7 Major Technology Trends Shaping the Health Insurance Industry
Health insurance companies are responsible for providing healthcare to most Americans. They have to deliver care as cost-effectively as possible in order to keep the healthcare system running efficiently. This entails using the latest technology.
Health Insurers Rely Extensively on New Technology
Many health insurance companies invest in cultivating a more traditional character as a way to convey security and earn the trust of their target market, but this doesn’t mean that the sector is behind in terms of innovation. It’s true that a good chunk of insurance providers still carry out most of their work by scheduling face-to-face meetings with prospective clients. However, there are also key players in the field who are determined to ensure that their organizations are able to maximize the benefits of adopting a digital insurance platform, among other new innovations.
Let’s take a closer look at the new technologies that health insurance providers can use to improve their internal processes, products, and the level of service that they can provide to their customers:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The field of AI was formally established in the mid-1950s, but it’s still a buzzword to this day. In recent years, the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry has looked into using developments in the field of AI to augment human efforts within their respective organizations. Technologies that make use of artificial intelligence are capable of analyzing data, connecting one piece of information to others, and learning on their own based on the patterns that have been extracted from a pool of data.
Artificial intelligence has been very important in the healthcare sector. In particular, AI is deemed to be helpful in assisting insurance companies in providing personalized experiences to consumers. The technology can also be utilized to significantly improve the turn-around- time of different health insurance processes like claims and pricing.
Predictive Analysis
Predictive analytics is primarily utilized in anticipating customer behavioral patterns, which is vital information that can be used in healthcare. It can have significant impacts on various processes that are carried out by health insurance companies. By having the ability to predict customer behaviors, insurance companies are able to determine pricing and cost more quickly, identify outlier claims and transactions that are at a higher risk for fraud, and sort claims more effectively. At the same time, having a deeper insight into customer behavior enables health insurance companies to predict trends in purchasing and using insurance products and respond accordingly to the needs of the market.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Insurance providers, particularly those that specialize in providing health coverage, are keen on seeing how they can help their clients live healthier lives and minimize the possibility of illnesses and injuries. The good news is that many customers are willing to share their personal information so that they can save money and find the right insurance products for their needs. Data collected by various gadgets, such as smartphones and smartwatches, can now be used by insurance companies to determine and mitigate the risks that their clients are typically exposed to.
Social Media Data
Interacting with customers through social media does more than improve brand recall and customer engagement; it can also help strengthen a health insurance company’s fraud detection efforts. The data collected from social media interactions and apps can be used to determine typical customer behaviors. This, then, can make it much easier for insurance companies to spot suspicious activities that point to financial crimes. Also, whenever there are discrepancies in a customer’s records, the insurance company can simply check the said customer’s activities on social media to clear suspicions or initiate deeper investigations.
Telematics
Like smartwatches for people, telematics refers to wearable gadgets for cars. This particular technology will be of great use to companies that offer insurance for different types of vehicles. The device can be used to detect levels of activities and other factors that can be of concern to the automotive insurance provider, such as location, speed, and instances where accidents occurred. Such a device can also encourage drivers to be more responsible on the road.
Chatbots
It’s predicted that within the decade, 95% of customer service jobs will be powered by chatbots. These tools use AI and machine learning to seamlessly respond and communicate with customers who want to apply for coverage, submit claims, or initiate other interactions with their insurance providers. With chatbots in charge of the forward-facing task of responding to customers, the company’s manpower can then be focused on more complex tasks that require human decision making.
Insurance Marketplace
Face-to-face meetings are not the only way to close a deal. These days, many insurance providers use dedicated apps and other insurance shopping platforms to reach a wider audience and make their products more accessible to eligible customers. These insurance marketplaces help providers cut the cost of advertisement as well as ensure that they are able to reach more targeted leads.
Soon enough, the strong competition and the changing needs of the market will persuade more insurance companies to adopt these innovations and use them to improve their processes. As early as now, insurance companies that lean toward the more traditional way of doing things should consider how they can start modernizing their systems and enabling their organization to respond to the needs of their clients. Otherwise, they risk being left behind by other insurance providers that are more open to exploring new technologies that will assist them in improving their services.
