Associate Director of Process &Technology

Artificial Intelligence (AI)already impacts many aspects of our lives.While, as customers, we might not be able to pinpoint the exact AI technology used, we encounter examples of Machine Learning, Deep Learning and the other more specific applications of AI, each and every day from our smartphones, home assistants or in our cars.

In the insurance industry, the level of automation is already extensive and growing, and coronavirus has accelerated that, having reinforced the need for businesses to simplify processes and enable more effective digital access to ensure that our customers continue to benefit from the products and services we offer.

THE POWER OF VOICE

At BGL, we’re investing heavily in AI because we believe it will deliver a more personalised experience for our customers.

Our virtual assistants (VAs) played a significant role in supporting our customers during the pandemic. As call volumes increased dramatically — particularly when we went into lockdown — our 14 Virtual Assistants (VAs) were able to help customers with the simple ‘peace of mind’ queries in real time, allowing our customer service experts to concentrate on the more complex queries.

BGL began using Virtual Assistants in 2016, available 24/7 across all sales and service journeys, reflecting the different brand personas. What’s more, they are highly intelligent — recognising 60,000 ways customers have asked us various different questions. Robotic Process Automation or rather ‘software robots’ are trained to do basic tasks across multiple applications, adding value across our business.Speeding up processes, running 24/7 where needed, supporting customer service where automation is helpful and enabling our experts to continue to deliver the excellent services which keeps our customers coming back year-on-year.

And many of us will have a “smart” voice assistant at home. Using the AI at our fingertips, we can adapt this technology for our industry, our products and our business. Customer conversations, intelligent and responsive answers, tailored for you is within our reach.

Our Digital Voice programme uses Natural Language Processing to enable a good quality but automated conversation with our customers. This will mean being able to offer some services 24/7 over the phone and being able to personalise responses. Giving our customers confidence that actions promised have been fulfilled with an automatic confirmatory message. Ultimately, consumers will be able to get to where they want quickly and naturally.

"Giving Our Customers Confidence That Actions Promised Have Been Fulfilled With An Automatic Confirmatory Message"

We’re designing and testing this right now to make sure we get it right and it will soon roll-out more widely – allowing us to harness the best of our voice channels to have conversation and our messaging services, MyAccount links or SMS, to share more complex information.

I don’t mean that every conversation should be automated – absolutely not – but striking the balance between immediate service via a AI driven conversation, and the ability for our reps to step in to pick up a complex, stressful or high impact conversation as needed, provides an overall stronger customer experience.

USING ROBOTS TO CRACK DOWN ON CRIMINALS

Another example of AI– specifically Machine Learning – is in preventing fraud.

Uncovering insurance fraud can be complex and a resource-intensive process and as a broker, we often face fraudsters who are industrious in their efforts to get fake policies past us.

Earlier this year, we launched a new process that incorporates machine learning algorithms to prevent policies being taken out fraudulently. We’re keeping the details close to our chests but let’s say, the technology is one of the most sophisticated examples of machine learning algorithms in our business. It analyses thousands of pieces of information in a split second in a way a human could never do. It’s so fast, the customer on the journey doesn’t even notice the lag and what’s more, it’s highly accurate.

It’s yet another prime example of the way AI is benefiting customers as it helps reduce the losses to the business and our insurer partners from fraud, helping to keep customer premiums lower. It means less waste in the insurance market and better value for customers, who are also less likely to be implicated in fraud by extension.

These are just some of the ways AI is already changing the customer service landscape– providing support and collaboration alongside and in unison with the human touch.

Like any new technology, it’s use comes with a healthy degree of scepticism and concern from consumers.Who hasn’t been served a suspicious advert after a conversation within earshot of Alexa?Our ethics committee sits over the decisions we make around new applications of models, data and algorithms. We have a set of embedded guidelines in developing new services underpinned by AI, which ensures transparency and visibility as programmes are brought to life.