Incorporate RPA Into Your Insurance Organization to Improve the Workplace Environment and Output

BY: Chad Spivack
DECEMBER 7, 2021

Robotic Process Automation can handle many menial and repetitive tasks insurance employees handle every day, freeing up your people to attend to more important tasks.

Key Takeaways:

  • Robotic Process Automation is revolutionizing the way work is usually carried out in different industries such as banking, healthcare, and insurance
  • The insurance industry is a well-suited area for Robotic Process Automation to streamline processes and optimize
  • Robotic Process Automation not only improves client relationships but also has a positive impact in a workplace environment
  • RPA rids employees of mundane and repetitive tasks that do not require human judgment so they can focus on tasks that provide more job satisfaction
  • RPA helps make employees available to improve customer service and the overall functioning of the organization

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a trusted business process automation technology that has the potential to drastically improve organizational efficiency and productivity. Industries that have various repetitive tasks as a part of their routine work processes can employ RPA to streamline their workflows and optimize performance.

Banking, healthcare, governance, and insurance are some examples of businesses for which RPA can serve as a tailor-made proposition. These businesses and other industries that have a similar scope of work can deploy RPA to not only improve customer experiences but also benefit internally from the positive effects the technology has on the workplace.

With RPA, employees who were preoccupied with mundane and repetitive tasks can now be free to be involved in creative engagements that require more satisfying problem-solving skills. This uplift in employee workplace experience can not only result in better organizational output but also bring more job satisfaction.

What is RPA and how far is its scope?

Robotic Process Automation is a technology that can mimic human interactions with software and execute repetitive, structured tasks that do not require human judgment. In other words, RPA can be thought of as a tool that can be employed to perform back-office tasks that would otherwise need to be done by humans.

RPA is a work optimization solution for organizations that have a lot of repetitive tasks. It can swiftly do these mundane and structure-based tasks by employing software bots. This improves work efficiency and accuracy. Many organizations have seen favorable results and validated its efficacy.

RPA was first implemented by the IT industry. Organizations ranging from high-profile companies to mid-range entities in the IT sector all were amazed by the benefits that RPA brought. The technology’s success in the IT industry brought it to the limelight and other industries, such as banking, finance, and insurance, were next in line to reap its benefits.

Now, with the passage of time, more and more organizations are looking to incorporate RPA into their workplaces. The technology is also evolving to facilitate integrations that will make it more advanced and efficient.

Many RPA vendors also leverage cloud technology to make their bots smarter and speedier. Vendors look to Microsoft Azure and AWS to offer their RPA technologies with more advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.

What benefits can RPA bring to an insurance organization?

There are multiple areas within the insurance industry where RPA can bring high-magnitude benefits. It can be implemented to perform quote presentation and calculation, fraud evaluation, payment issuance, policy delivery, production of statements and bills, performance reports, and other tasks.

There has been robust RPA implementation in various sections of insurance. Now, the RPA landscape has reached a point where new services and products are being developed that are well-suited to the kind of work that takes place in the insurance sector.

Another important outcome of deploying an RPA-based solution in an insurance organization is that the technology has the power to liberate employees. A large chunk of your human resources who were doing menial, mundane, and repetitive clerical tasks can now finally be free and have the opportunity to get involved in complex jobs that demand intellect and cognition. This means people working in insurance companies will be doing jobs that not only increase the composite output but also bring more value to the organization and their careers.

Improving customer experiences

Deploying RPA technology in an insurance organization allows you to allocate more and better resources to customer services and the customer experience as a whole. Providing customers with streamlined service is the single most important point that can help insurance companies improve customer retention and subsequently expand the client base.

At the end of the day, it all depends on the number of happy clients and agents working with your insurance company because customer satisfaction is what leads to higher revenue. The automation of all those repetitive processes an insurance company confronts during their interaction with customers and in the back-office ultimately helps make sure the customer experience is a no-fuss scenario.

Customers get error-free service, which makes the insurance organization land in their good books — resulting in long-lasting relationships.

A case study in how RPA improves the workplace environment

One case study done on an insurance company based in Finland shows that employee engagement toward work decreased significantly when the task at hand required low cognition and seemed irrelevant and mundane.

