Zurich Uses Sprout AI To Cut Claims Costs

Zurich cut property claims settlement times to under 24 hours with its latest state-of-the-art industry-first AI solution, insurer reveals today.

During a pilot between December 2020 and February 2021, the technology created in collaboration with Sprout.ai delivered automated policy checking through the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Knowledge Graphs to deliver a brand new capability to the market, Automated Policy Checking.

This step-change innovation replicates a handler with 100 years of experience and a reading speed of 10,000 words per micro-second. The AI engine is driven by Zurich’s handlers, it surfaces and adds layers of context (including a market-leading comparison against the Ombudsman database) in a simple, digestible format to aid decision making.

Claims can be intelligently triaged and processed within a matter of hours with above 98% accuracy on policy checking. This not only exceeds human accuracy rates, but also improves the transparency of decision making to consumers through the inclusion of the Ombudsman’s database which allows comparison to historic similar cases in recommendations provided.

The solution was built and trained using data and documents including policy wordings from over 20,000 previous claims, ensuring it has breadth and depth of knowledge for varying types of claims. The tool will automatically update its assessment every time a new document is added, or a data field is changed.

The pilot forms part of Zurich’s commitment to innovation in claims to deliver a fast and seamless customer journey with best possible outcomes. Shifting customers’ claims experience is one of the insurer’s top priorities in order to continue delivering Zurich values and strong service levels in the market.

Amy Brettell, Head of Customer, UK Claims at Zurich, said: “At Zurich we have been working hard to deliver claims enhancements and innovations that positively impact on our customers’ experience. Our research shows that our customers want speed, clarity and transparency when it comes to making decisions on their claims.

“As customers turn more frequently to technology in their day to day lives, the insurance industry needs to keep up these expectations. Increasingly, technology and automated solutions help us deliver these outcomes. Sprout.ai is a fantastic example of a collaboration which provides a true solution to some of the issues that often stand in the way of creating customer loyalty and helping rebuild trust in our sector. It’s strengthened the customer proposition by cutting settlement decisions to a matter of hours, whilst providing an extra layer of clarity on the outcome.”

Niels Thone, CEO at Sprout.ai, said: “Sprout.ai’s company vision is to revolutionise customer service within the claims space and this has been truly demonstrated during our pilot with Zurich. We are able to reduce claim settlement times from multiple days to just a few hours whilst providing superhuman accuracy on claim recommendations to make sure Zurich customers receive the right outcome every time.

“Our proprietary AI engine is an industry-first which has been highlighted above with our automated policy checking tool. Sprout.ai provides ‘Explainable AI’ to claim handlers including features such as Similarity and Ombudsman searches on every claim. Claim handlers are then able to immediately understand the context and share this information with Zurich’s customers, increasing transparency and clarity on all claim outcomes”

Other examples of innovation in Zurich’s claims proposition include:

• Using of variety of communication channels to contact customers regarding their claim, including WhatsApp, SMS, chatbots and web chats.
• Use of drones to assess property damage in areas with wide-spread damage or that are difficult to access.
• Introduction of Easy Claim during first national lockdown in 2020 which allows drivers to send images of vehicle damage following a road traffic accident. It enables fast, or sometimes instant, damage assessment and decisions by our loss adjusters.
• An almost-instant liability assessment tool in motor claims, allowing Zurich to contact claimants within minutes in some cases.
• Introduction of Zurich Support Services, providing up to five counselling sessions for people who request it following a peril event.
• Supporting Zurich’s sustainability commitment, introducing green car parts in motor claims.
• Suite of online claim reporting portals available 24/7, with an automated process of uploading these claims directly to the internal systems which can enable claims handlers to focus their time and efforts on areas that can make a real difference to customers when they need our help the most.