Easing policyholders' concerns about the use of AI in the claims process

Artificial intelligence is already a part of our everyday lives in things like navigation, facial recognition, chatbots and virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa. Despite the technology's wide use, many insureds remain nervous about the speed at which AI has been incorporated in the insurance industry – particularly when it comes to claims. In August 2023, YouGov conducted an online survey on behalf of Sprout.ai of more than 4,400 consumers across the U.S. and U.K. to see what the public cares about most in the claims process, what influences them when choosing an insurer and what their perceptions are about the use of AI in claims processing. The survey found the factors customers in the U.S. and U.K. care about most in the claims process are:

• 62% Trust in a fair claim decision
• 57% Claims processing speed
• 52% Customer service quality
• 42% Being able to access evidence to understand how the decision about a claims was made
• 41% Visibility into the current status of a claim

Only 8% of consumers said an insurer's technological proficiency was important to them during the claims process. Sprout.ai's report showed that when it comes to artificial intelligence, customers are split on whether an insurer using the technology would affect their choice of carrier, but the smallest group – just 9% of respondents – were those who said they would choose an insurer because they use AI. About a third (33%) said AI usage did not impact their choice of insurer, and 36% said they would select an insurer because they did not use AI. Related: Bringing AI to work? Better have policies in place These numbers indicate hesitation amongst insurance customers to engage with AI technology, so how can the growing number of insurers utilizing AI make their customers more comfortable with it? In the slideshow above, we'll look at the actions Sprout.ai's report advises the insurance industry take to support and reassure concerned customers.