Equitable Employee Benefits, a division of Equitable Holdings with a history spanning over 160 years, embarked on a journey of modernization and innovation in its high-growth mode. Stephanie Shields, the Head of Employee Benefits, recognized the potential of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations and elevate customer experiences. Equitable's decision to harness the power of AI began with the transformation of its group insurance quote intake process—a mission-critical, high-volume operation. The goal was to achieve speed, accuracy, and scalability while enhancing broker and client experiences.
Challenge
Equitable Employee Benefits grappled with a substantial volume of unstructured quote requests received via email. The lack of an automated solution led to time-consuming manual extraction of complex census information, hindering operational efficiency and potentially compromising service quality.
Solution and Impacts
Equitable's partnership with Ushur yielded impressive results and transformed its operations:
- Processing Time Reduction: The implementation of Ushur’s IDP Solutions resulted in an 80% reduction in processing time. Ushur helped Equitable compress processing time from 5 days down to 5 minutes - delivering response speed and significantly reducing operational burden.
- Scalability: Approximately 80% of RFP submissions are now efficiently processed, demonstrating its pivotal role in handling a substantial workload during peak season.
- Swift Implementation: The project achieved a remarkable milestone with the first go-live within a short span of 3 months from inception.
Conclusion
Equitable Employee Benefits revolutionized its operations by adopting Ushur's IDP Solutions, significantly cutting processing times and human errors. This transformation enhanced proactive customer engagement, positioning Equitable as a leader in efficiency and customer-centricity. By leveraging AI to simplify processes and elevate customer experiences, Equitable sets a new standard for modernization in the insurance industry. As it continues to scale, Equitable exemplifies the power of innovative technology in driving industry excellence.