How Data Can Help to Understand Customer Profiles
As explained in our last blog, security is a fundamental benefit of blockchain because only certified parties in the network can transact. Blockchain ledgers are a common version of the truth that each party holds and acts upon.
“In enterprise uses, the technology allows contracting parties who need to see the information see it and no one else,” says Robert Crozier, chief architect of customer platforms and head of global blockchain at Allianz.
“However, blockchain-enabled products are as secure as the people who build them and the systems on which they are deployed,” Crozier notes in a report compiled by Raconteur, which produces content for decision makers.
According to the report, this unique, shared version of digital data prevents duplication and manual entry, without having to centralise the information. It guarantees ownership and privacy, enabling synchronicity between the authorised parties, and removing the need for costly reconciliation and rekeying of data.
Another trend in future claims technology is the greater quantity and new types of data available that might enable organisations to create better customer risk profiles and better understand customer behaviours.
Digital advances and new analytics can allow insurers to harness this data and engage with customers in new ways, ultimately opening the potential for insurers to reduce risks, prevent losses and proactively reach out when a loss occurs, rather than waiting for the customer to contact them.
That’s according to The Insurance Network, which explains in a new report that this kind of transformation will require a rethinking of claims operations to identify opportunities to make processes more interactive and data driven.
Claims is fundamentally a series of transactions and processes that involve decisions, data, and information – all of which are time sensitive, according to this new report. we would certainly echo the report in saying that simply replacing claim systems is not going to make the difference if the processes that those transactions depend on are broken.
Once effective processes are in place, insurers will be able use digital intelligence to enhance the claims process, make data driven decisions, pursue more proactive communication with their customers. They can then seek to move the focus towards risk mitigation and claim prevention and so will be well positioned to pull ahead of the competition.
The age-old fear of course, is that technology is potentially a threat that could lead to more jobs being taken away but analysis from significant market players such as Zurich, across its global population of 7500 people working in claims, is that far more knowledge will be augmented by technology than will be replaced by technology.
The company believes in helping its people adapt to digital – they believe in using technology to enable and augment what they do. The biggest measures of value should be reduction of claims spend and more accurate policy pricing, or a better claims experience.
As Ian Thompson, the Group Claims Director at Zurich, says: “I’m a firm believer if you actually start with the customer journey, it’s amazing when you start to look at what creates customer dissatisfaction and where we create unnecessary friction or complexity – as you start to drive from that lens the efficiency improves and people feel more empowered, but also the claims outcomes are optimised as well…the hard benefits are cost reduction, the soft benefits improve retention and customer service.”
DOCOsoft is all about giving claims handlers the tools to augment their capabilities and taking them on a journey that helps them to provide added value to their customers. We are engaged in a number of ClaimsTech initiatives ranging from day-to-day refinement work on Brexit Part VII Transfer, Peer review management and a new update to the expert management module to support GEMINI. Our automated sanctions checking module has been described as groundbreaking by clients, delivering additional controls and efficiencies.
Looking to the future, DOCOsoft is well aware of the impact of cyber on the insurance sector and the future impact on underwriting. Could capturing additional claims data help to understand these risks? We think so. There is much to look forward to in the development of future technology for claims.