Before the world went digital, people interacted directly to conduct business. Either face to face or over the phone, human interaction was necessary. For some, the move towards digital consumer experiences has been welcome. For others, the leap into digital is still a work in progress.
The autonomy of fully digital consumer experiences can be an adjustment, especially in instances that are once or twice in a lifetime decision-making purchases, like when purchasing a home and securing the necessary insurance. “Sometimes people don’t feel comfortable. Human beings, fundamentally, if they do something frequently, they feel more comfortable. If they don’t do it frequently, just once a year or once every 10 years, it is going to be a hard decision to make,” says Woody Mo, CEO and President eBao Tech, who spoke on a panel at ITC Vegas.
Purchasing homeowners insurance requires a level of nuanced support that has, up until the last decade or so, been provided through human interaction. While some would argue that the ease of use and full control of the digital experience is superior, others might be left wanting a little support along the way. “Customers need advice because they’re not all insurance experts. You might have the best fully automated process end-to-end, but customers still want to talk to a licensed advisor to understand if they’re buying everything that they need and if they’re buying the protection they actually want,” adds Mo.
How generative AI fits with digital insurance
Generative AI is changing the insurance industry and helping it seize its digital future through data. “Data is the new gold,” says Robert Tonoco Pinto, President of Digital Client Services, AON. “So how can you eliminate friction in the buying process to make it easier for customers to get protected?”
Currently, there is a huge knowledge gap for something that is very technical to an average consumer that AI could solve for in insurance. Time and again, we have heard from our partners that while the move to a digital insurance experience works for most of their customers, it’s not a 100% perfect fit for them all. Consumers sometimes need a little helping hand in their digital insurance journey. Specifically, when the product being purchased is complicated. “For certain products there will still be complexity and a need for a person and empathy to intervene … if you have a large and complex home, you may want a risk consultant to tell you if you’re buying the right coverage for your very specific bespoke risk,” says Camila Serna, EVP Head of Digital Acceleration, Chubb.
Filling the gap with Quote Assist™
In a world where these two extremes of digital autonomy and in-person services are simultaneously possible, shouldn’t there be a happy medium? This is how the evolution from offline to online came to be – and how Sure’s Quote Assist™ was born. In order to accommodate this gap in the middle, Quote Assist™ simplifies the sometimes complex world of digital insurance with human support.
To date, the problem with digital insurance distribution has been that human agents lacked the ability to initiate and customize a quote on behalf of a customer, which would remove the friction points and add an assistive touch for customers looking to purchase a policy. As the buying process gets more complex, assisting consumers becomes more necessary.
Quote Assist™ bridges the gap between the offline and online worlds, enabling consumers to make the most informed and supported decisions to protect what matters most. With Quote Assist™, partners are empowered with the visibility they need to better serve their customers in their moment of need. Agents can quickly and easily facilitate quotes that are sent directly to consumers, allowing them the opportunity to interact with agents, while still managing their own digital transaction at any time.
Insurance is a complicated business, having nothing to do with the end-to-end user experience. The role of an agent or advisor will likely never go away as insurance needs increase in complexity. The rise of generative AI and data models are a benefit to brokers and agents in their pursuit to meet customer needs. With Quote Assist™, we’ve not only taken advantage of advancements in generative AI, we have created the ability to offer our partners the best of both the offline and online worlds. With omni-customer experiences – full autonomy or a hybrid – our partners have the advantage of meeting all their customers at their moment of need.
