Australian Insurers Focus on Technology Modernization and Automation
The insurance industry continues to evolve , requiring insurance organizations worldwide to adapt new ways of operating. As a trusted partner to insurers, Xceedance is in-tune with the unique dynamics of insurance markets across the globe and well-positioned to help clients address the challenges and opportunities of industry evolution.
Below, Prashant Gautam from the Xceedance solutioning team highlights a specific industry trend in Australia – the drive toward technology modernization and automation.
Technology has driven business change for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic fast-tracked the adoption of innovative solutions and magnified opportunities for technology to meet expanding business goals. This trend is especially apparent in insurance, where legacy platforms and automation, as well as regulatory changes, forced many organizations to quickly adopt advanced digital solutions. Insurance legacy systems contain enormous amounts of data, and integrating that data into new systems is key, while preserving security and accessibility to enable employees to work effectively in remote settings.
Adopting new, technology-driven business solutions is not just for the sake of employees and operations. Customer expectations are constantly evolving, with clear preferences for seamless digital experiences and superior service quality. As a result, businesses across Australia must adapt to the changing requirements or risk losing customers. This can be especially true in insurance, where customer loyalty is less of a factor than in many other industries. Insurance organizations must focus on digital-first solutions that provide customer value and are easy to use, especially as face-to-face interactions are expected to reduce, even when the pandemic passes.
The greatest potential benefit of technology modernization for Australian insurers is around process automation and improved access to, and use of, data. Insurance organizations are already embracing technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI), and they are realizing substantive efficiencies driven by modern technology, newer data channels, better data processing capabilities, and advancements in AI algorithms. Bots are an emerging solution and will be instrumental in driving automation of front and back-office processes to increase efficiencies within policy servicing and claims management lifecycles. Insurers and MGAs are also using low code/no code offerings to integrate new solutions with legacy systems.
At the same time, those legacy systems and outdated processes can lead to frequent business challenges in the re/insurance industry. One solution is increased used of cloud services. While not a new technology, cloud services are being utilized in new ways to drive efficiencies. Replacing legacy technologies with cloud-based platforms will ensure that technology infrastructure is built to support the rapidly changing and intuitive operating models of the future. Additionally, cloud migration solutions for insurers are positively impacting insurer target operating models.
The industry is currently facing disruption, in part because of rapid insurtech developments. Xceedance partners with diverse insurance organizations to offer a wide range of technology services including product design, configuration, distribution, and proprietary/legacy systems management and enhancements.
Prashant Gautam is vice president, solutioning at Xceedance
