Insurance is one sector of the financial services industry which has faced challenges as it embraced the digital revolution - first by choice and then by necessity following the pandemic lockdown. Cloud computing has taken hold, but some carriers are early in exploring solutions like artificial intelligence and machine learning.Insurance companies are eager to find technologies that cannot just improve but differentiate their overall customer experience, ideally while also reducing operational expense. One specific area insurance companies are looking at closely is claims service and process automation or as Ushur likes to call it, the future of insurance.
Ushur is helping revolutionize claims service and process automation, from initial claim intake to automating two-way interactions for status and payments. For customers this means faster service across the life of their claim, helping accelerate carrier responsiveness from days (or weeks) to hours (if not minutes). No matter the type of claim, from short-term disability to an automobile accident, Ushur’s platform turns data into actionable customer engagements to elevate the customer experience across the Life, Accident and Health (LA&H) and Property and Casualty (P&C) lines of business.
For example, a customer is driving down the road in the middle of the night and collides with an object. Using Ushur’s platform the customer would be able to text with a chatbot in the middle of the night reporting the accident and getting information on what steps to take next. Or as soon as an employer notifies their carrier about a workplace injury, the injured employee could receive a reassuring note that their workers compensation claim is in progress. With current legacy insurance systems this customer or injured worker may have to wait a few days to reach someone on the phone to find out what to do with their damaged vehicle, or when their first benefit check will be issued. Ease of customer interaction and responsive service drive customer satisfaction, it is that simple.
In an uncertain world, it is never 110% known when an adverse event will necessitate a customer to file a claim. However, insurance companies over the years have collected enough data that enables them to anticipate seasonal peaks and valleys in claim frequency and severity. For example, in the United States, natural perils can be timed based on historical data. Hurricanes are more common in between August and October while wildfires in the western United States are more prominent in the months of May through October. These data insights allow claims departments to ramp up their workforce before these forecasted periods of high claims volume become reality. Some carriers may solve for temporary capacity shortfalls during predicted periods of high claim frequency through temporary resources or contracting with a claims outsourcing company. Historical data reveals similar claims peaks in the LA&H segment, where disability claim frequency increases during periods of economic recession. The seasonality of claim volumes provides a perfect environment for claims automation processes to take the reins of to offer scalable and responsive service interactions that are better solved by insurance-savvy artificial intelligence. When claims processes can be automated this helps remove bottlenecks that otherwise develop due to large volumes of new losses being reported to an insurance company after a significant event. With current insurance knowledge on the timing of peak claims volumes, automation can also proactively send valuable information to customers on how to mitigate damage from an upcoming event. Carriers can reach out to their customers to provide guidance on what process to follow if something bad does occur, and even offer access to service providers to assist with immediate repairs. These communications can be pushed out automatically through Ushur’s platform, reaching customers through text or email, based on their digital channel preference. While offering valuable service both pre- and post-loss, claims adjuster capacity is protected to focus on the hands-on help some customers need during a catastrophic event.
Being an insurance adjuster can be a stressful job to say the least and these professionals sometimes resemble first responders following a significant event, ranging from a weather catastrophe or a serious injury. In times of crisis, a human touch is needed to support customers, guide them through the unfamiliar claim process and offer them peace of mind. This is where the value of claims service and process automation adds infinite value for insurance companies, their customers, members, and claimants. Communication and empathy are the two main components of a successful claims experience. Lack either of these and your customer will be shopping for a new carrier before the adjuster’s phone call ends. Through automation of predicted activities (like following up for an update after a recent doctor’s visit, or offering digital payment enrollment), adjusters can focus on the human touch, providing a hand to hold in time of need to ensure normal life is closer than the customer thinks.
Ushur’s intelligent automation platform provides flexible customer engagements where the customer is in control of their claim experience from start to finish. The platform is omni-channel, empowering customers with multiple ways from email, to text to mobile apps and chatbots to directly engage with their insurance company at anytime from anywhere. These customer micro-engagements™ are data mines for continuous carrier learning, meaning the platform is enabling carriers to elevate how to best serve their customers with every interaction.
Ushur’s No-Code FlowBuilder enables business analysts to create automated workflows making it easier on claims staff to focus on complex issues while routine tasks are being taken care of by automated processes driven by artificial intelligence. Implementation is made even easier as customer workflows can be customized without a need for coding skills, giving insurance companies greater control on how they engage with customers throughout the claims process. Ushur customers are creating and deploying new, high value automations in hours or days. They are seeing significant inbound call volume reductions and elevated customer satisfaction scores through proactive claim status updates. This allows insurers to build great customer experience when customers need them the most.
Let Ushur help automate your company’s business processes to lower costs and improve customer satisfaction. It has been proven that customers whose claims experience exceeds their expectations are more likely to stay with their current insurance company even when product pricing is taken into consideration. Let go of the constraints of legacy systems and allow smart technology to take your claims organization to the next level.
Ushur delivers the world’s first AI-powered Customer Experience Automation™ platform that has been purpose-built, from the ground up, to intelligently automate entire customer journeys, end to end. Designed to deliver delightful, hyper-personalized customer experiences through rapid issue resolution and unified, omnichannel engagement, Ushur is the first-of-its-kind system of intelligence. It combines Conversational Automation and Knowledge Work Automation in a No-Code, Cloud-native, SaaS platform to digitally transform every step of the complete enterprise customer experience – from Micro-engagements™ to entire customer journeys.
Backed by leading investors including Third Point Ventures, 8VC, Pentland Ventures, Aflac Ventures and Iron Pillar, Ushur’s Customer Experience Automation™ solutions are currently in production at some of the leading insurance providers across the globe including Irish Life, Unum, Aetna, Cigna and Tower Insurance.
