Insurers Must Balance Speed with Accuracy to Meet Rising Consumer Expectations

Some thoughts on how AI can not only speed up processes, but meet customer expectations, from Yohan Lobo;

Consumers are expecting continually higher standards of service in the insurance sector, with firms facing increased pressure to provide instantaneous responses to meet these demands. This is supported by recent research, which revealed that consumer satisfaction with insurers fell to 84% in the last quarter of 2024, down from 86% a year earlier.

According to Yohan Lobo, Senior Industry Solutions Manager at M-Files, insurers must be able to work at pace to offer the level of service consumers now expect, but warns this should not come at the cost of accuracy.

Yohan said: “To streamline the way they interact with customers, generate quotes, and present their product portfolio, insurance firms are exploring how digital technologies (specifically, GenAI solutions) can be integrated across business functions. Engaging with the latest innovations is essential for firms across the board, as successful deployment can unlock significant improvements in efficiency.

“The crucial first step is identifying the roadblocks that stand in the way of achieving exceptional service provision. For example, high volumes of manual paperwork and compliance requirements create bottlenecks for many firms, increasing onboarding and renewal friction and challenging their ability to deliver the expected standards.

“To address this issue, firms can leverage technology to automate workflows to improve policy proposals and underwriting quality with built-in compliance measures. This minimises low-value repetitive manual work and frees up time to dedicate to the final touches that optimise user experience.

“GenAI also has an important role to play, particularly when it comes to functions capable of significantly reducing the administrative burden such as summarising policy documentation. Where issues arise is if firms rush the implementation of these solutions in response to increased pressure from customers. Speed should not come at the expense of accuracy.

“This typically occurs when insurers introduce GenAI tools without first ensuring they have a trusted bank of internal data their model can draw on. In such cases, inaccurate outputs are common, which negatively impacts user experience. Therefore, taking time to develop a reliable solution is the safest way to deliver optimised performance in the long run.”

Yohan concluded: “The insurance industry is built on trust and client advocacy; both suffer if clients don’t have a great experience with the firm which ultimately impacts revenue and reputation. Responding to customer requests at pace is an integral element of this process, but the accuracy of AI tools in use must remain a top priority.”