Insurance Technology
Article | July 14, 2022
Policy management assists insurance companies in staying on track to meet their client objectives by selling more policies and collecting more premiums. However, organizations using inadequate or fractured policy management software may be leaving a lot on the table. According to a study by Accenture, automation could save the insurance industry a cumulative $5-7 billion.
Are you facing hurdles in processing policies? Are some of the tasks like policy renewal, policy issuance, policy binding etc., that are supposedly automated still taking up time and resources away from the company? If so, it might be time to rethink your policy management. Here are three signs to look out for when this happens.
There are Hiccups in Your Policy Processing Processes
Being able to make universal changes and synergize different processes is a crucial aspect of policy management. If your insurance policy management tool isn’t able to keep up with the information or automate tasks like making updates and syncing information in real-time, it may be time to reconsider it and seek a solution that integrates Robotic Process Automation, or RPA. RPA tools enable organizations to reduce processing time for issuing, updating and cancelling a policy.
The Underwriting Stage Takes Up a Lot of Time
Underwriting can be a tedious, time-consuming process. With modern policy management solutions, it is possible to automate a number of tasks within underwriting. If your application is contributing to negligible or no reduction in the time it takes for underwriters to process everything. From the applicant’s credit history and scores to savings and loos-run reports, the underwriter needs to manually process this data. However, before that, the data needs to be reached in a streamlined manner. If your platform doesn’t support intelligent automation, digitalizing the underwriting process isn’t possible, in turn hampering the ability to access information when needed.
It is Difficult to Keep Up with Claims Processing
Claims management is an integral part of any insurance workflow, and its automation adds immense business value. If your claim settlement process is slow, filled with bottlenecks, and is impacting consumer experience, your existing platform isn’t doing any favours. Advanced claims processing solutions let you integrate features that align with the workflows of the insurer.
Customer Experience Isn’t Up to the Mark
Poor policy management processes are always reflected in the overall customer experience. Are you inundated with customer complaints, feedback about slow processing, and injured employee morale from poor performance and higher work load? The key is to take a good look at your current workflow and how it is affecting the end consumer. In a high-stress service like insurance, nothing less than an impeccable customer experience is a base expectation. The lack of responsiveness in your communication can result in a high customer churn rate. With a good policy management solution, your teams are able to stay on track and automate tasks when needed in order to keep customers updated.
Final Word
The insurance sector is a fast-paced business world and requires insurtech solutions that can handle the tremendous pressures and demands of customers. The four signs indicate that it might be time to introspect and, if needed, jumpstart your digital transformation journey.
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Insurance Technology
Article | July 15, 2022
Americans consider boosting the economy a top policy priority over dealing with COVID-19 as the coronavirus outbreak enters its third year.
The decrease in the percentage mentioning the pandemic has been particularly sharp: from 78% last year to 60% this year, dealing with the coronavirus is now seen as a top policy priority. This comes at a time when Americans see various issues as lower priorities than they did a year ago.
Republicans and Democrats disagree on the significance of the majority of policy priorities, but for 11 of the 18 issues covered by the survey, the partisan divide has grown significantly. This includes double-digit increases in partisan differences on addressing issues like immigration, the political system, improving the job market, and the criminal justice system.
Changing Public Priorities: The Economy, Coronavirus, Jobs
The percentage of Americans, particularly Democrats, who see the economy as a significant policy issue has decreased, despite the fact that it still ranks first on the public's list of priorities. From 75% a year ago to 63% now, the percentage of Democrats and independents leaning toward the Democratic Party who believe that improving the economy should be a key priority has decreased.
Republicans and GOP learners, meanwhile, have seen almost no change in their opinions (85%top priority then, 82%today).
Democrats are also less inclined than they were in January of last year, before President Joe Biden's inauguration, to rank addressing the employment situation as their top priority. 71% of Democrats said jobs should be a primary priority a year ago; today, only around 50%of Democrats agree (49%). The Republicans' slide has been more subdued (from 63% to 55%).
As a matter of policy, solving the issues of the poor has lost priority. Democrats continue to prioritise this policy area significantly more than Republicans, although Republicans are now less likely than Democrats to see dealing with the issues low-income families confront as a key concern (25%now vs. 35%then; 58%now vs. 68%then).
Additionally, there has been a reduction in the public's opinion that strengthening the political system ought to be a major priority for policy, mostly due to Republican efforts. The proportions of voters in each party who said that reforming the political system should be a high priority were essentially the same as they were the previous year (64%of Democrats and 60%of Republicans). Now, only 40% of Republicans and 61% of Democrats believe that this should be a high priority.
