The insurance industry has always been innovative and in pace with the technological developments of each era. In fact, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it had to act promptly and effectively to meet the needs of customers and employees. Not all companies in Greece, agreed with that, so those evolved through digital transformation, found themselves with a strong lead, compared to those that followrd traditional solutions contrary to the signs of the times.
The digital global transition in March 2020
In early March 2020, the Insurance Information Institute published the Global Macro Outlook for the first quarter, which showed the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on global growth and the insurance industry, which as it pointed out and verified, this need for digitization could last much longer than the third quarter of 2020.Therefore, we are seeing some significant changes in the attitude of companies towards the digital transition. For example, 2022 seems to be a revolutionary year for all those involved in road safety (accident care, roadside assistance, insurance companies, experts) as they introduce innovative solutions.
Innovative changes in the context of digital transition
One of the first major changes in the industry was a direct shift towards digitalisation, with some companies finding an easier way to adapt to this sudden uncertainty. The contagious nature of Covid-19 and the lockdown measures show that there is now a strong need to reduce the number of physical contact points when assessing and repairing crashed vehicles. Repairers and customers realize that the existing process, which often requires multiple cases of contact as a crashed vehicle is evaluated, does not meet current social distancing requirements. In fact, in Greece there are companies that have included the expert report through good analysis of “clean” photographs.
Automated Electronic Damage Assessment in Greece
In Greece, the use of software programs in the field of compensation of material damage to vehicles is not widespread enough, however it has an active presence and aims at the establishment of new applications in the insurance market.For example, in the case of an accident, by taking specific standard photos from the owner of the vehicle or from the care of an accident, the cost of repairing the external damage of the vehicle is automatically priced. Through artificial intelligence, the damage is detected and recorded with thermal imaging and the software calculates and analyzes the cost.
An important detail is that artificial intelligence recognizes only external damage. If there are internal damages, then the second application is activated, which is the video of remote communication. In this case, the driver videotapes the damages from his mobile phone and through an application sent to him by the insurance company sends the video and the remote evaluation of the damages is routed.
Rapid digitization of insurance processes
It is clear that the “rapid digitisation of processes”, as reported by McKinsey, the shift of the insurance industry towards online platforms and digital customer service, could provide the insurance industry with quick victories in terms of cost reduction, , decreased error rates and increased scores from customer evaluation, as well as significant improvements in corporate expenses. However, digitalisation is integrating these same digital approaches across sectors to transform its processes and services.
On the opposite side of success are traditional insurance solutions
Insurance companies that did not implement new solutions said they are struggling to adapt to three immediate challenges in the wake of COVID-19.These are more pressure on customer support, inability to meet in person ana security issues with unproductive solutions such as screen sharing.
