By Patrick O’Neill, Founder and President, Redhand Advisors
Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed from an abstract, futuristic notion into a mainstream, accessible technology in virtually every corner of society — including insurance. AI implications for insurance processing, customer service, and strategic decision-making are powerful and far-reaching, and insurance professionals are ready to adopt these cutting-edge technologies within their organizations.
Our 2023 RMIS Report revealed that while less than 10% of risk and insurance professionals currently utilize AI, almost 40% have plans to adopt AI technology in the next three years. With the evolution of AI propelling forward at a rapid pace, now is the time to consider how these revolutionary tools can promote growth, efficiency, and success within your organization.
Redhand Advisors recently sat down with Shiva Bitla, Technical Specialist at Microsoft; Chris Shaffer, Chief Operating Officer at George Hills Corp.; and Jose Tribuzio, President of Technology at Spear Technologies, during a recent webinar, “Large Language AI Technology: Implications and Practical Applications for Property and Casualty Insurance” to discuss real-life use cases of AI in the insurance industry.
AI use cases in risk management
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT glean material from a vast array of informational sources in the public domain. LLMs understand language very well, enabling them to efficiently perform an array of functions within an insurance organization. Here’s how:
- Content generation: AI can support call center processes by automatically generating responses to customer inquiries.
- Summarization: AI tools can automatically translate calls from speech to text in real time to provide post-call summarization for both the agent and the customer.
- Code generation: The Microsoft Copilot tool converts natural language text into code to create applications like Virtual Agent bots that can improve time-consuming processes by automatically providing answers to customer inquiries such as the status of their claim, payment, or invoice.
- Semantic search: This technology makes it easy for customers to get instant answers when searching for keywords or phrases like: “What is the best way to build that piece of machinery?”
- Object identification: This tool analyzes and extracts information from an image to identify and label the different objects in it, which may be used to review photos of damaged property during the claims process.
- Sentiment analysis: Microsoft Copilot is a tool that analyzes text to determine if the associated sentiment is positive, neutral, or negative. This technology can be used to flag inbound customer emails with negative sentiments for immediate follow-up.
- Predictive analytics: This technology can efficiently predict future outcomes based on historical data. It can be used to make timely predictions during the claims process, such as if the claim is likely to be litigated or fraudulent, or what the expected costs for the claim will be. This AI model can be used natively with the Microsoft PowerPlatform, or it can be easily integrated with a third-party entity.
Case in point: How George Hills Corp. plans to use AI for better risk management results
George Hills Corp. is a liability and property third-party administrator (TPA) that operates primarily in California and is narrowly focused on serving public agency and nonprofit organizations. The organization has found great success utilizing predictive analytics to make more informed decisions throughout the course of a claim.
In the near future, George Hills intends to further use AI to extract, normalize, and collate data so their team can make real-time decisions about matters that impact the trajectory of a case, such as selecting the attorney most likely to perform well for a claim’s specific circumstances.
The TPA has also used predictive analytics tools to decrease response times across the organization. Moving forward, a shift to AI will improve the accuracy and consistency of George Hills’ processes, which in turn will provide more reliable and better results for their customers.
4 ways to dip your toe in the AI waters
Taking the AI plunge can feel daunting to say the least. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that you don’t have to build your own AI model; you can use AI that’s already accessible. Here are four ways to get started:
- Go on YouTube and get acquainted with AI. There are tons of helpful videos under 10 minutes long that serve as great introductions to what AI has to offer. Microsoft’s AI for Beginners is another great resource to help you get started.
- Identify a question you need answered in your organization. Take stock of your pain points to find a purpose that will motivate you to dive into your AI education, and then find a real application that addresses the question you have.
- Experiment with AI tools like ChatGPT. Play around to see what these tools can do to find inspiration and get your gears turning about how you can creatively take advantage of AI to improve processes in your organization.
- Get a trial subscription for a tool you think your organization will benefit from. This could be Microsoft’s AI Builder if you’re looking for prediction capabilities, or Microsoft’s Power Virtual Agents if you don’t have a portal and chatbot.
To learn more about how to proactively explore and adopt AI technology to meet your organization’s unique needs, schedule an inquiry call with Redhand Advisors today.