How technology is helping in faster claim settlements in health insurance
How technology is helping in faster claim settlements in health insurance
Historically, the insurance industry has been slow on the innovation front. The systems and processes that are in place currently, have remained unchanged for decades and are being followed in the same way today too. This use of legacy systems has led to claims being a slow, cumbersome, and time-consuming process, that is not at all pleasant for the customer and even the insurer.
However, Over the past few years, changing business landscape, new digital-first entrants, and evolving customer expectations have transformed the way companies deliver services. Customers now expect transparent and straightforward information about products/services and quick delivery alongside 24-hour access to the support desk. In addition, with the advent of messaging platforms and bots, customers want greater control of how to communicate. With this, they also need bespoke services that address their requirements and challenges, including insurance products.
Moreover, insurance companies are embracing technology in an attempt to make the claims process faster, more consistent and more qualitative. This step is providing a significant boost to integrated technology in the insurance industry.
The nature of the claims process makes certain tasks repetitive, and the outdated processes do little to improve claim turnaround times, leading to frustrated customers. Advancements are being made in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the technology holds enormous potential for disrupting the insurance industry, especially the claims process.
Let’s have a look:
Artificial Intelligence: Nowadays, AI is assisting the health insurance sector in claim processing, this not only cuts down human intervention but also cuts down the time. This allows customers to have a better user experience, AI helps to capture damage and audit payout & quickens the settlement process. To provide policyholders with accurate, instant, and efficient health insurance plans, AI is utilized by insurance companies to provide the best and tailor-made health insurance plans for customers.
Chatbots: Chatbots are increasingly becoming an integral part of every organization, even healthcare institutions are taking advantage of the technology. Since most people have access to the Internet and smartphones, it is easier to use chat apps to interact with doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies. It is available 24x7, making it more effective than human intervention. It uses sentimental analysis and natural language processing to understand customers' queries better and provide answers to different types of questions related to insurance claims or the selection of insurance products.
Internet of Things (IoT): With the potential to offer real-time customer data, IoT is transforming the insurance industry with active loss-prevention techniques. A study by the Boston Consultancy Group estimates that US insurers could reduce annual claims by 40 to 60 percent, just with the real-time data smart devices provided.
Blockchain: Blockchain holds a lot of opportunities under it, it is found that the main use of blockchain technology is in fraud detection, risk prevention, and ultra-safe cross-border payments. Speaking of fraud detection, Forbes states that an estimated 5 to 10 percent of all claims, in general, are fraudulent which, according to the FBI, costs US health insurers more than $40 billion per year.
Application Programming Interface: APIs are crucial for claims management. Health insurers need efficient integration when it comes to patients’ eligibility, health data, digital claims management, etc. and APIs are ideal for these.
Wearables: Wearables are technological innovations that help insurers. Connected devices such as wearables, hearables, and ingestible will aid digital insurers in the following:
Identify customer segments and categorize products and services accordingly
Offer customized premium pricing and flexible rates based on a wealth of location, health, and environment data
Recognize and update the latest information on a policy holder’s database
Detect fraudulent activities using photos, audio, video, or any other form of qualified data
Generate real-time claims management by an adjuster
It is said that technology can be a great leveler as it ensures that improved products and services are available to society at large. The insurance industry can definitely leverage advancements in technology for the benefit of its customers.