Low-Code for Insurance Companies:

Author: Jacob Sloan, Appian

Facing a rapid rate of innovation, the insurance industry is sending providers back to the drawing board for technology that will meet increasing customer demand for digital experiences. The rise of insurtechs and the omnichannel capabilities that come with them has changed the game for insurers. In just the first three quarters of 2021, insurtech funding hit $15 billion—more than double the funding for all of 2020. 

To meet customer expectations, insurers are searching for ways to optimize employee workflows and initiate a trickle-down effect for an improved policyholder experience. 

The current state of insurance technology.

Many insurers are using core systems that have been in place for years—possibly even upwards of two or three decades. Those systems aren’t built to keep pace with the way work gets done today, making insurance companies susceptible to challenges that new and emerging insurers and insurtechs may not face.

Siloed data.

The outdated legacy systems that insurers have in place today may be getting the job done, but it’s very likely the job isn’t getting done in the most efficient, cost-effective manner. Older technologies have created silos, making it difficult for cross-functional teams to work together to serve customers. Mission-critical data lives across a number of separate systems, and accessing, updating, and sharing that data takes more time than it should, diverting resources away from the value-driven work that matters most. 

This issue spans the entire insurance process end to end, from quote/bind to customer onboarding, servicing, FNOL intake, claim processing, and more. 

Less than stellar customer experiences.

Employees aren’t the only ones that suffer when they can’t do their jobs effectively. Customers bear the brunt of the impact of disjointed technologies and inefficiencies. Whether it’s not having access to digital channels, themselves numerous times about repeatedly providing information regarding a claim because data is not accessible to all insurance staff who need it, or enduring long wait times while employees go through manual processes to determine next steps, customers are greatly impacted by insurers’ internal inefficiencies.

60% of millennials want their insurance communications available in both traditional and digital forms.

Slow to market. 

Most insurers strive to make improvements to internal processes and develop offerings to improve the customer experience, but existing technology often hinders their potential. When technology doesn’t enable improvements and offerings to get to market quickly and insurers can’t respond to change rapidly, room for growth is minimized and both employees and customers suffer.

The solution: a low-code platform built for change.

Insurers are turning to unified low-code platforms and solutions to level up their operations and exceed expectations for all aspects of the customer lifecycle. A comprehensive low-code platform helps insurers boost efficiency and deliver better service to their customers, reducing churn and increasing loyalty while also utilizing existing legacy systems. Here’s how. 

1. Process discovery. Improving workflows won’t be effective unless insurers know exactly what workflows to improve and how to improve them. Process mining gives insurers a look into their existing workflows to help identify where bottlenecks occur and why. Once identified, low-code applications can address the true root cause of the problem, then measure improvement.
2. Unified systems. Instead of ripping and replacing existing technology, insurers can use low-code to bring data together and eliminate silos. Low-code platforms are built to be open and seamlessly integrate with existing legacy systems. With data available in a single view, staff can make more informed decisions and better serve customers. When staff spend less time toggling between applications, they can focus on delivering a white-glove customer experience.
3. The end of repetitive tasks. Native intelligent automation capabilities including intelligent document processing (IDP), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and robotic process automation (RPA) allow staff to focus their efforts on value-driven work and customer experience.
4. Omnichannel capabilities. Customer expectations for digital experiences are high and insurers are racing to meet that demand. Robust low-code platforms offer natively mobile applications and portals that allow customers to work with their insurer in their preferred medium.
5. Increased speed to market. Low-code means high-speed. Enterprise applications are built in far less time than they would be in traditional development methods because low-code is intuitive, visual, and can be quickly deployed. This also makes it easier to adjust the application as business needs change, enabling insurers to boost their agility, collaborate more closely, and evolve with the market.

Insurers are under mounting pressure to evolve with consumer demands and changing workplace dynamics. And while the sentiment is there—insurers do want to change with the times and remain as competitive as possible—their technology holds them back. 

Customers under the age of 55 are almost three times more likely to switch insurance providers than those over 55, with digital tools being a prime motivator.

Insurers can use a low-code platform to identify and streamline their fragmented processes to deliver better service for their customers, rather than continue with costly core modernization efforts using traditional development. Insurers use low-code for a multitude of insurance processes, such as these:

• Claims modernization.
• Streamlined underwriting and straight-through processing.
• Customer onboarding and servicing.
• Case management.
• Compliance monitoring and reporting.
• Audit management.
• Environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

There are countless ways low-code helps insurers stay competitive and deliver better experiences to their customers. Learn more at appian.com/insurance. 

Date: April 20, 2022