Chatbots are currently the subject of wide-ranging discussions in many sectors and industries. In the course of digital transformations, more and more companies want to transfer their services into the digital age. Chatbots are a fast solution for many companies to optimize their services. If you look at Gartner’s current research results, this is not an unlikely development, as the research institute expects 85% of customer relationships to be automated by 2020. One of the industries concerned will be the insurance industry.
Digital corruption has been a relevant issue in the insurance industry for many years. It is not only a matter of insuring digital goods and adapting one’s own business model and the services offered to the changing society, insurers themselves must also change and use digital tools. According to a recent study, 7% of insurers in Germany are already using chat bots to supplement their range of services; another 44% are planning such a step.
Chatbots as insurance agents
The bots are a blessing for the data-intensive insurance industry. You learn to do new things quickly and can work your way through huge amounts of information in seconds. The artificial intelligence in the systems allows well-programmed bots to recognize patterns and repeat related actions when triggered by certain words, phrases or other stimuli.
For this reason, many insurers already rely on the technology today and already use it internationally, as chatbots.org impressively lists:
- Magda is the chatbot for Link4, an online car insurance company based in Poland.
- Allie is Allianz’s virtual online assistant that offers policyholders a 24/7 service.
- Arbie supports the customers of RBC Insurance in Canada with all possible questions.
- Marc represents the health insurance offer of the French Credit Agricole.
The future of the insurance industry
With the advisory bots, insurance companies can transport their services into the next age. The automated interlocutors answer all customers’ questions about insurance offers and tariffs. However, there is still room for improvement and initial expenditure.
Chatbots seem to be wise at first glance, but they are not right from the start. They must be trained and learn from the interactions. Therefore, users must also be introduced to this service with reasonable expectations, so that there are no major disappointments.
The future of chatbots in the insurance industry is likely to depend largely on the development of artificial intelligence. The only way in which chatbots will come close to human interaction in the future is through advanced processing of recorded information and improved algorithms for machine learning.
