A recent survey of Australian insurance executives found that 57% believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will either significantly alter or completely transform the overall insurance industry in the next three years.
The report, released by
Accenture, found 37% of executives believe that their own company will be completely transformed by the technology over the next three years, with a further 10% expecting significant change.
So what does this mean for brokers?
According to
Ravi Malhotra, managing director of Accenture’s insurance practice in Asia Pacific, AI could be an “assistant” to brokers, rather than a replacement.
“If brokers take these on board themselves, it is an opportunity for them to be even more sophisticated and digitally savvy,” Malhotra told
Insurance Business.
Malhotra noted that while AI could be used in commercial insurance in a direct offering in areas utilised by small businesses, it can still work to a broker’s advantage.
“There will be models that use AI to circumvent or disintermediate,” Malhorta continued. “But if you are the intermediary or broker your value proposition is something other than a fully direct offering so you would want to use AI to be able to deliver an experience that is competitive but also a proposition that is different.”
AI may seem like a thing of the future but it is already being utilised in the insurance industry both at home, and abroad.
Suncorp-backed Trov use an AI chatbot in its claims functionality while major international firms such as Geico and Allstate are also using the technology overseas.
Even though much of this technology has been focused on the personal lines business, Malhotra said that AI not only has a place in the commercial lines space but it could potentially have a bigger impact there.
“I see in the commercial space the move into monitoring and risk prevention and multiple data sources and that is why I say its impact could potentially be larger,” Malhotra concluded.
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