Rethinking insurance for a rapidly changing world

November 14, 2018 / 2 min read

I remember buying my first new car over 26 years ago.

It was the largest purchase I had ever made, and I was nervous about the responsibility of buying a new car. I also needed insurance. There were no comparison websites back then, or online brokerages.

So I called my father’s insurance agent about getting a policy.

Types and amounts of coverage to buy

The agent flipped through a stack of forms, as he explained the types and amounts of coverage I should buy. I was in sales at the time and hadn’t yet started working in insurance. And I remember being a little worried:

How does this agent know what insurance I need?
How do I know this coverage will be enough in an accident?
And was I paying too much for the policy?

Put simply, this was a stressful experience, where I was left confused and concerned about the future.

Changing insurance consumer expectations

Now, think about consumers today. The growth of smartphones and online shopping has changed their expectations. Consumers want a fast, accurate, and personalized buying experience. They want coverages for their specific needs, quotes that doesn’t change, and claims that are paid quickly.

To address these changing expectations, many insurers are rethinking the customer experience and looking for ways to revolutionize every part of the process, from quote to claim. To help insurers, Verisk is working hard to develop and integrate solutions that use artificial Intelligence and automation.

We call this effort VAI. VAI, which stands for Verisk Artificial Intelligence and automation, represents Verisk’s latest insurtech capabilities and is currently rolling out in new products we’re introducing, as well as in the established products many use today. Consider these examples:

Aerial imagery: Geomni, a Verisk business, is turning its robust aerial imagery into useful and accurate data for insurance. That data is not just being used in claims, but also emerging as a valuable data for underwriting. Aerial imagery can provide important information about a home, including its dimensions, structural characteristics, and potential hazards.

Forms analytics: ISO is also helping automate the forms development process. Using natural language processing and artificial intelligence, Mozart provides forms analytics on tens of thousands of forms. Instead of looking at a form as a document of words, Mozart works to understand the language and structure of forms, enabling users to compare documents, clauses, and forms and enhance consistency in their policy wording.

These solutions are just the beginning. To learn about other ways Verisk is helping insurers embrace change, check out some of the other articles in Visualize, including our forthcoming series on the 2018 Risk and Analytics Summit.