Is the role of insurance agents shifting?

There's no future in which customers are looking for longer queue times, less detailed responses, and fewer service options when in need of their insurance carriers' help. Whether setting up a new policy or going through the claims process, which historically has been more often tedious than ideal, customers do not want to spend more time than necessary dealing with customer support if possible. While this outlook would seem to drive a strong argument that AI should replace insurance agents everywhere, in reality, the best firms will find a blend of both virtual and live agents, delivering customers speedy response times without losing the personal touch of human engagement where necessary. However, with the adoption of AI across functions of insurance firms such as policy selection, claims management, and customer service, the role and responsibilities of live agents will inevitably have to change, but how?

How real is AI's capability to truly transform the insurance agent and customer experience?

The most straightforward answer is yes. Given the exponential innovation curve that has occurred in conversational AI, and the emergence of hybrid AI solutions that integrate generative technology, the set of capabilities enterprise-ready AI brings to the table is expanding rapidly. Given the highly regulated nature of insurance, risk mitigation still sits atop the list of requirements necessary to turn interest from insurance leaders into true buy-in. However, the tide is turning, with the "abundance of use cases" being cited as one of the main drivers for increased adoption rates of generative AI within insurance, according to KPMG. I completely agree. The scalability, automation, and dynamic nature of today's AI means that when applied to nearly any part of the agent or customer experience, material transformation can occur within weeks.

Speed is great, but for some customers, a human touch is still necessary

It's easy to point to the host of benefits chatbots can provide customers in the insurance industry, such as high-touch support no matter what hour of the night the customer needs help. However, AI's ability to be adopted into virtually every business unit doesn't necessarily mean that it should be. While the sentiment from customers on the use of AI in support functions is largely positive, some situations have been identified where a human touch is preferred. For example, nearly 50% don't want it used in underwriting or decision-critical roles, according to a report from Insurity. While an element of trust in new technology surely plays into this stat, it's understandable that the rapid adoption of AI across the industry may come as a surprise to some consumers, and it will take time for them to become comfortable with a chatbot assisting them in highly complex transactions. 

On the other hand, some are taking comfort in a defining factor of AI that is not often considered a positive, lack of empathy. A recent report from Ohio State University found that when faced with the need to make a potentially embarrassing purchase online, such as anti-diarrheal medicine, 81% of survey respondents visited the store with the chatbots versus the store that had a human agent. There is a comfort that consumers are finding in AI's lack of ability to judge, and the learnings from this can be directly applied to the insurance space as a whole. For example, when customers need to discuss their insurance policy regarding a procedure perceived to be embarrassing, consumers are more willing to engage with a chatbot over a live agent. 

Is AI for me? How insurers can tackle the most common question today

The future of AI in insurance will look different for every enterprise, depending on the needs of their customers and employees, and the state of the technology itself. For many, agent-facing chatbots may be the most practical solution today, helping them to better understand a customer's history and specific inquiry, and the best solution to assist them. For others, their need for expanded self-service options may drive a customer-facing virtual agent, ready to answer customer questions ranging from policy numbers to updates on specific claims. For every insurance leader who is still wondering whether your business can benefit from AI, and is ready for adoption, the following questions will help to kickstart that conversation:

• What is your biggest pain point regarding CX flow? Where does the largest volume of delays occur? How are you currently tackling these problems? Is your solution scalable?
• What are the top 10 questions your agents are asked most often? Are they questions that can be added to a general FAQ landing page, or do they require a dynamic response? How could an AI assist agents in answering these questions?
• What challenges do your live agents face now that could only be solved by hiring more agents? Is this challenge something a virtual agent could be tasked with?
• If you could have an AI agent online tomorrow, what would you task them with first? why?
  

In the age of AI, where is the live agent role going?

Insurance firms are constantly evolving, offering better coverage options and rates to both stay competitive and relevant in their customers' minds. However, with AI on the table, insurers may have to radically rethink their customer and employee experience strategy for the next year, and decade. For example, with conversational AI capable of resolving up to 90% of customer inquiries in some cases, where can time saved to live agents provide a truly red-carpet experience for customers, improving relationships and customer loyalty? Rather than sending auto-generated emails, live agents can spend time curating follow-ups to customers that provide a hyper-personalized and relatable experience.