NEW DELHI: Confederation of Indian Industry Northern region organised the 3rd edition of CII North Insurance Conference with the theme ‘Technology, Data & AI: Key to Productive & Efficient Distribution’ at New Delhi today.
Speaking at the occasion Sandhya Baliga, Insurance Ombudsman (Rajasthan, Delhi, Western UP and Uttarakhand) stressed on the need to explain the terms and conditions of Insurance policies to customers in much simpler language so that the customer is much better educated and there are less conflicts while resolving claims. She further emphasized the need to use technology, data, AI, in claims process and redressals. Ms Baliga also mentioned that while the last decade can safely be said to be the decade of smart phones and apps which have revolutionized the way things are being done and said that the coming decade could well be of the Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics have great potential in doing risk profiling in rural areas.
The CII North Insurance Conference also saw the release of CII-PWC report titled “Competing in a new age of insurance: How India is adopting emerging technologies.” The report highlighted how Insurance in India continues to largely be a ‘push product’ and is considered as a complex product for which customers still rely on face-to-face interactions for better understanding of the product’s features and pricing.
Some of the key highlights of the report are:
· 39% of Indian customers prefer digital modes of communication on their existing policy
· Transaction security, technology compatibility, data privacy and 24-hour availability are mere ‘hygiene’ factors for today’s customers
· Despite the explosion of smartphones in the country, insurance adoption through apps yet to pick steam
Prashant Tripathy, Conference Chairman and CEO & Managing Director, Max Life Insurance Company Limited emphasized on how Technology, Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence will make the Insurance more productive and efficient, however, he also cautioned against not losing the personal touch. “While Technology can make it much more efficient and help in bringing better products but it is the deeper engagement via personal touch that will help in customer base growth and retention,” he added. Given the growth in the number of internet users and that of smart phones, it can safely be assumed that Insurance offerings will change.
“Education is key in increasing the customer base” said Yashish Dahiya, Co-Founder & CEO, PolicyBazaar.com Group of Companies.
He highlighted the need to tell the prospective buyers how the Insurance industry can act as a protective umbrella in times of need. Given that the product needs a push factor to be sold, hence all the more reason that the people are told about the benefits, pros and cons and how to select the best product.
