Insurance keeps society moving and tech is the enabler (Charles Taylor)

As one of the oldest and most traditional industries in the world, steeped in tradition, insurance hasn’t historically been known as the fastest to adopt technology. However, coronavirus has acted as a significant impetus for change. A study by Twilio found the pandemic has accelerated companies’ digital transformation by a global average of six years and the insurance sector, in particular, has responded to the opportunity by doing a lot more with tech.

COVID-19 has especially exposed the crucial importance of insurance as an enabler both in business and wider society. Simply by managing risk, it allows companies to conduct trade and to grow and enter new markets, particularly during times of uncertainty and turbulence. For example, it allows governments and enterprises to maintain infrastructure projects and construction work to continue.

For insurance, technology plays an important role in changing and better meeting customer expectations. People now expect to be able to buy anything at the click of a button and insurance is no different. A slick and intuitive buying and claims process is fundamental to the sector.

“We should be working towards a vision where the digitalisation of insurance is such that when a claim is made, the majority of the process is as automated as possible, approved claims are paid automatically and complex or fraudulent claims are expedited,” says Rob Brown, group chief executive at Charles Taylor, a leading-edge technology provider of solutions to the insurance market.

“There is still a way to go, but there have been major steps forward over the past few years and especially in the last nine months, stimulated by the pandemic. It’s really not that long ago that I was walking around the market with a slip case full of papers, and brokers and insurers still sent information and data through in Excel spreadsheets and Word documents.

Technology will continue to disrupt insurance over the coming years to keep it relevant

“Now, if you look at Lloyd’s and how they are using technology to enable their clients to trade with them, while maintaining a competitive edge, it’s a different story. We have worked in collaboration with Lloyd’s to provide a market-wide platform enabling all delegated underwriting data, including risk, premium and claims, to be submitted and standardised in one place. This allows consumption throughout the market and is a major step forward from the manual system it has replaced. This will enable greater insight and allow important decision-making to drive profitable growth in the London market.”

Charles Taylor has also played a central role in supporting companies through the pandemic. As the spring and summer COVID-19 lockdowns drew to a close and international travel restrictions started to be lifted, organisations wanted to mobilise their workforce again in a safe and managed way. To fulfil their duty-of-care obligations and minimise further business disruption, employers need to be able to identify people at greater risk of contracting severe symptoms of the virus and support those individuals, at the same time minimising the chances of COVID being introduced into the business.

To assist companies through this, Charles Taylor has developed a digital risk assessment tool that is able to evaluate an individual’s likelihood of developing symptoms of COVID-19 and identify those who have been exposed to the virus. In the form of a user-friendly application, Venture allows employees to enter their health details and then determines their risk profile.

The tool can be configured on a localised basis in accordance with relevant government guidelines, and sensitive personal information is not sent to the employer, only the risk score each employee generates after the assessment. Armed with this data, employers can implement the right measures to protect staff in the workplace.

“Venture helps get people back to the workplace safely,” says Brown. “While technology has meant we’ve all been able to survive very well in this remote world, companies have realised there is still great value in having people interact and collaborate in person. The positive when you interact virtually is you can just bring in whoever you want globally to collaborate on an idea and that’s fantastic. The downside is you miss that elevated level of engagement only possible in person. We’re trying to help ensure those kind of collaborations can continue with people being able to come back to work safely.” Charles Taylor hasn’t just helped companies bring workers back to the office, but also supported insurers in their transition to remote working, something that is now sure to be a prominent part of the “new normal”. 

Charles Taylor’s technology solutions have enabled the insurance marketplace to continue operating efficiently, while ensuring risks in complex areas can still be managed effectively. Dating back to 1884, the company supports every stage of the insurance life cycle and every aspect of the insurance operating model. In the area of claims settlement specifically, insurers are constantly striving to reduce the claims life cycle and pay claims quickly to provide the best possible client experience. Charles Taylor InsureTech’s claims management solution, Trax, leverages automation throughout the claims lifecycle to accelerate that process and provide a single platform to manage all claims across Lloyd’s and other global markets.

“Claims settlement is where the promise of insurance is really evidenced,” says Arjun Ramdas, chief executive of Charles Taylor InsureTech. “It’s where customers need to see an efficient and easy process, to be paid quickly. At Charles Taylor, we have significant experience and expertise throughout the entire claims lifecycle, through our loss adjusting business and in our third-party administration business. Our solutions assist our clients in taking control and managing claims better.

“Technology will continue to disrupt insurance over the coming years to keep it relevant. Whether it is in terms of new ways to engage customers, settle claims, manage risk or run a more agile operation, it is at the heart of the future operation. Our products make the insurance journey as frictionless as possible, with minimal conflict between the different players.”