16 Jan Must Have Insurance Industry Technology Tools for 2022
After “work from home” solutions, the biggest tech changes in most industries are being driven by change in consumer expectations. After 2+ years of having to interact with contactless solutions for everything, your insurance clients expect to be able to do business with you on their own time and on their own terms.
Is your current tech stack ready to meet these new challenges? It can be exciting and overwhelming when you start researching the latest technologies that are available to help with everything from lead generation and quote request automations, to streamlining the claims process and reducing fraud exposure.
The right blend of technology can help you solve pain points and bottlenecks in your current business processes while giving you the flexibility to grow your business while you only handle the tasks that can’t be automated.
The goal of technology isn’t to replace the human in the equation. It’s highest and best use is to enhance the customer experience, so you build more positive relationships and receive more referrals from happy clients.
AI Powered Solutions to Build Your Insurance Business
The problem with a lot of legacy and business-in-a-box technology solutions for insurance is that they weren’t built with the end users in mind: the customer or the agent.
Right now, the hottest trend across industries — and insurance is no exception — is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the customer experience. And one of the best places your small, independent insurance brokerage can utilize AI is with chatbots.
Chatbots can take limited payroll resources and multiply their effectiveness by responding to inbound leads 24/7. You might be feeling old school that customer service always requires a personal touch, but the pandemic has really changed consumer perception of self-service being good (even great!) service. Giving potential customers a way to connect with you on their time is an easy way to improve client satisfaction.
Today’s chatbots are clever, adaptable, and you can even personalize the experience as much or as little as you like. Free up your human staff to work on doing tasks that chatbots can’t.
Give Your Customers the Same App Options The “Big Guys” Offer
Remember the old Apple App Store slogan, “there’s an app for that?” If you’re an insurance agent for a single company, you probably do have an app to offer your clients. And nowadays, apps for handling everything aren’t the exception…they’re the rule.
There’s a significant gap in app usage between independent insurance agents and brokers and their clients when compared to the traditional insurance companies and their insureds.
Consider incorporating a seamless client experience dashboard into your business offerings to improve access to expected self-service options like bill pay, documentation downloads, and improved claims efficiency.
Drones Can Perform Insurance Inspections Safely and Efficiently
If you didn’t get a drone for Christmas, you might want to consider buying one and getting a jump on your business deductions after reading this:
Drones can help you give your clients more accurate policy quotes and assist during stressful claim situations.
Most independent insurers find themselves working with clients who have needs that can’t be adequately serviced by just plugging a few details into an online lead form and having a quote pop out. If this is your niche as an independent insurance brokerage, flying a drone can give you information that can help you find your clients the right policies with the right coverages — and without you having to guess or climb ladders for confirmation.
Beyond common roof inspections, a drone can get a visual overview of a large commercial property quicker than a human which can turn what used to be days in the field into hours. And that frees you up to meet with more leads and generate more business while building a happier book of business.
Having a way to gather high resolution images can help clients if there is ever a natural disaster. A drone can keep humans out of dangerous and hazardous sites while still being able to gather needed information to assist clients during a stressful situation.
Technology Can Detect Fraud in the Insurance Claims Process
Just like AI can assist you with helping clients, it can also help protect against fraudulent claims data being used by the unscrupulous. From checking metadata on uploaded images in the claims portal to scanning social media, fraud prevention AI can stop both individual and network initiated criminal claims.
Using machine learning, these AI platforms create complex datasets that recognize current fraudulent claim techniques while adapting to new and emerging threats.
Agents Work More Efficiently in the Field with Virtual Desktop Access from Anywhere
Not only have customer demands changed when it comes to tech, your employees and agents demand creative solutions that allow them to work more efficiently from home, a coffeeshop, or at a client’s location.
If you are currently operating off of several products and platforms that don’t play well together or on your agents’ mobile devices, it’s time to consider moving to a cloud-based solution that streamlines your desktop into a mobile solution that gives your people more time to make more sales without having to deal with clunky, confusing, or vulnerable access points.
If you’ve explored options to improve the employee experience and improve operational efficiency, consider the benefits of cloud-based solutions and virtual desktops to keep mobile business compliant and secure.
Not sure where to start? Talk to one of our cloud hosting experts today. We can develop a personalized solution that will handle all your documentation, compliance, and security needs so you can focus on growing your insurance business.