Business insurance, just like many industries today, is on a crash course for the future. Every business, from providers to brokers, is working to provide a better, more efficient service that breaks down the barriers to getting necessary insurance for your personal life or business. How those barriers are broken down, all while trying to increase each customer’s coverage, changes as the years go on. To keep up with the hottest new options and to continue to offer customers quality service, it’s essential for those in the field to know these top trends to watch:
Distributors are Evolving
The world is moving at breakneck speeds to catch up and make use of AI systems, and the insurance industry is no different. While AI isn’t solely responsible for the massive shift in insurance distributors and the backbone of many new options, it is fueling a lot of change. Brokers, as a result, have never been more important for consumers who want to include these new players in their search but do not sacrifice quality or security.
Rise of Embedded Insurance
Many producers, brands, manufacturers, and other non-traditional parties now use what’s known as embedded insurance. Embedded insurance is simply coverage that’s included with a product or service at the point of sale. This subset of the industry is expected to grow by $722 billion by the end of the decade as more brands use it to provide luxury services to their product lines. A key example of this is the Apple coverage included as standard for all new Apple products.
Third parties are also partnering with traditional brands to simplify the insurance buying process. For example, in recent years Toyota has partnered with an AI-based insurance comparison site to streamline the insurance buying process so that more first-time buyers can seamlessly select their car and policy, all at checkout.
Digital Convenience Remains an All-Time Top Priority for Consumers
A staggering 91% of consumers today would prefer to handle their insurance needs entirely online. This is true across all types of policies, from business to even life insurance. Part of this is due to the convenience and speed at which a person can now compare multiple quotes, even bundled or specifically created for their business. It’s far easier to go online to brokers like kbdinsurance.com and cross-compare quotes based on your exact needs than manually call up or book multiple appointments.
This is a similar trend across industries, though security must be a top priority during the process. Almost half of the shoppers would go through extra steps just to ensure their profile and data remains safe and secure. Providing markers of quality and safety is, therefore, essential for businesses working on capturing customers at the first step to the last step of the insurance buying process.
AI and Data Analytics
Using machine learning and data analytics as part of the insurance policy process has become standard. The rise of AI, or more accurately the rise of the new powerful natural language processing systems, has given machine learning and data analytics a user-friendly face that many providers are rushing to implement in their own workflows and customer experiences. New AI tools are being used to accelerate underwriting, all the way towards touchless claims, where an AI-powered drone assesses damage for appraisals. Chatbots are, of course, the most common tool being implemented to give customers access to help 24/7.
