Claims experience is the subject matter of speed

In the light of the COVID-19 crisis, Banking Frontiers organized a web panel discussion for TPAs.

- Manoj

The year 2020 started on a positive note for the insurance industry. Digital disruption and transformation are accelerating customer experience while matching all regulatory challenges all augured well for the sector at large. Adding to it was the end of the financial year, which has traditionally been a good one for the sector resulting in adequate premium collection. With what could have been a dream year for the sector, the onset of COVID-19 and a sudden lockdown is adding pressure not just on insurance but the entire healthcare sector at large.

The impact on insurance specifically has been multifold. Travel restrictions and flight cancellations for example have meant no new travel insurance. Likewise, difficulties in getting medical tests with the lockdown situation are slowing down the growth rate of offline healthcare policies. Lack of access to a networked cashless hospital owing to lockdown or panic buying or frenzy over COVID-19 coverage in their respective policies is making third-party administrators (TPAs) encounter huge inflow of queries.

So, while it is also true that insurance sector is not the only one impacted by the lockdown as it affects the entire economy, insurance with its own set of challenges, including uncertainty over claims in a post-COVIKD-19 situation runs the risk of undoing all the previous good work.

With insurers working from home and polices being sold online, the financial impact is not as much of a challenge as the post lockdown situation. So, has the insurance industry with its focus on digital transformation attained enough resources and expertise to handle sudden inflow of claims? Or will the slow manual processes post lockdown undo the superior Customer Experience (CX) the digital transformation offered?

THE ‘NEED FOR SPEED’