Insurance companies are in a race to find new ways to drive efficiencies, improve customer experiences, and drive profitability. Solutions like intelligent automation, AI platforms, and workflow orchestration are transforming the industry, but with so many options available, how do you build the ideal technology stack?
Article Breakdown
Understand Your Goals
One of the most important things you can do is examine your goals. It’s tempting to upgrade your technology for the technology’s sake, or to stay current with the latest offerings on the market. However, if you purchase new technology solutions blindly, you could end up overspending without getting access to the capabilities you really need.
Typically, companies are looking for solutions that can assist with:
- Supporting new products and services.
Are you looking to offer new types of insurance policies or other products and services for your customers? Some tech tools can help you research and eventually create these products. Other tools can help you offer, advertise, or distribute these products.
- Saving time.
A number of tools are designed to save you time, accelerating delivery and reducing the need for manual effort.
- Saving money.
Other tools are designed to save you money, eliminating the need for expensive alternative solutions or boosting company efficiency in other ways.
- Improving customer experience.
When customers have an easier time getting quotes, reviewing their policies, and making claims, your company thrives.
- Complying with laws and regulations.
Insurance companies must tread carefully, complying with local laws and regulations throughout the country. Some tech tools make this much easier.
- Consolidating or simplifying.
And of course, other technologies are secured by insurance companies for the primary purpose of consolidating or simplifying other approaches. For example, might replace four loosely independent software platforms with a single platform that can do the work of all of them together.
Ideally, you’ll find technology solutions that can help you in many categories simultaneously. For example, AI automation tools can automate tasks, saving you time and money while potentially increasing your total output and improving consistency. If implemented correctly, it can also help you improve your customer experience, giving customers access to faster and more reliable service.
Do Your Due Diligence
Always do your due diligence before securing a new piece of technology.
- Test the tool.
Always take the technology for a test drive before purchasing it for your organization. How does it work? How easy is it to use? Does it do what you intended it to?
- Research the developers.
Who made this product and how are they going to support it in the future? Competent developers with a plan for the future should make you feel more secure moving forward with this purchase.
- Evaluate security.
Not all applications are secure by default. In the insurance industry, you have a lot of sensitive information to protect, so make sure you choose tools that are security forward.
- Prioritize usability.
Good technology solutions are highly usable, capable of being wielded even with minimal education or training. It’s better not only for productivity, but also for employee morale.
- Determine fit.
How does this technology fit with the rest of your technological landscape? Will you need to make changes to what you already have? How smoothly do these integrations function?
- Ask questions.
Talk to a representative to ask any remaining questions you have. This is also a great opportunity to gauge the level of support you can get from this development team.
Run a Cost Benefit Analysis
A simple cost benefit analysis can help you crunch the numbers and determine definitively whether a tech product is worth the money. Sometimes, a product looks like it could significantly benefit your organization, but it costs too much money to justify the decision.
On the cost side of the equation, consider not just the money you spend on the tool, but also any time and material costs associated with integrating and learning the tool. On the benefit side of the equation, try to be as objective as possible and quantify the value of the perks you might receive. There will be a number of tools capable of functioning as a net positive for your organization, offering more in benefits than they cost in terms of time or money. But even within this window, it’s important to be discerning; look for the best possible value for your money.
Talk to the Team
It’s also a good idea to talk to the team before making any major tech decisions. The employees using these technologies deserve to have a say in what you purchase and how you integrate it. They may be able to offer experiential insights or ideas that you didn’t consider.
Better technology can help your insurance company offer better products and services, serve customers more consistently and reliably, and save money at the same time. Just make sure you know what you’re looking for and that you do your due diligence before making any final decisions.