AI transforming insurance through faster processing, customer service and claims: PB Fintech President

Artificial intelligence is playing a significant role in transforming the insurance sector by improving customer interactions, application processing, product development and claims processing, according to PB Fintech Ltd.

Artificial intelligence is playing a significant role in transforming the insurance sector by improving customer interactions, application processing, product development and claims processing, according to PB Fintech Ltd. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, President, PB Fintech Ltd, told ANI on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat event that AI could also help expand insurance coverage across India.

"I think India, with a country of multilingual languages and geographic spread, if we can build literacy, if we can build trust, using AI, our ability to cover each and every citizen of this country other than those in the poverty line who are already covered by social security schemes of the government will be very easy," Gupta said. AI has enabled Policybazaar to process and analyse customer conversations, understand their requirements and use those insights to develop products based on their needs, according to Gupta.

"We are able to summarize all the conversations with the customers, understand customer requirements. Through that, we are able to create products which the customers need, processing of applications, claim processing." The technology has also become important for improving operational efficiency and expanding the reach of insurance services across the country.

"All this has been very crucial in terms of building efficiencies around that and it is only AI which can help us to reach to the last segment of people," Gupta said. Digital payments and Digital Public Infrastructure have also played a crucial role in Policybazaar's growth, he noted.

"Digital payments and digital public infrastructure have played a very crucial role in the growth of Policy Bazaar. I think that is something which we are very proud of," Gupta said. Technology, however, needs to be supported by education and greater financial literacy to ensure people understand the importance of insurance, Gupta said.

"What we need today is education. What we need is government-private partnership in spreading the information in terms of how people should come and buy policies which will take care of their future, their families," he said. "So I think digital is one way of reaching out to the people, but before digital, I think building literacy and reaching out to the people and educating them is very crucial," Gupta added.

Insurance penetration remains a major challenge, particularly in health and term insurance, despite Policybazaar's strong performance across states. "For Policy Bazaar, obviously insurance penetration is one of the key areas. We have been doing extremely well across states, but insurance penetration continues to be a big challenge when it comes to health insurance and term insurance," Gupta said.

Policybazaar has witnessed rapid growth during the 16-17 years it has been in business and expects the business to grow further, according to Gupta. The company has grown at an average CAGR of 50 per cent, Gupta said, adding that the size of the Indian market provides significant scope for continued growth.

AI could also play an important role in the broader objective of expanding insurance coverage and securing more citizens as India moves towards its long-term development goals, he said. (ANI)