By Oswald Kuyler, Head of Short-Term Insurance at Consult by Momentum
Ask any financial adviser (FA) what they love most about their jobs, and nine times out of ten it will be some variation of, “I love working with people. I enjoy partnering with them, advising them as they journey through life’s milestones – marriage, career, buying a home, having a kid, and building a legacy.”
Then ask that same adviser about their least favourite part of the job, and they will usually talk about the constant stress that comes with compliance and adhering to the ever-changing regulatory requirements that make up the Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) framework. While ensuring that customers are dealt with in accordance with the various rules and regulations is vital, it also takes up a hella lot of time, they’ll tell you.
AI anxiety
With artificial intelligence (AI) expected to transform almost every aspect of life as we know it, could it be the silver bullet we need to ensure we remain on top of compliance requirements while simultaneously helping us engage clients in a personalised manner?
My answer to this is that it can – and it should. But we, as an industry, need to overcome our fear first.
What is causing this fear? A couple of things. First, is the general human resistance to change. Secondly, in an industry that deals with people’s most valued asset – their money – and with cybercrime on the rise, there’s always a concern that integrating new technology into our practices might cause some vulnerability in the system, putting our clients’ assets at risk. Lastly, is our Hero Complex – something that we don’t always like to admit to.
In the realm of short-term insurance, many advisers often feel that they only have two opportunities to be the hero. The first is when it comes to getting a good deal for their clients (I can save you money!) The second is at the claims stage (I can resolve your claim!) They worry that if their clients start becoming comfortable dealing with a robot, they might not need them anymore.
I believe that we need to embrace the opportunity that AI provides by letting it do what it does best – handle the humdrum – so we can do what we do best – focus on the people.
The AI opportunity
In general, the insurance industry is far from progressive, particularly when it comes to tech. Let’s say that just before you head out the front door and venture off on a weekend away with your family, you put on a load of washing, intending to pop it in the dryer when you return. While you were away for the weekend, the connection behind the washing machine came loose, and water started flooding your house. By the time you get home, you’re dismayed to see most of your living area is covered in water, damaging your carpets and pricy laminated flooring. Will your insurance cover an accident of this nature? You try to ring your adviser, but he’s not answering. You continue to call a plumber and a team to repair the damage, hoping for the best.
This is an all-too-common common scenario, where accidents happen (and always at the most inconvenient of times!), but I believe we, as an industry, can do much better. Here’s how it could look: you ring your adviser; they don’t answer. So you pop their brokerage a WhatsApp asking for details on what your policy covers. The bot can access your schedule and inform you that you are covered. Whew. The next day, the system submits a report to your adviser alerting your adviser about your message, and your adviser follows up with you via phone call, checking in on you, while assisting you with your claim.
Technology affords us so many possibilities. It allows us to engage our clients on multiple channels – and on their terms; automation allows us to take care of those monotonous, repetitive tasks that drain our time and energy, such as policy updates; and personalisation allows us to tailor our solutions and communication to our client’s unique needs.
Personalisation is very important because clients have become accustomed to life on-demand (Want food? There’s Mr Delivery! Want a ride? Call Uber! Want to check who Angelina is dating? It’s a Google away!) and they now expect this in every aspect of their lives. At the moment, the insurance industry offers a lot of things, but it’s always delivered in a one-size-fits-all manner. Can you imagine the difference if we could personalise our offering to our clients?
Siba is a working mom of two 11-year-old twins, who is constantly darting between extra-mural drop-offs and meetings. Does she have time for a 20-minute phone call for us to understand her risk profile? Probably not. But she needs advice from a professional who understands her dynamics and has aligned their brokerage practice to engage with her at the time and manner that she prefers, such as a WhatsApp when her kids are asleep and she’s catching up on personal admin. Stephen, on the other hand, is a 78-year-old retiree who has never quite gotten the hang of texting, and far prefers a chat and a cup of tea with his adviser.
We cannot offer a blanket approach to dealing with these two very different individuals and expect that our business will remain relevant in the future. The good news is that, if we integrate AI into our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, it can take care of the leg work for us.
The future of AI
Back to Siba. She certainly doesn’t have time to complete a seven-page insurance questionnaire. She has two minutes. Imagine that, before picking up the phone we know her basic details, how she wants to communicate, and her risk information. We use those two minutes to share our experience, credentials, and what we can offer her from a solutions perspective. We’ve taken the mundane away from the process, and have begun what will hopefully be a long relationship.
With Consult at the forefront, this future is a lot closer than we think. Our new solution that integrates tech into the adviser-client relationship, which launches this year, will allow our advisers more time to focus on what matters, making them more impactful in their role.
We believe this to be an integral part of how we solve for our clients’ needs, providing them with the confidence they need on their journey to success.