Two Ways Voice AI Can Bolster Insurance Profitability

It’s easy to think of AI as a fun toy or oddity. You’ve probably seen articles about how AI can show us what famous cartoon characters would look like in real life or how it can write text in the style of Shakespeare. That’s interesting, but it’s not relevant for insurance industry leaders looking for ways to improve their bottom lines. 

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However, there’s a lot more to AI. 

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In our last article, we considered four ways insurers can use AI agents to improve their call center operations. AI agent systems can answer calls immediately to route and triage calls, while communicating with customers using professional, friendly, and human-sounding speech. Now, let’s look at what this means for insurers. There’s a lot to cover because AI is much more than a passing trend. Friendly AI agents promise to revolutionize the industry and increase insurance profitability in two important ways.

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#1: Friendly AI Agents Can Improve Insurance Policyholder Experiences
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If you think customers are demanding more from companies, you’re not alone. In a 2022 HubSpot survey, 88% of customer representatives said customers had higher expectations than in previous years. One issue is customers expect faster response times – 83% of consumers say they want an immediate response. 

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For insurers, these rising expectations are coinciding with increases in extreme weather claim surges. It’s difficult for call centers and claims teams to keep up – and policyholders haven’t been understanding. Premium costs have been rising, and policyholders are fed up. From their point of view, they’re paying more and receiving less. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that more customers have been thinking about switching carriers. According to a 2024 survey from LexisNexis, 42% of insured households have shopped around for coverage in the past 12 months.

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Three ways friendly AI agents can help:
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• Retain a higher percentage of customers. By supporting insurance call centers with friendly AI agents, insurers can prevent customer churn. 
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• Answer every incoming call with zero wait time. No one likes waiting on hold. AI agents answer every incoming call immediately, in a humanlike manner that is natural and engaging. The result is a seamless experience that avoids bottlenecks and long wait times, even when call volume surges. This can go a long way in retaining policyholders
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• ‍Convert more leads to customers. Fast response times are also essential when handling calls from people who are interested in buying coverage. Although buying coverage is not as stressful as a first notice of loss, people still don’t like to be kept waiting. By answering calls immediately, friendly AI agents can convert more leads to customers.

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#2: Friendly AI Agents Can Help Insurers Manage Their Workforce
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If you think customers are demanding more from companies, you’re not alone. In a 2022 HubSpot survey, 88% of customer representatives said customers had higher expectations than in previous years. One issue is customers expect faster response times – 83% of consumers say they want an immediate response. 

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For insurance companies, these rising expectations are coinciding with increases in extreme weather claim surges. It’s difficult for insurers to keep up – and policyholders haven’t been understanding. Premium costs have been rising, and policyholders are fed up. From their point of view, they’re paying more and receiving less. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that more people have been thinking about switching carriers. According to a 2024 survey from LexisNexis, 42% of insured households have shopped around for coverage in the past 12 months. 

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By adding AI to insurance call centers, insurers prevent customer churn. 

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No one likes waiting on hold. Voice AI helps customers reach a human representative quickly by directing calls and freeing up resources. The result is a seamless experience that avoids bottlenecks and long wait times, even when call volume surges. Thanks to advancements in the underlying technology, voice AI can do all this while sounding natural and friendly. Your company may already be feeling the effects of the insurance industry talent shortage. Young workers are uninterested in insurance careers, whereas experienced workers are hitting retirement age. This is a problem that’s expected to become worse in the coming years. 

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AI can help. If you’ve ever worked a public-facing job, you know how draining it can be to deal with angry customers. By improving customer experiences, friendly AI agents make work more pleasant for human representatives. 

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AI can also take on many of the tasks that human representatives dislike, such as data entry and other highly repetitive activities that don’t require higher-level thinking. This leaves more time for activities that human representatives enjoy, like building relationships and advising customers. The result is a more rewarding position that doesn’t result in burnout. 

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Making insurance jobs more rewarding doesn’t just benefit insurance workers – it also benefits insurance organizations. Turnover is expensive. Gallup says the cost of replacing an employee may cost one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. By creating more enjoyable positions, insurers boost retention to cut labor costs – and that’s on top of the direct cost savings from reducing workloads. When you add in the fact that AI agents never call in sick or have a bad day, adopting this technology is a no-brainer.

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There’s More Value to Uncover
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Right now, staffing shortages and policyholder dissatisfaction are two pressing challenges for the insurance industry. AI agents add value by addressing these two issues. However, that’s just the beginning. Friendly AI agents also:
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• Eliminate language barriers. Translation issues are a major pain point for call centers. AI agents can seamlessly switch between various languages, meaning speakers of any language receive immediate attention.
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• Catch fraud and mistakes. Fraud is a constant loss driver for insurers, whereas honest mistakes drain resources. AI agents can spot incorrect or fraudulent information with built-in data verification abilities.
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• Reduce sales leakage. With friendly AI agents, insurers can be available for prospects 24/7. They also never miss a call or an opportunity, meaning that more quotes can be issued and more policies can be bound. Finally, organizations can grow and handle more business without adding a proportionate number of new team members.  

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When you use a friendly AI agent trained for insurance, the possibilities are near endless. Curious? Take the technology for a quick test drive. Visit our home page where you can ask an AI agent to call you.