The future shown to us in old movies was unrecognizable to people of the time. Flying cars dotted the sky, robot maids cleaned up houses, and space travel was as easy as getting on a bus. That future never came to pass, but that doesn't mean our technology hasn't evolved in exciting new ways. As a modern insurance agency, it can take time to understand precisely where to begin, which is why we have compiled some of the coolest new technology trends for your agency.
Chatbots
It used to be that a significant time sink in any organization was the cost of customer service. Organizations needed whole teams dedicated to helping customers through problems with their products. And a lousy customer service team could mean the end for your agency.
Fortunately, in the modern era, we have developed workarounds in the form of chatbots. As we discussed in our previous article on AI, chatbots, like the ones offered by COVU, have been proven to save time and resources by automatically interacting with your customers instead of your staff. Cutting back on the staffing needed and saving your agency money. Chatbots have been so helpful that it is estimated that soon they will be responsible for up to 95% of customer interactions.
Fortunately, in the modern era, we have developed workarounds in the form of chatbots. As we discussed in our previous article on AI, chatbots, like the ones offered by COVU, have been proven to save time and resources by automatically interacting with your customers instead of your staff. Cutting back on the staffing needed and saving your agency money. Chatbots have been so helpful that it is estimated that soon they will be responsible for up to 95% of customer interactions.
Social Media Data
Social media was and still is an excellent tool for your marketing team, but with the advancements in social media connectivity, agencies can use these platforms in entirely new ways. Customers share mountains of their data daily, and integrating that into your customer profiles has become a common tactic to better understand your policyholders.
Mining data from social platforms has become a valuable tool for insurance agencies. Insurers can connect social media to their platforms, investigate fraud by comparing data from social activity to claims, and improve risk assessment to give better rates to customers.
Mining data from social platforms has become a valuable tool for insurance agencies. Insurers can connect social media to their platforms, investigate fraud by comparing data from social activity to claims, and improve risk assessment to give better rates to customers.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Our world is more connected than ever before. The internet of things, or IoT, is the blanket term for the interconnected web of smart devices we interact with daily. While it may seem strange to give companies access to some of the data, insurance companies and customers can benefit from sharing. Customers can opt to provide personal data like heart rate from their smartwatches or buying habits in exchange for lower rates. And the IoT can automate and tabulate the data collection. The Internet of Things is seeing rapid growth in its industry. With projections showing it will reach 42.7 billion in market cap by the end of 2022.
Telematics
Just like we have smart devices for our homes, there are also ones for our cars. Like wearable smartwatches, telemetric are monitoring apparatuses for automobiles. Companies like progressive have products like Snapshot that measure inputs like speed, location, accidents, and more. All of these are processed with analytics and help determine policy premiums. This new technology encourages better driving habits, lowers costs for insurers and consumers, and changes to a proactive form of protection.
Agency Ecosystems
Let's face it; there are a lot of different processes your agency needs to run its day-to-day operations, from payroll to inter-department communications to sales tracking. All of these different systems don't always play well together. And can end up making your agency worse as a whole. Luckily, with new technology, this is less of a concern.
One example is Customer Relationship Managers, which keep track of your customer profiles, allow you to send emails, create workflows, schedule social posts, and much more from one place. Another is AI streamlining of claims processes, and a third is robotic process automation, which facilitates everything from underwriting to onboarding policyholders.
The future is here, so agencies must take advantage of new technologies and evolve with the times. We may not have flying cars, but using the tools mentioned in this article and more, we can send your agency to new heights.
