The insurance and finance industry is undergoing a transformation: digitalization is increasingly replacing traditional sales methods with technology-enabled, more efficient processes. This progress holds great potential, but at the same time presents new challenges for leaders.

Why is it so important to act now? Because the breakthrough of generative artificial intelligence (AI) followed immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This not only radically changes customer needs, but the competitive environment also does not allow for hibernation. Those who do not act now risk losing market share to competitors and innovative startups.

However, those who understand the potential of digital sales and AI can not only significantly increase market share, but also increase efficiency and lead the insurance market significantly.

Why digitalization and AI are changing the industry now

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, forced the entire industry to rethink virtually overnight and acted as a catalyst for digitization in insurance. Remote work and digital customer contact have gone from being nice-to-have to must-have.

With the breakthrough of OpenAI in November 2022, the next radical transformation followed. This time, it was probably less abrupt, but no less transformative. The topic of artificial intelligence is not new in insurance sales and has been discussed for several years. However, what has actually changed through GPT-3 is the easy, fast applicability and integration into existing processes, without insurance companies having to develop and train their own data models for years.

When generative artificial intelligence (AI) is used correctly, it can help insurance companies reduce costs and generate more revenue in a very short time.

AI helps automate processes and can significantly reduce costs

By using AI in document creation and processing, insurers can automate many routine tasks. This includes filling out forms, creating policy documents, or automatically processing claims reports, saving time and resources. Additionally, fraudulent activities can be detected and prevented more efficiently through the use of AI.

AI helps increase revenue and gain market share

AI can analyze an unlimited amount of data in real-time. This enables the automatic creation of individually tailored offers, more accurate risk profiles, and individually customized communication. This leads to more precise pricing and helps insurers better manage risk. By analyzing customer data, insurers can also offer personalized insurance policies, marketing materials, and consulting services tailored to the specific needs and preferences of customers. New business models are also possible, such as on-demand insurance or dynamic pricing based on real-time data.

Virtual meetings and AI are fundamentally changing customer consultation

In this context, virtual meetings plays an enormously important role as it bridges the gap between traditional customer relationships and the requirements of the digital era. Customers want and can be served flexibly with video chat. While telephone and email still have their merits, they cannot compete with the advantages of virtual meetings.

1. Lower costs

Meet your customers online and save long travel times and high travel costs. Tedious appointment coordination is eliminated. Meet customers in the virtual consultation room to view documents together, collaboratively fill out forms, and conclude contracts in a legally secure manner. Sales discussions take place online in a similar way to personal contact. By eliminating travel expenses, advisors can handle more customer conversations per day, resulting in significantly more efficient work.

2. More sales

Compared to telephone and email, video consultation can create a significantly higher level of trust and commitment. Products and services that require explanation require personal support. Unlike telephone or email, Demodesk video meetings significantly increase the likelihood of successful business closures. The sales agreement can also be concluded directly during the conversation via electronic signature, significantly increasing the probability of closure.

3. Targeting younger audiences

In the past two years, practically everyone has come into contact with online meetings. Video conference tools like Microsoft Teams or Google Meet have become everyday and commonplace. Younger target groups want flexible advice through digital channels and are used to communicating online.

With video consultation, you can easily serve existing customers and open doors to new customer demographics.

Compared to telephone and email, video consultation can create a significantly higher level of trust and commitment. Products and services that require explanation require personal support. Unlike telephone or email, Demodesk video meetings significantly increase the likelihood of successful business closures. The sales agreement can also be concluded directly during the conversation via electronic signature, significantly increasing the probability of closure.

4. Improved customer service

Flexible working methods and remote work have gained enormous importance - both for customers and advisors. With online video consultation, you offer a service that saves time for advisors and customers while still ensuring personal contact.

Video consultation allows you to efficiently and flexibly design your sales processes, even in home offices and without physical customer contact.

5. More insights and comprehensive analytics

Sales processes and customer conversations no longer have to be a black box. With modern video consultation software, conversations can be automatically recorded and transcribed. AI enables summarizing conversations and making them searchable. Generative AI can analyze complex data and identify patterns that are difficult for humans to identify. This can help executives gain insights into conversation dynamics and identify areas for improvement.

Flexible working methods and remote work have gained enormous importance - both for customers and agents. With virtual meetings, you offer a service that saves time for agents and customers while still ensuring personal contact.

6. Standardization and automation of processes

With the help of the right software, initial customer interactions such as qualifying new customers, collecting data, assigning them to the right agent, and scheduling the conversation can be completely automated. Insurance agents can work more efficiently and focus on more complex inquiries and personal consultations, while routine inquiries are handled by AI systems. Even after the consultation, the right software can help document conversations and coordinate next steps with the customer.

The right video consultation software can help sales organizations standardize and optimize the entire sales process from planning to execution to the analysis of customer conversations.

7. Real-time support for agents during conversations

While personal conversations on-site are entirely analog, software and technology can be used in a digital sales process to best support agents along the entire sales process. Suitable virtual meeting software can provide real-time guidance to agents with the right presentation content and talk tracks. Relevant content and assistance with product questions or objections can be automatically displayed contextually during the conversation. This helps agents address important points and effectively respond to customer inquiries.

Thanks to the right software, agents can be onboarded faster and sell more successfully.

Overall, the future of the insurance industry will be significantly shaped by digitalization, the use of AI, and video consultation. Companies that effectively utilize these technologies will not only expand their market share but also increase their efficiency and take a leading role in the insurance market. To remain competitive in the long run, it is essential to gain an overview of the advantages of AI and video consultation and choose the right solution.