Software bots: Meet your new digital employees

Within property and casualty insurance, key processes like claims, policy administration, accounting and others are still largely manual in nature, and they are all routine, repetitive and mundane.

Many of these processes are made 90% more efficient by software bots built on robotic process automation (RPA) technologies. The automation of these simple processes has helped many insurers improve quality, freeing up time for their agents and advisors to focus on more critical processes.

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Why aren’t these manual processes automated?

There are various reasons for this. Most processes require a user to work between multiple systems built on different technologies like web, mainframes, java, excel, pdf and others. There are also external systems that are beyond the control of most companies. The re-engineering and integration costs required to accomplish this are very high and often not feasible. Many companies have limited resources and too little bandwidth for projects that don’t produce a timely return. Hence, they have continued to complete these processes manually.

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How does RPA differ from the traditional automation techniques?

RPA is the new wave of technology that can mimic human actions on software applications — a set of programs called “bots” that automate keystrokes and clicks. It does not require changes to underlying systems and can work between many disparate technologies. You might consider a “bot” as a digital employee that can run 24×7 and help increase efficiency, improve quality, reduce errors, increase sales and enhance customer satisfaction.

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What are some specific use cases?

In auto insurance, windshield claims are those low value claims that require an agent to complete a series of well-defined steps between multiple systems. These steps are mainly to validate the claim and documents, policy coverage, deductibles and a few other rules. This results in increased processing time, which is prone to errors. By deploying RPA, the entire process can be automated without any changes to the existing insurance management system or other systems used by agents. Over 80% of claims can then be settled without any human intervention. In addition, straight through processing of third-party claims have utilized RPA with similar results.

Software bots have also been deployed to send automated alerts for missing pictures or documents on issued policies and renewals. Other areas include billing processes, reports, audits, compliance, image recognition, testing and more.

Software bots can free up precious time for agents, brokers, carriers, underwriters, risk managers and claims professionals; allowing them to focus on more complex and critical tasks that either help grow the business or identify revenue leakages from fraudulent claims.

What about audits and regulatory compliance?

Every task performed by a bot can be monitored and recorded to show the number of transactions processed along with any escalated exceptions. Those records comprise an audit trail to demonstrate regulatory compliance, further improving your processes and ensuring transparency.

How can one build bots or “digital employees”?

In short, the traditional approach to building bots is not simple and has failed to meet many expectations.

The process of choosing an RPA platform, identifying the right processes, building on the required skills, integrating various systems, configuring business rules, testing, deploying and supporting them all result in lengthy projects with higher than anticipated costs.

An alternative is to seek technology that is purposely built for claims, billing accounting and underwriting tasks.  Pre-configured bots can be ready to deploy with configurable rules that meet the needs of any insurer within 4-6 weeks. This is a more cost-effective approach to embark on the automation journey while realizing quick returns.

Any advice and recommendations for insurance companies?

Insurers should consider automating manual processes to better utilize their workforce for higher value tasks. The latest innovation of pre-configured and purpose-built bot technology is extremely reliable and scalable, and able to work 24/7 with 100% accuracy.

Rapid deployment ensures a quick three- to six-month return on investment. These bots provide faster response and resolution times, increasing both policyholder and agent satisfaction. Lastly, companies should choose technology partners that possess insurance business knowledge and experience.

Brian Bogel is vice president of sales for Beyontec. Contact him at brianb@beyontec.com. Vivek Sethia is CEO of Beyontec and can be reached at viveks@beyontec.com.