Automation In Underwriting: It’s Here to Stay

Bots. Internet of Things. Artificial Intelligence. However, you say it, automation is everywhere. It’s no longer the science fiction of the past: companies now use robots and algorithms to carry out core business functions like production, managing inventory and optimizing logistics. These technological advances have created a new age of automation, and consumers – especially young consumers – that expect smart, quick, and flexible solutions on a large scale. With generational shifts occurring in all industries, expectations are also shifting in the insurance industry, and a prevalent question is how to underwrite policies more efficiently.  Consider the far-reaching hands of automation. In keeping with the embrace of disruptive innovation, companies like Amazon have launched AI stores.  The concept of these automated stores is all about AI, eliminating cashiers and cutting down on long lines. When customers shop at this brick-and-mortar location, they never wait in line; they simply need to download the Amazon Go app, enter the store, take the products they want, and…go.

An industry that fits closer to insurance that has embraced these forward-looking automated concepts is banking. Automated teller machines, better known as ATMs, have been a part of the American landscape since the 1970s, revolutionizing the banking experience. But with people using cash less and less, the industry has now been forced to move further forward. The mobile payments wave has rushed in, allowing consumers to use their smartphones to pay for purchases. Social services like Venmo and Apple Pay are forcing the industry to create their own easy-to-use apps for payment and purchase options.

Within the world of insurance underwriting, automation improves carriers’ overall workflow by achieving greater speed and efficiency, adapting to changing business needs, reducing human error, and improving team roles, responsibilities, and overall company production.

Embrace the automation disruption.

A good place to start your plan to embrace the automation disruption is in commercial underwriting. We’ve created four simple steps insurers can take to put automation to work:

• Benchmark where you are within the areas of underwriting. Can you use improvements, and do you want to save time, money, and resources? If you answered “yes” to any of these, determine what issues can be solved through automated underwriting solutions.

• Educate your teams, and have each role (underwriters, managers, and product managers) identify areas that can be automated.

• Communicate out the plan so everyone is on the same page.

• Contact Management Research Services for a free consultation as they offer customized insurance underwriting solutions to support a range of insurance services. They can assist with your new business applications and underwriting processes through various proprietary technology platforms.

Don’t get left behind. Automation is here to stay, so implement a strategy soon to advance automation right now.

Connect with MRS to find out how you can test-drive a demo of our top-of-the-line insurance services technology today.