Insurance claims in an instant: fact or fiction?

Digital disruption is gathering momentum in many areas of insurance including medical, travel and pet.  Much of the current focus is on claims management, where insurers are replacing traditional processes with automation and self-service to deliver better customer experiences.

Handling millions of claims daily

According to the Association of British Insurers, in 2019 UK insurers processed £46 million of claims in motor and property insurance every day, paid out a daily average of £15.8 million on income protection and £2.2 million on veterinary treatment for pets.  In pet insurance alone, UK insurers dealt with almost one million claims settlements for the nation’s 7.7 million pet insurance policyholders, while £377 million was paid out to settle almost half a million travel insurance claims.

Imagine the paperwork involved in assessing this number of claims, and the frustration felt by customers making multiple calls into contact centres and speaking to different agents each time there is a query.  It is widely acknowledged that many claims take days or weeks to settle.  Digital technology makes it possible for insurers to settle most claims within minutes or even seconds, delivering an improved experience to the customer and vastly reducing operational costs.

Customer self-service for claims

There is continuous innovation seeking to drive a digital mindset through the industry. One example reported in Insurance Business is USA Insurtech RecovX Health that has filed patents for a consumer-direct app providing self-service to those making personal injury claims.  Using the app, people will be able to file all their documents for the claim.  In addition, the app analyses a range of data to provide a scientifically based value for the claim, so the customer knows what payment to expect.

This app aims to reduce the time to settle a claim by 50 percent.  Yet the extent of innovation in the industry can go way beyond this.  Similar platforms are being deployed already that can settle all but the most complex or anomalous claims in an instant.  At Aquarium Software, our focus is on the fast-growing pet insurance market and we work with insurers to deliver a truly digital experience for all aspects of the insurance process.  For owners, going digital means it is entirely possible to have a claim settled for a pet right from the vet’s surgery within moments.

It should be possible for customers to make a travel claim for lost luggage from the airport and receive payment by the clicking an app on their mobile phone, or for a simple household claim to be paid in minutes, along with a repair company booking, based on digital photos uploaded to an app.

Insurance needs to be right for each individual

Automation delivers ease, speed, and convenience of service to customers.  Yet, in our opinion, there is another essential feature of a digital service that provides customers with an enhanced experience. Insurance needs to be fully tailored to the requirements of an individual, or pet.  Aquarium uses powerful real-time data analysis through artificial intelligence and machine learning to ensure that policy and claims information is customised for each case, and not assessed against general sets of industry data.