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Claims
Article | July 15, 2022
The worldwide marketplace is undergoing a host of structural changes and insurance companies are consistently working to capitalize on them. The past few years posed a number of new challenges. For an industry whose primary promise is to “be there when customers need us,” delivering top-notch timely services is not only crucial for business continuity but the most urgent goal. Inspiring trust through every process of the policy lifecycle is a significant factor for insurers to be able to maintain goodwill in the market. Recent pressures proved that the industry needs a systemic metamorphosis and digital solutions may be able to provide them.
This is also why many industries are jumping on the bandwagon of digital transformation and insurance is no different. With a barrage of new technologies, solutions and software, it has become easier to automate processes and eliminate inefficiencies that hamper day-to-day-operations. One such area of transformation is insurance policy management. Forward-looking insurers today, can start by rethinking their policy management framework.
The Importance of Automated Policy Management
Simplifying all internal processes is a priority for many insurance providers worldwide. Much of the insurer’s business outcome hinges on streamlined workflows, seamless document management and effective use of different tools. In policy management, mitigating risk is another significant aspect that impacts the bottom line. Today, insurers are heavily investing in new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotic process automation, data analytics and much more.
Policy management entails the comprehensive process of administering policies. From pre-sale to renewal to claims, at every stage of the policy lifecycle, insurers must ensure a smooth process at every stage. Some of the stages of policy management that can be enhanced by using automated policy management tools which include:
Member services
Loss mitigation
Risk assessment
Claims processing
Policy issuance
Policy renewal
Policy cancellation
Compliance
It’s clear that insurance policy administration system (pas) encompasses all the main business processes of an insurance company and the importance of policy management is enough to invest in high-quality solutions that span the policy lifecycle.
The Must-Haves of Policy Management Software
A smart insurance policy management simplifies the process for both the insurer and the insured. For insurers, it should be able to optimize resources and save time in administering policies. For example, life insurance policy management system can help a provider scale their operation, introduce flexibility and administrative simplicity. Here are the components of a policy management solution that is a must-have for every insurance provider. For the insured, the solution can help organizations not only provide a smooth experience
Policy Issuance, Update and Cancellation
The most significant must have that an effective policy management solution should have, is the ability to digitalize every aspect of policy administration. This includes being able to generate documentation, centralize records and oversee all operations across the policy lifecycle.
For instance, everything should be synced so that any updates are made universally across all documents. This eliminates doing manual changes to all the records. In addition, with technologies like robotic process automation (RPA), repetitive tasks can be automated and reduce the time it takes to process documentation.
Underwriting
Underwriting is a process where individuals or firms take financial risk for a fee. In insurance, underwriters are responsible for evaluating the degree of risk to the insurer’s business. It is in essence a manual process that comprises extensive research and assessment of the prospective policy holder. For instance, medical underwriting consisted of ascertaining the charges to levy or even whether to provider coverage to them based on an applicant’s health condition.
Even though underwriting is a time-consuming process, it doesn’t have to be tedious. Underwriters need to access data that is spread across a range of different platforms and sources. Automated policy management enables organizations to accelerate the process of data collection and collation. This is why, automation in underwriting functionalities is one of the most important features of a policy management software that is a must-have.
Estimates and Quotes
Holistic policy management tools are incomplete without quote estimate capabilities. Quoting allows insurers to generate leads. With automated quoting features, insurers can provide estimates without having to directly contact customers, saving time and money in cold calling. In addition, it helps insurers to gather the information they need to then target their leads and tailor solutions that meet consumer expectations.
Quality policy management systems include these capabilities. They work by letting customer input their information and receive a quote estimate based on it. For insurers, in addition to providing leads, it lets them engage customers from the start itself.
Policy Renewal
Renewals is a critical stage in the policy lifecycle. Overseeing renewals and reducing customer churn is something every insurer must prioritize. Renewals handling amplifies the importance of policy management software that offer renewals management tools.
Renewals management features allow insurers to alert policy holders about the ending of their coverage and provides a timely reminder to renew it. Since renewals management tools offer ready information for insurers to access, customers need to update fewer fields. It not only reduces customer churn but contributes to an easy, fast, and customer-friendly process.
Claims Processing
Claims processing is when an insurer reviews a claim process to verify and authenticate the claim made by the policy holder. As a core business process, claims management and processing needs intelligent systemization. Insurance policy management tools that integrate claims processing will enable insurers to automate the settlement process.
Modern policy management tools sync different systems so insurers have a centralized database and can simplify tasks like assigning claims, detecting fraud, record payments issued and automatically generate reports.
