The outbreak of Covid-19 ushered in accelerated digitisation in the insurance industry as well as rapid acceptance and adoption by customers.

The industry introduced many features including telemedicine. Life insurance, which was predominantly done offline, largely moved to online channels.

Digital insurance or ‘InsurTech’ has disrupted the entire insurance sector and is bridging the insurance gap in the country. With smartphones and cheap internet, customers can use various platforms like social media, website, email, apps to interact with the insurers and get help in terms of selection, purchase, and filing for claims.

Ease in claim settlement

Digital tools like mobile applications have been helping consumers across the entire policy life cycle, starting from purchasing policies, intimation of claim incidents, processing claims through submission of documents online to claim settlement across all categories.

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For example, if a car gets damaged today, the customer can share the photo of the damaged car with the insurer. Once the proof of the damaged car has been submitted, the insurance company can automatically verify it using AI and telematics and after verification, the amount of the claim will be paid to the customer’s bank account, usually within 24 hours.

Personalised insurance

Online channels have made insurance a personalised experience, much like the e-commerce virtual platforms. Advancement in technology including big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning have helped insurers to understand personalised consumer behaviour, their family needs and help them reach out with more accurate need-based insurance solutions.

For example, based on the information provided including health history of the individual and his/her family, insurer can guide the customer with the right policy and the right cover amount.

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Disease specific optional cover (such as diabetics) or need based cover (such as maternity) will also be recommended.

Options to compare and choose the best

Digital platforms of aggregators or insurers provide unbiased comparisons and analysis of various insurance products based on price, quality and other features.

Consumers can evaluate the pros and cons of each product. Digital tools have made the process of insurance transparent, credible, seamless, personalised, and less time consuming.

(The author is CEO & Co-founder at RenewBuy)

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