It claims to make the insurance process simple and transparent. in an interview,
Shanai Ghosh, Edelweiss General Insurance Executive Director and CEO discuss changes in insurance post-covid Environment, how technology is affecting the user experience and much more. Edited excerpt:
Covid accelerated digitization and insurance was among the products that customers adapted to buy online. What experiences and some key trends have you seen over this period?
COVID has transformed the entire insurance ecosystem from insurers, customers, partners and intermediaries. The entire transaction cycle from purchase to claims was fueled, with digital becoming the most preferred medium.
The most impressive result of COVID has been the boom in digital claims. The entire process from claims intimation to settlement is now going completely digital, providing great ease and convenience to all the stakeholders.
Apart from digital transformation, the motor insurance sector is witnessing another trend which is the ‘pay as you use’ model under the regulatory sandbox. Under this model, EGI has launched Switch, an on-demand, mobile telematics based comprehensive motor policy. The switch encourages good driving behavior. This allows customers to save money if they are driving well.
IRDAI’s sandbox initiative calls for innovative ideas for offering new products. These include behavior based insurance products. What effect will this have on the market?
Customers today want personalized solutions that provide them with superior value and
them with more control and choice. Switch is our sandbox product that meets this customer’s need. It puts the control in the hands of the customer. For example, the better they drive, the less premium they pay.
IRDAI’s sandbox is a great platform for digital insurers like us to offer technology driven solutions to customers. We are expecting some of these sandbox products to transition to mainstream products in the near future. ‘Pay as you use’ is a concept and trend that has the potential to become mainstream. It is expected to change the industry standards and norms of determining motor insurance premium by bringing in factors like usage based premium and driving based premium.
What new products is EGI offering?
Our latest offering is the Switch, which is completely digital. Policy is an app where customers have access to everything from viewing policy documents to claims, thereby providing a seamless experience to the customers.
The Switch is a usage-based model where how much and how well you drive determines the premium you pay. The app detects vehicle speed and automatically activates insurance, generates a real-time driving score, and dynamically rates premiums. ‘Drive less, pay less; Drive better, pay less’ is the switch.
Claim settlement has been an issue among the customers for a long time. How has digitization affected claims settlement?
Yes, claims have been a concern, but technology is now enabling insurance companies to address it. We use technology to reduce our turnaround time and improve our customer experience. For FY22, we have a claim settlement ratio of over 97% for motor claims. For us, speed is of the essence. We have settled our fastest motor claim in just 79 minutes.
We have Bolt, our live video streaming app, which allows instant inspection of vehicles. The app can be used by consumers, partners and garage owners to ensure faster settlement. In FY12, 41% of motor claims were processed through Bolt.
What challenges do you see in the market?
Access to insurance remains a challenge for the industry. Low awareness and understanding of insurance is part of the problem. However, this unfortunate trust deficit is exacerbated by the deficit that exists. Our research has shown that customer perception of claims remains opaque, document intensive and unnecessarily complex.
Skepticism, along with technical and confusing lingo, can be a huge deterrent. The industry really needs to introspect why we are still obsessed with perception, despite the volume of claims paid. We need to do a better job of communicating with customers in a simple and transparent manner.
The other big thing we need to do to grow in the industry is empathy – customers react to the ‘how’ more than the ‘what’. I have seen many instances where customers are not happy with the experience even after the full claim has been paid. Insurers need to offer simple products that are easy to understand and convenient to use for the customer. The entire process from purchase to claims needs to be simplified and explained to the customers in a sympathetic approach and in simple language.
Insurers need to strike a balance between digital adoption and human intervention that will not only help streamline the entire customer journey, from discovery to purchase to claims to customer service, but also lead to a seamless, positive experience. Will happen.