How apps and new-age tools are making motor insurance claims and renewals smooth

Over the years, the motor insurance industry has been growing at a fast pace in India. The automobile industry’s expansion meant rapidly rising demand for motor insurance as a by-product. The motor insurance business enjoyed the largest share in the general insurance segment, accounting for 36.50 percent of the pie in 2019-20.

Motor insurance premiums are also expected to grow at around 6-8 percent owing to the increase in the third party insurance premium rates and rise in auto sales, as per ratings agency CARE. It also said that the industry would further grow given that 57 percent of the vehicles on the road are uninsured and hence the need to bring them under the insurance umbrella. With the anticipated rise in numbers, it is quite evident that the motor insurance industry is progressing and there is a need to introduce technological and product innovations in order to improve customer experience.

Also read: Four little-known motor insurance add-ons that are critical for vehicle owners

Technological innovations in claims and renewals

In the last few years, technology has become a focus area for all major insurers and many insurtech players have emerged in the insurance space. Technological innovations are now helping insurers and insurtech companies to increase productivity, improve consumer experience, thereby creating value across the chain. Claims and renewals form an integral part of the insurance ecosystem. Claims is the ultimate truth for customers and even their purchase decision is influenced by claims settlement ratio of insurers. Process innovation from insurtech players is narrowing the gap with consumer needs. Digitization is helping insurers to reduce processing time by improving and simplifying claims process.

Insurers and insurtechs have introduced self-service apps that facilitate quick, cashless motor claims by connecting all the stakeholders – consumer, surveyor and the garages – through a single platform with minimal human assistance. Consumers can take videos of the damaged vehicle using the in-app video feature, which then goes for approval. New approaches such as geo-tagging are in place wherein customers can send images of the damaged vehicle or an investigator can click a picture of the accident area by geo-tagging it. This increases the authenticity of the image shared with the insurer for claims. Self-service apps provide timely updates, pre-filled documentation, easy and online approvals, faster payments and tech-supported processing making the insurance journey easier for consumers and further enhancing their experience. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, insurers can improve the turnaround time for claim settlements and minimizing human intervention. It also helps in maintaining accuracy in a shorter period.

The renewal process has also evolved over the years. For renewal of lapsed motor policies, nowadays, there is no need for physical inspection, which used to be a cumbersome process earlier and used to take 6-7 days. Insurers have introduced video inspection apps wherein customers record and upload video of their vehicle in prescribed format along with supporting documents as mandated by law and the vehicle gets a policy issued in a few hours. Using video inspection through apps in case of break-in policies has reduced human intervention leading to faster and unassisted purchases. Insurers also assist consumers on timely renewal through reminders in the form of app notifications/ e-mails ahead of the policy expiry date.

New digital technologies have been adopted such as AI powered chat-bots which are able to analyse consumer questions and provide relevant and useful responses. Today, customers don’t have to wait for 15 minutes on a call queue just to know their policy issuance status, a simple bot interaction helps them out within seconds.

Digital is the way forward

Digital technologies are changing the way in which the insurance industry operates. Insurers and insurtechs are disrupting this space through innovations in customer-oriented technology and products. New-age insurers are discovering ways to streamline processes in a manner that everything from buying insurance policies to issuance to claims is seamless. Further, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) sandbox regulations will provide a conducive environment for testing new products and driving innovation in insurance.  It will also help in increasing insurance penetration in semi-urban areas and narrowing down the protection gap, thereby fostering financial inclusion.