Insurers need help, says startup boss
Across Europe, insurers spend billions of dollars every year in just claim processing costs, and they need help changing this, according to Lex Tan, founder of insurtech startup MotionsCloud.
Tan is one of more than 20 startup founders discussing the insurance market at the annual Intelligent InsurTECH conference on October 3 in London. Click here to find out more.
Munich-based MotionsCloud provides an intelligent claims solution for P&C insurers to streamline and automate claims processes.
The startup utilises image recognition technology and deep learning technology to identify damage through photos.
For example, if a customer has damaged their phone, they can send a photo of this to their insurer.
The computer then accesses the image and identifies whether the phone is owned by the customer, the type of phone, and the damage. AI then provides the claim manager with an estimate of damage, which the manager can verify and approve.
Tan founded the insurtech company after becoming disenchanted with the industry, and finding that despite the modern-look of insurance companies, the claims process was essentially stuck in the past.
The claims process is “tedious” and heavy on manual processes, explained Tan, meaning that the claim process takes a long time and customers become disgruntled.
He added: “One claim is being handled by so many people before a decision is made. It’s supposed to be just one person only spending a few minutes to verify.”
For Tan, the incentive behind working with MotionsCloud is that it is one of the few companies that provides AI solutions using image recognition technology.
Insurers can save a lot of costs by deploying AI technology in their claims systems, he claimed, adding that these savings can be used to invest in innovation and new products.
“We don’t say we’re disrupting the market, we’re enabling insurance companies to process efficiently and cheaply,” he said.
However, the startup may disrupt in terms of shifting the workforce from a labour-intensive claims process to simply quality assurance of the AI technology.
Tan hopes that in two years the startup’s AI platform can begin to exclude the involvement of humans entirely.
Today, people are still needed to approve and verify the claims assessments, but soon, the industry could begin to trust the machine without the need of human operation.
The startup currently works with clients in the US and Europe. Its next step is to expand to Asia.
MotionsCloud is one of more than 20 insurtech startups attending Intelligent Insurer’s Intelligent InsurTECH conference on October 3 in London. Click here to find out more.
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