According to the latest report of the Polish Chamber of Insurance (PIU) and Accenture entitled ‘Digitalisation of the insurance sector in Poland’, 80% of insurers increased their financial expenditure on technological development in the last two years. This shows that insurance companies actively implement and use modern solutions and digital tools tailored to their business strategies. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, automation, chatbots and voicebots support the industry in adapting to changing market conditions and customer expectations.

The second edition of the report entitled ‘Digitalisation of the insurance sector in Poland’, developed by PIU in cooperation with Accenture, was created in response to dynamic changes in the markets of recent years, including as a comparison with the first edition of the report from 2018.

In order to take into account both the perspective of customers and insurance companies, quantitative studies with the participation of consumers and qualitative studies among the sector’s representatives have been carried out. The authors of the report focused on four key aspects for the insurance market: analysis of customer expectations, verification of insurers’ digitalisation-related activities, identification of areas requiring an increase in digitalisation, and a forecast of future trends and directions of the development of the insurance sector.

Insurer in the digital world

Based on the study, the authors distinguished three approaches of insurance companies to new technologies: Digital Visionaries, Digital Pragmatists and Practical Rationalists. They mean, respectively: openness and involvement in developing trends, prudence and selection of reliable solutions, and a focus on investing in IT tools to sell insurance to specific groups of recipients.

Regardless of the procedure, each insurer undertakes work in the area of using modern technologies. Approximately 75% of the institutions have already attempted to implement them, and this is a continuous process that will continue in the near future. Today, the industry most frequently invests in the following digital solutions and tools:

• artificial intelligence and machine learning – to personalise offers, optimise decision-making processes and analyse risk;
• customer portals and mobile applications – to enable customer self-service as part of policy management, make electronic payments, report claims online and track their status;
• automation and robotics – to optimise claim processing and policy administration in order to better manage the time of insurance agents and advisors;
• AI chatbots and voicebots – automatically responding to frequently asked questions and contributing to increased customer service efficiency and satisfaction.

Most insurers, as many as three-quarters, are focusing on the development of AI technology in the areas from automation of customer service, through precise pricing of policies, risk assessment, to fraud detection and prevention. Almost half of the companies are already using artificial intelligence in their business or are about to do so.

Technology as the answer to new challenges

In the last two years, approx. 80% of insurance companies increased their financial expenditure on digitalisation and 60% of companies increased the number of technological partners. Today, about 70% of insurers use modern technologies to optimise processes in the organisation, mainly related to internal operations, claims adjustment and sales support.

In the institutions, particular emphasis is placed on paperless solutions, such as remote sales tools and electronic document circulation. Currently, as many as 80% of companies estimate their level of digitalisation of documentation to be high or very high.

Customers appreciate digital solutions

According to a survey among consumers, the preferred form of contact with the insurer in order to search for and compare offers is a visit at the point of service (40%). Telephone contact with the agent (31%) is second. One in three respondents admits that they simultaneously use online channels such as comparison websites. Search engines such as Google (30%) and websites of insurers (27%) are also popular. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of consumers (39%) declare earlier use of digital customer service channels of their insurer at the post-sale service stage. There are even more such indications (61%) among the youngest group surveyed.

The aforementioned websites and mobile applications of insurers play a key role in the digitalisation of the industry. Customers are increasingly obtaining information, buying or renewing insurance there. The test for such platforms – especially applications – is the claim adjustment process. This is the time when the customer appreciates having a policy the most and expects prompt, professional and effective assistance from the insurer. Technology allows them to quickly report a claim and follow up the entire process until the insurance obligations are met.