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Zurich UK provides business, casualty, motor, property and travel insurance, life insurance and pension products for individuals and corporate customers.
Sprout.ai partnered with Zurich UK, integrating cutting edge, data-led technology with their existing systems and processes to enable end-to-end property claims automation.
The partnership followed a successful three-month pilot in which Sprout.ai’s automated policy checking and claim settlement AI was tailored to the major insurer’s needs and claims philosophy.
Key results from the pilot
- 98% accuracy from over 2000 claims assessed
- £75K+ leakage and additional recoveries identified
- +100 TNPS from handlers, with increased consistency, confidence and clarity
A fantastic example of a collaboration which provides one of the solutions to the issues that can stand in the way of creating customer loyalty.
Helen Rogers, Head of Claims Digital Experience, Zurich
Challenges
At a glance
- Meeting consumer expectation of rapid interactions, responses, and decisions
- Cost and time taken to train new claims handlers
- High costs of low-value administrative claim handling work including time spent on repetitive tasks such as manual reserve updating and manual policy reading from disconnected systems
Zurich has made a company-wide commitment to innovation. The insurer aims to deliver a faster service and provide a positive customer claims experience for every customer.
The goal is to serve their customers as quickly as possible at their most vulnerable time.
“Claims are, and have always been, the ‘moment of truth’ in insurance. Our collective responsibility is to support customers in the best possible way when they need us most. At Zurich we always strive to do this better. We knew we could settle claims quicker and do more to help our customers. Combining Zurich’s experience with Sprout.ai’s innovative approach alongside a range of other interventions we’ve managed to shift the dial.
Helen Rogers, Head of Claims Digital Experience, Zurich
Claims: the moment of truth
Claim handlers will always be constrained by the information they have available to them and the volume of data they can process. Insurers have to dedicate high levels resource in processing evidence and entering it into their systems. Understanding the information is critical for making the appropriate decision and delivering better outcomes for customers. Processing an average insurance claim requires claims handlers to compile and analyse anything up to 20 to 30 pages of complicated documents.
For example, evidence arrives in both a structured and unstructured format. It can be a combination of handwritten notes, pdf, word and excel documents, as well as photographs and scanned copies of original documents.
Zurich’s goals
By partnering with Sprout.ai alongside a range of other interventions, Zurich aimed to control costs, achieve operational efficiency, provide a swift, personal customer experience and remain competitive in the market as more insurers use AI to manage claims.
Sprout.ai’s partnership with Zurich
Sprout.ai partners with insurers, integrating data-led technology with their claim management systems and processes for a tailored, individualised approach. Sprout.ai’s open API enables automation and digital transformation through existing systems.
This drives tangible results for insurers and helps ensure Sprout.ai’s Automated Policy Checking AI meets insurers’ distinct needs. As partners, Sprout.ai and insurers speak the same language and prioritise the same results.
“Our main goal is to create a better customer experience in claims whilst remaining competitive in the market.”
Helen Rogers, Head of Claims Digital Experience, Zurich
How Sprout.ai’s Automated Policy Checking AI works
- Visual AI pulls the data from documents
- Natural language processing (NLP) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) parses the data, even when it is handwritten in character-based languages, including Japanese.
- Sprout.ai’s patented technology has access to millions of data points that enable it to analyse insurance data. This enables it to make decisions quickly, more accurately, and with less risk
- Sprout.ai’s open API approach to service architecture connects with the insurer’s existing claims management platform
- Sprout.ai checks the claim against the insurer’s policies and claims settlement philosophy
- Sprout.ai makes a final recommendation to the claims handler suggesting settlement or flagging other action required by the claims handler,
The process reduces errors, increases fairness and frees handlers from repetitive tasks so they can focus on customer service and complicated claims..
Sprout.ai was developed using more than 20,000 historical claims. Every new claim added to the platform brings new knowledge and experience. As with a human claims handler, this will help the AI to keep getting better at what it does.
Sprout.ai is a really exciting innovation. By combining our experience with Sprout.ai’s innovative approach, we have been able to co-create a solution that will catalyse change for our handlers and customers. We are enabling our colleagues to make a full, accurate decisions on liability and quantum from the very first time a customer contacts us.
Helen Rogers, Head of Claims Digital Experience, Zurich
About the pilot
Sprout.ai mapped out key value drivers with Zurich to select areas of focus.
Efficiencies that drive better customer experience were prioritised. They were
- Improved net promoter scores through reduced time to settle
- Reduced time to communicate outcomes
- Increased accuracy and consistency
In parallel, drivers that help reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies were considered.
The pilot was part of a company-wide commitment to innovation at Zurich. The insurer aims to deliver a faster, more efficient service with the best possible outcomes for every customer, every time. Everyone involved in the pilot, from the claims handlers to the executive decision makers, felt that it was a success in helping the company achieve those goals
Sprout.ai ’s Claims Automation Analysts worked with Zurich claim handlers to build claim expertise and train the AI to act according to Zurich’s claim handling philosophy. This establishes clear and simple guidelines to claim processing.
The pilot was great fun and I learned some things along the way. The Sprout.ai team was second to none. They were fully invested and listened to our feedback to ensure it’s a success for all. I will certainly be singing their praises.”
Experienced claims handler at Zurich
From simple claims to complex claims
During the pilot, Sprout.ai ’s technology was first applied to simpler, lower-end claims. Over the three-month period, as it learned more about Zurich’s processes, it built up to more complex claims:
- Accidental damage to TV, phones, laptops and tablet
- Loss, food in Freezer and theft
- Gadgets, bikes and jewellery
- Accidental damage to buildings and escape of water
- Storms
“We look at new perils and items in every sprint to make sure we focus on areas where results will bring value and build the confidence of the organisation and its claims handlers, encouraging them to use the AI. We set a clear roadmap, but we prioritise the elements that we see will bring the biggest value to Zurich, working in an iterative and agile way.”
Roi Amir, CEO Sprout.ai
Results
Zurich UK can settle 45% of customer claims in real time, whether they are made by phone or online, with the help of Sprout and other key initiatives.
For claims that are not settled in real time, Sprout.ai, alongside other key interventions, increased claims settled within five days of initial submission by 10%.
For some claims, policy documents can be reviewed in seconds. Historically, it could take claims handlers up to 30 minutes per claim. Claims handlers are no longer constrained by the many documents associated with each claim, leaving them with more time to spend with customers, at times when human touch and empathy can make a real difference.
Value from claims data and systems is maximised. Sprout.ai delivers data insights that facilitate agility, improve retention rate and control costs.
Accuracy is improved.
Sprout.ai ’s products have been built to ensure that the rationale behind the AI’s decision-making process is clear and simple to understand. The decision-making process is more transparent, and handlers can explain decisions more easily.
What’s next for Zurich and Sprout.ai
We are working on expanding in three areas:
1) Support for additional perils
2) Increased coverage for each peril
3) Shortening the claim cycle further
Operational efficiency and tNPS are important metrics. We have monthly meetings with key stakeholders from Zurich and Sprout.ai to discuss features new and old that will drive them. It’s imperative that the work going on from both sides continues to enhance our operational efficiency so we keep on improving customer experience.
Helen Rogers, Head of Claims Digital Experience, Zurich
If you would like to learn more about how Sprout.ai can help you boost efficiency, accuracy and savings, please get in touch
