How AI is engaging customers in insurance, banking sectors

Munish Sharda, CEO of Future Generali India Life Insurance, is clear. Though insurance continues to be a subject matter of solicitation, a little digital help is set to provide deep extra cover, and aid the company grow the product ecosystem to build customer loyalty.

“We are giving power to consumers. Managing a policy will now lie in the consumer’s hand. As consumers want to engage with us even more, sometimes even for standard stuff, we are looking to make the exercise more transparent with a digital initiative,” Sharda told BusinessLine .

Chatbot REVA

The company has decided to use a Robotic Enabled Virtual Assistant (REVA) chatbot and is looking at Artificial Intelligence (AI) and NLP (Natural Language Processing) to cater to consumers’ increasing demands on real time basis. Private sector banks, too, are using innovative technology for improving workforce productivity. While Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) recently launched an IoT device to solve customer grievances at the branch, State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) have started deploying AI in a big way to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs and enhance customer experience.

Technology disruption has been driving the banking and financial sector landscape. Though large commercial and investment banks globally have been incorporating AI and blockchain for both back office and customer facing services, in India, widespread adoption of these technologies has just about started making its mark.

Like Aviva Life Insurance, which launched a chatbot named Alisha, the chatbot is powered by IBM Watson’s Conversation application programming interface. Earlier this year, the company launched ‘Aviva Kid-o-scope’, a digital platform for Aviva customers, built with advanced physchometric tools, to help parents identify and nurture a child’s aptitude and talent.

Given that insurance and banking consumers are demanding more individualised experiences as they become increasingly accepting of new technologies, many are eager for personalised offers built on data that they voluntarily provide.

Stating that insurance and the banking sector are “slightly ahead of the game these days in terms of using technology to get ahead”, Future Generali’s Sharda says the global major’s rich insight into insurance sector and its ability to leverage technology are aimed at delivering sustainable growth. “This has multiple implications, for we can provide and give innovation to the customer even before he asks for it, and when he needs it the most,” he adds.

Since insurance companies have frequent, multi-channel interactions with their customers, “Technology gives one the added edge to be flexible and be transparent. It allows us to engage with the customer when he wants, and cater to his exact need. It is an imperative today, since long-term savings are involved,” he said.

Cost saving

Aided by AI and Machine Learning, even bots are facilitating customer access to insurance and banking solutions. Chatbots are a rage in the BFSI sector. IOB and BoB have a chatbot, and so does SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank. A new report from Juniper Research states that chatbots could save banks up to $11 billion annually by 2023, and up to $6 billion by the end of this year.

Future Generali India’s new digital initiative will only serve existing customers, for now. Leveraging technology to improve the quality of services is how the company has decided to tackle the competitive marketplace. The digital exercise is to provide data and insights into what customers want from the company.

“Insurance is a life-stage product,” said Sharda. “One needs different products at different stages, and it is for us to understand this need. A customer may have a child education plan, while another may be looking at taking out a large mortgage. Another might be deliberating on a large cover on life, and someone might be looking at pension. Health-care and critical illness plans could be high on the agenda for another. It is for us, with digital aid, to be able to decipher the customers’ varied needs.”