The company had introduced RPA into their contact center back-office task two years before. They used multiple software robots to assist their employees and customers. The company’s customer contact centers have four different teams and they each have around 100 customer service agents. The focus of the study was inbound customer service.

There were four areas where RPA was implemented:

  • E-invoicing
  • Automatic delivery of green cards
  • Termination of contracts
  • Lengthening the payment terms

All these tasks were done manually before the implementation of automation.

The study found that relieving the employees of their repetitive tasks resulted in a change in their workday design. Workers were now free to focus their attention on more complex tasks. Automation of non-cognitive, repetitive tasks also allowed employees to shift toward more demanding front-office jobs that created more value for the company.

The study shows how RPA releases employees from mental strain by freeing them from mindless activities so they can then focus on more demanding tasks that improve work engagement.

This validates the notion that better work engagement not only translates into improved productivity by an insurance organization but also gives employees more satisfaction by allowing them to focus on more purposeful tasks. The study highlights the importance of RPA not only in the context of streamlining processes and reducing costs but also in the employee side of the story.

RPA makes an insurance organization workplace a much more congenial and acceptable place to be in because of the meaningful shift in the nature of work that employees have at their hands.

How to build an insurance company that appropriately leverages RPA

RPA has the potential to give your insurance company a lot of competitive advantages. Many potential customers have already experienced what RPA has to offer. More and more consumers are now demanding digital convenience, which means it’s time for you to devise your RPA strategy if you haven’t done that already.

An RPA implementation will not only mean enhanced customer services but also a better working environment — all due to automating your tedious work processes.

RPA implementation in your insurance company should not be a time-consuming and costly project. You can have it up and running in a matter of a few weeks. However, the important thing is to choose the right team that can build the right RPA solution for your organization quickly and reliably.

You have the option of creating an AI and automation position(s) in your own IT department and then relegating the task of RPA implementation to them. Or, you can opt to outsource the build to a team of AI and automation experts.

Choosing to work with your own IT team can turn out to be a process that demands a lot of effort and toil. You will have to choose the right professional to hire for the job. Also, you will have to invest your time in providing the right technological resources needed for the job.

However, things will prove to be much easier if you outsource RPA development. Outsourcing will enable you to find a team that is already experienced in RPA implementation. You will get a head start and save a lot of time. You will not have to initiate any hiring process. You will also save yourself from exerting effort in sourcing the technological tools required for the job.

The role of executives in transforming the workplace

The role of executives is crucial when it comes to devising the digital overhauling of their insurance company. Executives have to play a key role in formulating the right RPA strategy to fit the needs of their company.

Before the actual implementation of RPA takes place at an insurance organization, executives should chalk out a detailed plan for the project. The plan should include a thorough analysis of different aspects and outcomes of a prospective RPA implementation. Significant strategic goals should be highlighted and aligned with specific business outcomes.

All concerned parties within the organization should be brought on board to ensure you have buy-in for the RPA strategy. Outcome-oriented consultations should be carried out and the plan should be re-evaluated.

Specific processes should be identified that are well suited to RPA solutions. Structured and repetitive tasks are the ideal candidates to be automated.

A plan should be in place beforehand for the employees who would be freed as a result of the RPA implementation. They should be assigned duties that can bring more work engagement for them — resulting in better work experience and more value for the company.

Training arrangements should also be made for the employees so that they understand the changes that have been made and have the capability to work with the updated systems.

It is of utmost importance to test the RPA solutions and run pilots before the complete deployment of the technology. The initial testing will enable you to track down any weak areas and ensure the actual deployment will deliver the desired business results.

You should also look for RPA solutions that can, at any later stage, handle advanced integrations and upgrades. This will allow you to maintain a competitive advantage that can result in higher customer retention and revenue generation.

RPA people you can count on

RD Global Inc can help with all your RPA process discovery, planning, and implementation needs. With considerable experience implementing RPA in the insurance industry, RD Global will make your RPA journey a breeze. Contact us today to get your automation plan rolling.

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Written by Chad Spivack

"Process Architect @ RD Global. IT professional with expertise leading an Intelligent Automation practice. Chad has managed multiple end-to-end, automation projects and currently holds 5 separate RPA certifications."

DECEMBER 7, 2021
RD Global Empowers Insurance Companies to optimize total digital experience, unify data, and harmonize processes by developing high impact technology solutions infused with a 5-star customer experience.