Insurance Customers Demand Intelligent Automation

HfS conducted a first-of-its-kind research study involving 400 senior IT and operations executives from enterprise customers to drive a fact-based discussion on the impact and maturity of automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on business operations. From the study, HfS with support from Hexaware released a seminal report on the state of automation and artificial intelligence across industries. In this report, we spotlight the results of interviews with 80 insurance industry leaders and drill down into the specific needs and requirements of the insurance sector to gain critical insights into how this industry is embracing and leveraging intelligent automation.

Insurance carriers around the globe are cautious as they step into 2018. Across segments, carriers are plagued by:

• Persistent regulatory changes and the resulting compliance requirements,
• The gradual awakening of “insurtech” startups offering real competition to traditional carriers,
• Rising customer expectations and changing behavior and buying patterns, and, finally,
• The rapid pace of technological advancements that carriers must keep pace with in competitive markets.

Whether dealing with life and annuities, property and casualty, reinsurance, commercial, or personal lines, this much is common for the insurance industry-change is coming. The next decade for the industry will be radically different from the last. New players will come to the forefront with new business models and forward-thinking traditional carriers adapt and survive, and perhaps even thrive, in the digital age. The theme of intelligent automation fits well into the narrative, as the industry searches for new sources of value to keep prices low to attract deal-conscious customers, provide quality service with as many straight-through activities as possible, develop smarter processes that make better use of data to make important calculations in claims and underwriting, and, ultimately, create new business models and products that complement our hybrid physical and digital lives, answering questions such as “Will we need Hyperloop insurance in 2028?” 

While intelligent automation has the power to fundamentally change the way organizations are undertaking business operations, it is still early days. There is no intelligent automation playbook. All industries are learning as they go, building expertise and developing and refining use cases to try and quickly identify the most impactful transformation levers. The results are a mixed bag so far, with some emerging strong results at the sub-process level for both AI and RPA. The following major findings spotlight the emerging reality of intelligent automation for insurance carriers and how they are embracing these resources to help pivot to the future: