New technologies in life insurance

The insurance market is becoming increasingly digital. More and more insurance products are being sold online, remote claims settlement services are being developed, and new insurance products are being offered. Against this backdrop, the life insurance segment stands out somewhat, driven by savings and investment insurance products.

Obviously, these are not the types of insurance that can be successfully marketed remotely through online channels due to individual customer requirements and the need for professional advice from the insurer. However, innovative technologies in the insurance sector - InsurTech - make it possible to implement various solutions in this segment that allow the company and its agents to promote "life" more effectively and make this service more understandable, convenient and personalized for customers.

First of all, digitization makes it possible to simplify communication with the customer during the life of the policy and to respond promptly to any questions that may arise. In investment life insurance, for example, it is important for most customers to receive up-to-date information on the current and accumulated returns of their policies. Mobile applications are used for this purpose, not only to obtain operational data but also to track the dynamics of their changes. In addition, they provide the ability to remotely fill out application forms, track their status, and so on.

Insurance companies are increasingly using specialized chatbots for this purpose. These artificial intelligence-based programs can recognize speech and answer most of the questions that policyholders have. There is a gradual transformation of chatbots from "answering machines" to full-fledged consultants, ready to answer complex and specialized questions of the customer, including those related to investment insurance contracts. If it is necessary to provide a more complex consultation that artificial intelligence is not yet able to handle, the chatbot will transfer the customer to a "live" operator.

The next important point for life insurers and their customers is already related to risk insurance: the personalization of tariffs. Here, too, the InsurTech industry is ready to offer very effective solutions today. Such opportunities are offered by various telematics devices, wearable gadgets that track various vital parameters (from heart rate and blood pressure to blood glucose). The international insurance market is actively developing telemedicine services, which are increasingly being used by insurers. Pre-insurance medical examinations are used for large sums insured and allow the customer to choose an individual plan. At the same time, after the introduction of the telemedicine mechanism, the terms of such examinations have been significantly reduced and amount to about 2 days.

The main difficulty is related to the willingness (or unwillingness) of customers to disclose information about themselves in exchange for favorable rates. Incidentally, in a number of countries, life insurance programs do not provide for clients to refuse to use monitoring systems. Insurance companies are willing to offer various rewards to customers who monitor their health. In Germany, for example, it has become popular for insurance companies to reward clients for healthy lifestyles - exercising, quitting smoking, and so on. In the United States, insurance companies are partnering with gyms to offer discounts to customers who sign up for health insurance.

Gamification, which motivates customers to lead healthy lifestyles, can help insurers with the thorny issue of constantly monitoring customers. Special programs in which customers earn points (or stars) not only allow them to improve their insurance rating for certain activities and a healthy lifestyle in general, but also, in synchronization with social networks, provide insurers with additional information for analysis.

It turns out that life insurers will continue to not only sell new intelligent products, but also influence customer behavior and lifestyle. Another trend that will not go unnoticed by insurers is big data, its processing, analysis and new ways of communicating with the target audience based on it.

Over time, life insurers will become ecosystems, forming a pool of companies (or their products and services) - from medical to investment - where customers can receive not only financial protection against possible risks on individual terms, but also professional advice.

How much are overpaying for policies?

Generosity of insurers: how much do people overpay for policies? Services for the sale of policies to insurers themselves cost 241.4 billion rubles in the first nine months of 2019. Banks earned more than others, whose commissions reached 150.5 billion rubles - the same amount as for the whole of 2018. And they were ultimately paid by insurance buyers. Consumers have a choice: they can buy a policy in the office of the insurer, on its website, from an agent or from a bank. The only difference is the price, which is made up of the basic cost of the policy and the commission of the agent selling it. It is higher with banks. For example, an accident policy with a payout in case of death of the insured of 750 thousand rubles can be bought from the insurer for 3.9 thousand rubles, while in the bank it will cost 4.9 thousand rubles. Nevertheless, Russians often buy insurance in banks. First, because banks are trusted by 88% of the population, while insurance companies are trusted by only…