July 25, 2018
US Insurers Could Boost Profits by $20 Billion Through Intelligent Solutions, According to Accenture Report
More than half of insurers currently use intelligent solutions in one or more business process
NEW YORK; July 25, 2018 – By embedding intelligent solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and analytics into every business process, insurers in the U.S. could increase annual profitability by as much as US$20 billion, according to new research by Accenture (NYSE: ACN).
The report, called “Reimagining Insurance Processes with Intelligent Solutions,” is based on an analysis of the potential profit impact of intelligent solutions on U.S. tier 1 insurers, as well as a survey of 185 insurance process professionals. The research found that insurers that use intelligent solutions to reinvent the customer experience and drive human-machine collaboration are achieving returns in excess of 10 times their investment and could increase industry-wide profitability by between US$10.4 billion and US$20.8 billion.
“As insurers face heightened customer expectations and cost pressures, now is the time for them to move from experimenting with AI in the laboratory to deploying it at scale across several business processes,” said Michael Costonis, who leads Accenture’s Insurance practice globally.
Encouragingly, the report notes that more than half (53 percent) of insurers surveyed are already using intelligent solutions in one or more business process, and 46 percent are investing in or piloting them to streamline selected business processes and customer experiences. Among the other reasons insurers are integrating intelligent solutions are to reinvent business processes (24 percent), harness data and analytics to drive new insights (31 percent), and rethink human/machine collaboration to drive speed, quality and consistency of outcomes (34 percent).
The report reveals that the leaders in applying intelligent solutions are doing so to help them reimagine entire business processes, worker engagement and customer experiences, rather than just make small improvements to existing business processes.
In addition, insurers that treat intelligent solutions as a series of isolated technology investments will not get the best return on their investments. The leaders recognize that these solutions represent a new platform capability, similar to existing core systems such as policy and claims.
“Intelligent solutions could enable whole new levels of personalization and convenience for the customer and transform a host of insurance business processes, including managing claims data, generating sales leads, extracting information about key risk factors, and spotting potential fraud,” said Costonis.
The full report can be found here: https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Accenture/Conversion-Assets/Secure/pdf-no-index-1/Accenture-Insurance-Intelligent-Solutions.pdf
Methodology
Accenture analyzed the potential profit impact of intelligent solutions segmented across primary value drivers (product penetration, customer retention, fraud, sales force effectiveness, portfolio management, lower claims costs, lower customer acquisition costs, lower customer service expense) on tier-1 U.S. insurers.
In addition, Accenture Research surveyed process professionals at 1,075 large global companies (one per company) with revenues ranging from US$500 million to more than US$25 billion, including 185 insurance respondents. Of those, 38 were CXOs, 75 were other executives, 59 were managers, and 13 were analysts or engineers.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 449,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
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Contact:
Michael McGinn
Accenture
+1 917 452 9458
m.mcginn@accenture.com