Regulations and Compliance
Insurance is a heavily regulated industry and insurers must keep up with the many compliance and location-specific regulations to avoid hefty fines. Regulatory policies are also subject to change and can often realign processes to protect consumers. This may sometimes cause insurers financially. However, complying with new regulations is a business necessity and policy compliance management solutions help immensely.
Insurers must be able to monitor any changes in global and local policies or keep an eye out for announcements regarding the change in rates or regulations. Many insurers have a team to do this but maintaining a team is costly and causes operational complexities.
Modern policy management tools offer the automation capabilities that eliminate the need for extensive overhaul or insurers to keep up with new regulations. These policy compliance management tools help in detecting breach and minimizing it. They also enable better resource allocation as teams no longer need to monitor new and upcoming regulations and plan for implementing the change.
Customer Support
Customer support is one of the most critical aspects of policy management. Beyond software and applications, being able to meet your customers’ demands, address their concerns throughout the customer lifecycle is vital in order to meet business objectives on time.
With digitalization transcending platforms and devices, policy management tools today need to be able to keep up to meet customer demands. This is why mobile-ready policy management solutions are a must. They allow insurers to respond to customers quickly and keep channels of communication open and flowing. In addition, features like quoting estimates and claims processing that accelerate policy administration and management in a streamlined manner are bound to keep customers happy and reduce churn.
Some policy management tools come with marketing automation capabilities as well as a CRM that lets insurers deliver a great experience right from buying decision to ongoing support.
Conclusion
There is no denying that digitalization is the future and insurers need to be ready to adapt to new challenges and evolving demands from consumers. Policy management tools not only enable insurers to overhaul their core process but simplify it and eliminate operational inefficiencies.
The importance of policy management cannot be understated. Age-old challenges and bottlenecks of managing millions of policies can be mitigated with comprehensive policy management solutions. The above components are the most critical process your organization should look to simplify. These essential features ensure you are able to optimize resources, improve operational efficiencies, streamline processes and translate all these into enhanced customer experiences.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does insurance policy management differ from other policy management tools?
Insurance policy management is a specialized solution that caters to insurance companies and enables them to manage renewals, claims, underwriting and all other processes associated with managing an insurance policy for their customers. Other policy management tools help organizations frame policies and management internal policy documents.
What is an insurance policy lifecycle?
An insurance policy lifecycle starts with generating a quote for the customer, onboarding the customer’s application, and finally setting the payment of premiums and renewals. When a policyholder claims insurance, the insurer has to process the claim, verify its authenticity then accept the claim fully or partially or reject it.
What are the ways the insured can choose to pay for the insurance policy?
The insured can either pay a lump sum amount or choose to pay monthly, yearly or quarterly. These payments are called premiums and are calculated based on certain condition set by the insurer.
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Insurance Technology
Article | June 30, 2022
Insurers of the future will play more of a risk avoidance role and less of a risk mitigation one.
The seemingly effective yet simple ideas of Netflix, Uber, Ola, Amazon, and many other ideas have forever transformed their industry segments. Digital transformation in the insurance industry is embraced in various ways to address the complex challenges posed by consumers, regulatory, and digital landscapes.
To keep up with insureds' demands, insurers have had to digitize various aspects of their operations. Any company that wants to stay competitive in today's market must meet customers where and when they need it. Insurance's digital transformation, powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics, mobile services, live chat, and other technologies, enables insurers to do just that and will continue to change the industry for years.
Insurance Companies to Look at Value Chain through a Digital Lens:
Gain First-Mover Advantage:
Product introduction to gain a potentially sustainable competitive advantage. To achieve the first-mover advantage, the insurer should have two crucial capabilities: the ability to pinpoint unmet customer needs to guide product development and quickly adapt existing products to market forces.
Reduce IT costs to fund innovation:
When insurance companies refactor monolithic applications into modular micro services, application maintenance costs are reduced.
Grow revenue by differentiating the customer journey:
Electronic document capture and processing, robotic process automation (RPA), and robo-advisors improve serviceability and help businesses gain a competitive advantage.
Despite market participants' claims that the insurance industry was not an early adopter of digital transformation, new players, business models, and demanding customers are forcing the industry to embrace digital technologies. As a result, the global insurance market is expected to grow by 45% between 2022 and 2025.
Modern digital engineering does not occur in a vacuum; new products must be compatible with existing technologies and processes. Ascertain that the development team understands legacy insurance applications and the data required to integrate them with new, digitally engineered products.
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