Assurant: 3 Ways to Prepare for the Artificial Intelligence Tidal Wave

NEW YORK, June 28 -- Assurant, a risk management solutions provider, issued the following news release:

Customer experience can make or break a brand, and insurance claims are one of the experiences most ripe for improvement. Today, artificial intelligence, or AI, is creating a sea change in the way companies like Assurant handle claims. Here are three things we've learned about applying AI to claims operations to deliver a more positive experience for consumers.

1. Build the right combination of AI and human intelligence.

Consumers want claims to be fast and easy. And machine-learning algorithms are making claims decisions faster and easier than ever. But they aren't a silver bullet. Virtual agents and live agents both have their place. A combination of automated processes and traditional solutions means we can make efficient decisions for low-risk claims while providing the human touch for more nuanced solutions.

Fraudulent claims are always a concern for our clients. We believe an experienced investigation team should be focused on true fraud cases instead of chasing down valid claims. As AI-driven algorithms get smarter, we can adjudicate claims faster and identify fraudulent claims more efficiently. That's a win-win for your customers and your business.

Organizations report up to a 70% decrease in call, chat and/or email inquiries when they implement a virtual chat agent.

Clean, actionable data translates to a better customer experience.

When it comes to AI, we've found that building upon our existing organization is preferable to starting from scratch. Assurant's data analytics team has a long history of identifying insights that lead to market-first innovation. But we had some gaps to fill before we got up to speed with AI. We took steps to build those capabilities and now our data analytics team has become our machine-learning center of excellence. Working with our digital experts, they apply their skill to develop virtual agents on the front-end and robotic process automation to improve back-end execution.

2. Clean, error-free data is essential to success. Quantities of data is key to identifying meaningful patterns. But quality is arguably even more important than quantity. Quality data includes the key attributes necessary to reach accurate conclusions and gain the customer experience improvements you're looking for.

By 2020, more than 40% of all data analytics projects will relate to an aspect of customer experience.

3. A partner with AI experience is key to success in a digital future.

While AI solutions can be applied in a wide range of situations, we believe it's best to focus on the applications that will have the most immediate impact. Improving the customer experience and increasing efficiency should be the primary objectives. With the availability of cloud computing solutions, big data and AI technologies, entirely digital organizations are now a real possibility. But as you look for a claims partner, keep in mind that you don't have to boil the ocean. Look for a company that's focused on the right things to keep your business riding a wave of success.

25% of customer service operations will use virtual agents by 2020

With a massive cache of data from hundreds of millions of consumers across the globe, Assurant has a huge database to apply machine learning to. Identifying consumer behavioral trends helps us predict performance and guide innovation. For more insight into what's next, take a look at our 3 key takeaways from CES.