Chatbots are the Future of Customer Support in the Insurance Industry

The executive head of Hippo.co.za, Vera Nagtegaal, says Artificial intelligence (Al) tech such as robo-advisors and chatbots are playing a progressively active role in the financial services industry, as reported by IT Web. Globally, insurance companies are also starting to follow this trend, with local insurance providers not far behind. Robo-advisors are a class of financial advisers that provide financial advice online with very little human intervention.

Nagtegaal points out that people are getting used to chatting with computers, and robo-advisers are rapidly taking over the financial services industry - from risk analysis and mitigation services to regulatory compliance and client interaction. “Global tech giants like Amazon and Google have rolled out digital assistants (Alexa and Hey, Google), and Apple’s product HomePod will be out later this year. But before people hand over the running of their households to artificial intelligence (AI), they will probably have the opportunity to interact with a machine’s “mind” much sooner – in the form of an insurance robo-advisor or chatbot,” she says.

Insurance providers, including Car Insurance companies, have been making more attempts to keep pace with trends reshaping the market and closing the gap with other financial sectors, according to PWC’s Global Fintech Report 2017. Over 50% of insurers still see their industry as the second most likely sector for disruption, after consumer banking.

Nagtegaal explains that due to this insurance companies are getting into more engagements and partnerships with Fintech businesses, to devise solutions like chatbots on the consumer-facing side, and machine learning to weigh-up risks and develop products internally.

A survey found that millenials prefer to communicate with their insurer mostly through online platforms. This indicates that the market is ready for robo-advisor interaction.