Covid-19 and the global lockdown response forced the South African insurance industry to completely rethink the way it operates and serves its clients.
Prior to the pandemic, insurance was one of the many financial services sectors in South Africa that was already undergoing massive shifts towards widespread digitisation of its products and services, but the arrival of Covid-19, with its social distancing and remote work protocols, significantly accelerated this transformation.
Indranil Bandyopadhyay, Head of Information Technology at Nedbank Insurance, says this shift to digitisation, and more focused analysis and application of data, by insurers has the potential to add massive value to consumers. He points to automation, in particular, as one of the digital advances that is rapidly changing the insurance landscape. “Using machines to perform the simple processes that previously took up much of a broker’s or insurer’s time is a logical step towards greater efficiencies in the industry,” he says, “and the resulting quicker turnaround times, with less scope for human error, not only adds to a better client experience, but also frees up brokers to invest more time getting to know their clients so that they can offer them the best possible cover.”
He also points to the immense quantities of data that are being generated by the digitisation of the industry as holding many benefits for all its stakeholders, but particularly insurance clients. “Data, and especially an individual’s behavioural information, is critical for the effective functioning of the insurance industry as a whole, “he explains,” because it allows insurers to look beyond the ‘standard’ insurance needs questions and offer their clients the most appropriate solutions for their precise needs.”
Another key benefit that Bandyopadhyay says will be unlocked through greater access to more in-depth data is the ability for insurers to move away from ‘off-the-shelf’ cover options and instead customise a unique, tailor-made offering for every individual client, based on their exact needs and risk profile. And he contends that data and digitisation will even offer a better policyholder experience when the time comes to claim from their insurer. “Advances in Artificial Intelligence and machine learning mean that increasing numbers of day-to-day claims can be settled without the need for lengthy assessments by humans,” he says, “and this means that, in the very near future, many of the claims that took days to finalise could literally be settled, and paid out, in seconds.”
“While personal service, with face-to-face engagement, will always form an essential part of any good insurance offering, digital solutions are able to significantly enhance the experience of the customer or policyholder by simplifying and expediting most processes,” Bandyopadhyay explains, “and the more the industry can reduce the requirement for human involvement in servicing clients, the lower the costs of such servicing become – and those savings can, and should, be passed on to policyholders. For us at Nedbank insurance, we recognise the fact that digitisation enables us to deliver better insurance products, improved service, and greater cost efficiencies all round - which we believe is a significant win for our clients.”
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