Parthanil Ghosh, President – Retail Business at HDFC ERGO General Insurance, details the progress and results w.r.t. claims personalization:
Ravi Lalwani: What is the overall approach to the personalization of claims?
Parthanil Ghosh: As a ‘Customer First’ organization, we leverage heavily on advanced technologies like AI & ML, and techniques like data mining to deliver personalized services to our customers. We have developed chatbots, robotics, and voice-based solutions to provide personalized CX anytime, anywhere.
We have implemented self-help portals and mobile applications, linked with core processing systems, to provide convenience to our customers. Being a multi-channel organization, we provide a host of options to customers for claims assistance, policy renewals, etc. For ease of documentation and simplified processes, we have also developed tools with pre-filled options, which results in quicker turnarounds and increased customer satisfaction.
We have launched multilingual support across digital platforms. For example, our self-help chatbot ‘DIA’ and our AI-enabled WhatsApp bot ‘MyRA,’ can assist our customers in 12 languages.
To service our motor insurance customers, we have introduced AI-enabled tools which can assess and detect external damage to automobiles. By providing a complete assessment with estimates for repair and replacement parts, we have assessed motor damage in 70% of manual claims. Furthermore, our AI-enabled break-in inspections have helped us achieve a 50% plus approval rate for eligible cases, enabling customers to receive decisions in around 5 minutes. Our customers can track the status of their claims on a real-time basis through our mobile app Insurance Portfolio Organiser (IPO) or simply through the bitly links which are sent to our policyholders as soon as they register any claim.
Moreover, we have recently partnered with Meta / WhatsApp, which enables our customers to renew their break-in motor insurance policies through WhatsApp without even downloading an app. The AI-enabled camera is programmed to guide customers to capture the right image of their vehicle, ensuring the accuracy of the uploaded photos and leaving out the scope of to-and-fro for the right image. This assures a hassle-free experience to even less tech-savvy customers and plays an important role in reducing the turnaround time.
What data types do you find most useful in personalizing claims?
The cornerstone of personalization in insurance lies in data. By analyzing customer demographic data such as age, gender, marital status, and location, insurers can gain a better understanding of their needs and preferences, allowing them to personalize their claims handling accordingly. Insurers can also leverage customer information such as claims history, policy usage, etc, to get an insight into their behaviour and risk profiles, which can help them detect and prevent fraud. Overall, personalization in insurance can lead to better customer engagement, higher satisfaction, and increased persistence.
What software have you developed/procured for this?
As part of our digital-first and customer-centric approach, we are continuously evolving how we develop and deploy software to provide new hyper-personalized experiences to our customers through digital apps. We have transformed our entire digital service structure into an ‘AI First’ architecture, which has significantly increased self-service from 35% to 60%. We believe that by leveraging AI, we can bring efficiencies to the service model and provide our customers with quicker and more convenient ways to access our services.
We have a strategic partnership with IIT Bombay for an innovation lab and incubator to support high-impact insurance projects spanning acquisition, servicing, renewal, claims, underwriting actuarial practices, and operations. We have also partnered with Google Cloud to build an online platform and provide our customers with a seamless and personalized CX from the moment they purchase a policy to the moment they make a claim.
By harnessing the powers of big data, AI & ML, we have built various risk models which enable potential risk identification and quicker resolutions to prevent leakages from claim processing.
How have the people been structured for handling claims with personalization?
As we have enabled various self-service platforms like self-help portals, mobile appls, and WhatsApp along with various risk models to identify potential risks. Dedicated teams are aligned to continuously monitor the performance of these services as per expectation and improve the CX. A continuous feedback process also ensures an understanding of customer needs.
What benefits of personalization have been observed for the company and customers?
For customers, a personalized claim management system helps in quicker and seamless settlement of claims and for insurers, it helps in proactively looking out for potential risks and nipping them in the bud. It also enables insurers to offer tailored solutions to customers, thereby increasing the chances of upselling and cross-selling, which can lead to increased revenue.
Read more:
Claims personalization improves retention, reduces risk
