Post-COVID-19 has seen a significant uptick in the demand for digital solutions across the insurance value chain, from quote issuance to claim settlement. Insurtech companies have been at the forefront of this shift, attracting substantial venture capital investment and fostering industry innovation.
The emergence of new insurance models such as peer-to-peer (P2P, where individuals pool their resources to insure one another), on-demand (insurance coverage that's activated in real-time), and usage-based insurance (UBI, which adjusts premiums based on individual usage patterns) have offered more tailored coverage options and flexible pricing based on individual risk profiles.
Vijay Rengarajan, the director of product management at EZLynx with 16 years of product management experience in the IT and the property and casualty insurance industry, sees insurtech as a source of innovation and increasingly customer-focused solutions driven by cutting-edge technologies. This is specifically true with his role as a senior business consultant at Tata Consulting Services. In this role, he was tasked with expanding current systems, such as the Umbrella Policy Administration System that aimed to provide higher liability coverage limits for insureds, and the Auto Insurance Enhanced Experience that added new coverage features for product competitiveness, resulting in increased close rate while driving overall employee efficiency.
Yet, for Rengarajan, the journey still has a long way to go. As the industry expands, the market demand grows, and new technologies are tested, it calls for new strategic planning and implementation, ensuring the insurtech sector is well-equipped to navigate and thrive in the uncertain future.
Mastering AI is the Name of the Game
As insurtech is data-intensive and relies on data for informed decision-making, Rengarajan champions artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as indispensable tools for achieving heightened efficiency and unprecedented personalization. His creation, the 2022 Best In Biz Most Innovative Product of the Year, epitomizes this approach.
His comprehensive platform for EZLynx has set a new standard in insurance agency management by seamlessly integrating an array of services—comparative rating, management, accounting, eSignature, consumer quoting, email marketing, text messaging, and client self-servicing—into a single, unified system.
Rengarajan's innovative use of AI extends to developing a natural language processing tool to summarize consumer communications succinctly. This tool adeptly navigates the complexity of messages received across various channels, including emails, texts, and calls, offering a streamlined overview that enhances communication efficiency.
Rengarajan anticipates the introduction of even more sophisticated AI tools, underscoring the necessity for businesses to embrace these advancements swiftly. He envisions insurtech transcending the mere accumulation of data, focusing instead on harnessing information to optimize productivity, minimize errors, and boost overall agency performance. Such a forward-thinking perspective is in lockstep with 2023 trends, indicating a surge in data-driven strategies within insurtech as companies increasingly lean on AI to secure a competitive advantage and redefine industry standards.
Customer-centric Innovation, as Always
Rengarajan maintains that technologies like AI and ML aim to improve functionalities for enhanced customer experience. This philosophy underpins the development of solutions that meet users' immediate needs and anticipate their future requirements, thereby fostering a more intuitive and responsive insurance ecosystem.
By leveraging AI, insurtech firms can offer personalized recommendations, dynamic pricing models, and real-time policy adjustments, significantly improving the relevance and value of their offerings to consumers. This level of customization meets the customer's expectations for tailored services and establishes a more profound sense of trust and loyalty toward insurance providers.
Rengarajan envisions AI empowering customers to have greater control over their investments. This means customers can actively manage their investment portfolios, have access to make informed decisions based on their situation, needs, and goals, and customize their coverage options in real-time.
Rengarajan's self-service customer portal allows consumers to do just that on one digital platform. In his insightful article, "Customer Portals: Why They Are Essential for Independent Agencies," Rengarajan expounds on how such portals offer users the freedom to handle their accounts autonomously and significantly reduce the reliance on agents for routine inquiries and tasks.
He mentions, "By incorporating a customer portal, agencies provide better accessibility, security, efficiency, and so much more for both clients and teams—transforming it into a conduit for enhanced customer engagement and satisfaction."
Aside from customer portals, Rengarajan also believes that integrating automation and AI in insurance firms will facilitate a different level of efficiency in independent agents. This is specifically true in his work with EZLynx Automation Center™.
Utilized by over 1,700 agencies across the US, this event-driven automation tool streamlines operations by automating various tasks, including sending communications through customers' preferred channels, task creation, document management, fact-checking, and analytical activities. Agencies that have fully integrated the tool across all of their consumer lifecycle stages reported substantial savings averaging about 530 hours each month, which equates to the workload of 3.5 full-time employees.
Rengarajan asserts, "This leap in operational consistency has transformed hours previously dedicated to mundane, repetitive tasks into valuable time that can now be invested in maximizing sales opportunities, enhancing follow-up efforts, and fostering deeper relationships with clients. This ushers agencies into a new era of heightened service capacity and customer base expansion and propels direct economic growth and profit."
Through these initiatives, Rengarajan prioritizes the customer, ensuring that technological advancements serve to enrich the user experience. This vision for the insurtech future uses technology as a tool to cultivate deeper connections and satisfaction rather than an end goal.
A Vision for the Future
Rengarajan acknowledges that with the rapid technological advancements and shifting insurtech market dynamics, there is no guaranteed one-size-fits-all approach. However, this inherent unpredictability challenges industry experts like him to remain vigilant, constantly scouting for emerging opportunities that may redefine the sector.
By embracing the industry's flexibility, Rengarajan exemplifies how adaptability and openness to trial and error can lead to groundbreaking innovations. This iterative process of innovation ensures that solutions are responsive to current needs and resilient enough to evolve with the industry's future challenges.
With seasoned veterans like Rengarajan, the insurtech future is in good hands. His extensive experience and proven track record of developing user-centric solutions make him well-equipped to lead the US insurtech industry through its challenges while continuously innovating and embracing opportunities.
