Many people have said that artificial intelligence (AI) is the end of intuition. Businesses should no longer make decisions based on gut feeling but on data and factual insight. While I agree with this statement, I believe that AI is actually the future of intuition.
Last week, I was fortunate to attend and speak at the Connected Claims conference in Austin, Texas. A common theme throughout the event was that “AI is here to stay.” This was particularly evident in a moderated panel on “Limit claims loss through data-driven investments” that included Derek Zahn, Chief Claims Officer at PURE Insurance, Matthew Ford, Vice President of Claims at AXA XL, and myself. A lively discussion arose from this session including topics on the application of AI and predictive models in claims.
Highlights from the Panel Discussion
During this panel discussion, Ford highlighted AXA's implementation of a predictive model for general liability claim severity. Initially, the reaction from the claims adjuster was that the findings from the model were obvious; “I already knew that.” However, when the model was refined to provide insights into the future behavior of a claim, the adjuster embraced the model.
When the question of best practices to reduce losses in claims using data and analytics was raised, Zahn mentioned how PURE Insurance is mitigating claims in the event of a major storm using geospatial data. Geospatial data allows PURE to track catastrophes and view how they could impact their policyholders. For PURE it’s more than simply sending an email or text to the policyholders. They send a team to move the high-worth items to a safe location to prevent high losses. That really is providing exceptional customer service.
Finally, we discussed how if Insurers have been using data and analytics in claims for years, what is different today than 5 – 10 years ago? The consensus is that technology has finally caught up with the vision. So much of the data in claims is unstructured data: images, photos, videos, adjuster notes, medical records, etc. Until now, insurers have not had the technology or computing capacity to analyze this information at scale. With AI and cloud computing, analyzing large amounts of unstructured data is now becoming a reality.
The general feeling from the conference was a sense of optimism for the insurance industry. Most recognize that improving efficiency is essential for the future of claims. AI is at the core of helping insurers achieve this. AI will not replace claims expertise but will be used as an aid to enable claims adjusters to make better decisions. Some say that AI should stand for Augmented Intelligence, but to me, AI is just the future of intuition. To learn more, download the white paper MODERNIZING CLAIMS MANAGEMENT. Learn how data, analytics, cloud, digital, and automation are transforming claims.
