy administration. Employees and customers alike want a swift, intuitive process that produces minimal errors in policy details, premium calculations, and endorsements.
However, systems that rely heavily on manual intervention are like roadblocks to smooth and accurate policy administration. Insurance teams today are bogged down with redundant tasks and slower operations, which translate to higher costs and, ultimately, customer dissatisfaction. Some of those redundancies include:
- Data Duplication: Many legacy systems store the same data in multiple places. This not only consumes storage space but also leads to inconsistencies when one copy is updated and another isn’t.
- Manual Data Entry: Outdated systems lack integrations or automation, requiring man hours to manually input or re-input data into multiple systems.
- Limited Integration: Older systems often operate in silos, lacking the capability to communicate or integrate with other systems. This means that data might need to be manually transferred between systems.
Data analytics is another casualty of outdated tech. Manual spreadsheets are a breeding ground for human error, and if those spreadsheets break–which happens easily–it could take weeks (read: wasted money) to pinpoint where the break originated. Humans are also limited in their ability to identify complex patterns in data, which can result in inaccurate risk assessments and policy offerings.
The Answer: Insurtech
Digital technology removes the obstacles that plague manual policy administration systems. Here’s how:
- Streamlined Processes
Insurtech requires less manual intervention, streamlines tasks, and frees up time for employees to focus on more important responsibilities–like fostering customer relationships. It also minimizes potential breaks in the system, saving your organization time, money, and frustration. - Accurate Data Analytics
Artificial intelligence is able to comb through vast amounts of data and detect patterns that humans might miss, which makes it a superior tool for data analytics. This translates to more accurate predictive modeling risk assessment and personalized policy offerings. - Stronger Compliance
With the advent of regulatory technology (“reg tech” for short), organizations don’t have to wonder if their systems are up to date with the latest compliance guidelines. Reg tech automatically updates systems and responds to regulatory changes, which ensures constant compliance for your organization. - Improved Customer Experience
Smoother operations, more accurate data analytics, and stronger compliance all filter down to an improved experience for customers. Agents are able to address queries in a more timely manner, and personalized policy offerings are better designed to suit customers’ unique insurance profile.Digital technology also strengthens another key pillar of policy administration: user interface. “Customers these days are expecting this streamlined and digital experience,” explains Kuykendall. “And anyone that’s not moving towards that is quickly going to have dissatisfied customers who are searching that in other avenues.” With insurtech, your organization can provide the smooth and intuitive user experience that customers have come to expect.
Final Thoughts
Insurtech is a valuable investment because its competitive edge far outweighs the initial price tag. Organizations that are not willing to pay the upfront cost for digital technology risk spending even more down the road in operations and human resources. Organizations that do adopt digital technology, on the other hand, reap the rewards in lower operational costs and more satisfied customers.
Get in touch with us to find out how InsurIQ can bridge the technology gaps in your business and streamline the insurance policy lifecycle.
