How does automation benefit the insurance industry?
By: Chaz Perera
Tags: Automation, Insurance, Insurance Automation

Photo by Adrianna Calvo via Pexels

Underwriting is a data-intensive, high-focus job. From staying on top of updates to policies and guidelines to managing client data in a safe and effective way, there are constantly a million plates spinning at the desk of any insurance underwriter. Traditionally little-to-no automation is used to streamline the underwriting process. Each underwriter has their own unique way of doing things, meaning the system they use to tackle each new account is honed and perfected over time. This is great for the individual but is difficult to directly transfer to new hires, making scaling a bit of a difficult task and resulting in more busywork than anyone wants to manage.

At Roots Automation, we’ve developed intelligent automation technology that learns and adapts like a real human worker, taking the information, processes, and systems it’s given and expounding on those over time. To explain this fully, let’s take a step back and look at what automation is, its various types, and how it can be practically applied to insurance underwriting.

What is considered to be automation?

According to Dictionary.com, automation is “the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.” To put it more simply, automation is what gives you the ability to “set it and forget it.”

Automation is used in simple processes ranging from sending out pre-written email blasts on time to triggering that annoying notification that won’t stop telling you your next meeting is coming up in 15 minutes. These are great applications for automation, but limiting automation to these basic tasks is more or less like keeping Seabiscuit in your backyard shed to rent out for pony rides.

RPA vs. AI Automation

Traditional automation, also called Robotic Process Automation or RPA, includes a lot of the simple processes mentioned above. Emails that sort into folders based on filters, scraping data from webpages, and sending out pre-selected paperwork to clients and contacts are examples of this. RPA can handle set processes that have a start point, an endpoint, and consistent input.

The trouble comes when any sort of change or disruption to the typical process happens, leaving the simple automation system unable to do anything other than error out. There’s no intelligent reasoning, no figuring out a solution, no reaching out for help to unravel the kink and get back to work.

That’s where AI automation comes in, specifically the Digital Coworkers we’ve created.

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, takes the time-freeing properties of RPA and gives it a brain, allowing for an experience more like a virtual coworker than a simple robot. Our Digital Coworkers learn, adapt, and grow in their knowledge and abilities just like a human member of the team. Digital Coworkers read, digest information, and act on it. Their ability to use the same platforms, websites, and applications as their human coworkers means no laborious, complicated set-up processes. They even have the ability to, when they run into an issue they can’t work around on their own, engage with a human member of the team who’s best suited to help them.

Applications for Insurance Underwriting

No matter the type of insurance, from P&C insurance to health insurance and everything in between, the underwriting process is one full of data-gathering, organization, and decision-making. As with any job or industry, some points in the process are more engaging and high-touch than others. By using AI technology to automate nearly the entire underwriting process, underwriters are given back the freedom and time to interact with clients, pursue projects that’ll further the company as a whole, and get better results.

Technology has grown to exciting heights, and Digital Coworkers are a perfect example of this. Insurance professionals of all kinds can benefit greatly from implementing automation of any kind, but AI automation provides a new set of possibilities.

Get in touch to find out more: info@rootsautomation.com