Technology has had an impact on everything else in our lives, so it’s no surprise that it has also changed the world of insurance buying. Going beyond simply ease of use, it has empowered today’s savvy shopper with increased knowledge about their choices in a world full of confusing data and fine print. Regardless of whether it’s for healthcare, home or auto, or even bundled in a combination of all three, people no longer want to do things the old fashioned way when it comes to buying personal insurance policies or filing claims.
The ancient way of deciding on an insurance company and plan used to involve picking up a telephone and speaking to a human being about options for insurance plans, then being forced to hang up and call another human at another insurance provider and ask the same questions, all while taking notes in order to compare later. That may seem like an ancient practice, but it only stopped being that much of a manual process within recent years.
There are several ways that technology is updating the world of insurance. Whether it’s choosing a plan or filing a claim, people want any and all of their specific, custom-filtered information to be made available to them on demand, as quickly as possible. In addition, no matter where they are at any moment, they want the ability to instantly do a comparison and make quick decisions, even in the palm of their hand.
In today’s world of apps and high-speed internet, this is a mostly-solved issue. There are currently over two million applications being circulated, and hundreds of them are created just for the sole purpose of generating specific insurance quotes for civilians who are not confined to any specific demographic. Artificial Intelligence saves everyone time and money by automating the repetitive claim processing and policy comparisons that used to require employing a staff.
As long as you qualify, anyone can shop around for any type of insurance without the need for interacting directly through an agent.
Technology’s impact on the insurance industry isn’t simply about taking the headache out of buying, it’s also saving people money. The costs are now lower because a lot of features are being automated. The Internet of Things (IoT) has made it possible to perform a variety of functions without the need for human-to-human interaction.