What will technology bring to the insurance industry this year and this decade?
What is shifting the insurance field right now? How might the COVID-19 pandemic affect technology adoption?
Some Tech Changes Are Driven by Necessity
In recent weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way millions of people work, with more people working from home in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus. Fortunately, many agencies and employees are technologically equipped to make the change to working from home, but this is a new paradigm for many agencies. Ironing out the wrinkles in working from home may take time.
Tech Changes Are Occurring in the Broader Culture
Technology is changing in the culture as a whole, and these changes shift the way the insurance industry works. For instance, in recent years, home-sharing through organizations such as Airbnb has changed the way people rent their homes, while ridesharing apps like Uber have done similar things in the automobile industry.
According to Scale Focus, when looking at ridesharing drivers, “the results from a recent study show that only about 20% of them are insured.” Will they get into the insurance market, and how will this change the industry? With the rise of autonomous cars and smarter homes, there are changes coming that might make people safer but will definitely make the understanding of risk more complex and changeable in the short term.
Technological Interactions Carry Risk
As people continue to interact with technologies inside and outside the office, often holding the office in the palm of their hand, this comes with increased risks for you as an insurance agency. When insurance jobs and insurance data are portable, you still need to ensure that you find a way to make your business information and client information safe. Adding layers of security and employee education will help you improve your interactions with technology as the scammers grow more savvy every day.
Technologies Offer New Data Possibilities
What if you had a safe ability to access abundant data that would allow you to make better decisions for your company and your clients? Technologies such as blockchain offer new and intriguing possibilities for insurance underwriters. This could allow underwriters to access abundant data from new external sources to increase their ability to automate their jobs. It can also help claim processing move more quickly, allowing for rapid data processing and verification.
CRM And Cloud-Based Management of Customer Data
As technologies to manage client information become better and better, you will have more of an opportunity to personalize your insurance communications, marketing, and overall customer service. Connect with your insurance clients on a deeper level by addressing their needs and tracking what information interests them. CRM can not only help you target and attract more clients – it will also help you increase customer retention and customer referrals.
According to Perfect Mind, “if you need to resolve an issue for a customer, your representatives will be able to retrieve all activity concerning that customer, including past purchases, preferences, and anything else that might help in finding a solution quickly.” You can also improve your internal communication about specific clients and client issues, as you and your colleagues will have all of that information on hand.
Are you ready for a new decade? At American Agents Alliance, we’re looking forward to seeing new technology trends emerge. Visit us at this year’s Alliance Convention to learn more about trends in the industry, or contact us today to learn more about our many membership benefits.
