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3 minute read
Ask any health insurance agent veteran about what their job entailed when they started out, and they will tell you stories of knocking door-to-door for sales and grappling with mountains of paperwork. With paperwork defining the job – enrollment, customer service, regulatory requirements – agents were often overwhelmed. Advancements like email, the internet, and online portals eventually changed this, and tasks that took days could be done in minutes. With artificial intelligence (AI) technology being leveraged within health insurance distribution, we’re seeing agents’ daily responsibilities once again change tremendously.
How will AI change the game for agents? And what does that mean for carriers?
Customer service
Although AI has its limitations and isn’t currently capable of replacing human decision making, altogether , it can effectively automate routine tasks like data entry, standard policy renewals, document verification, and basic customer service inquiries. This would allow agents to focus on more high-value activities such as providing personalized customer service and relationship management. Additionally, it frees up agents to spend more time on new sales, business strategy, and more complex issues to drive business goals.
Policy matching
AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and insights that are beyond what humans can possibly compute on their own. This capability can be used to assess risk, predict customer behavior, and personalize insurance plans. With deeper insights into customer needs, agents can take a more data-driven approach to connect members with the right insurance products for their needs. Part of this strategy could include product bundling and upselling, which can lead to increased retention and loyalty.
Customer retention
Matching customers with the right policy is the first step in increasing policy persistence. AI-driven predictive analytics can go a step further. By analyzing behavior patterns, transaction history, and engagement levels, AI can provide insights into which customers may need more attention. Currently, agents don’t know a member is at risk for canceling until they receive the cancellation notice, or even worse, when their commission check doesn’t arrive. AI can help to flag when customers are at risk for canceling their policy or ideally before, allowing agents to proactively address customer concerns and implement retention strategies.
Lead Matching
Distributors are starting to leverage AI to manage lead handling. If FMOs can successfully identify which agents have the best close rates and policy persistence by customer and lead type, they can then funnel leads to the agents best suited to manage them. Receiving more leads that are likely to close can positively impact both agents’ individual win rates and the overall agency’s sales and growth. It also enables agents to become experts in specific segments and elevates their role to become specialized, strategic advisors to members. And the more successful agents are, the more insurance distribution increases for the carrier, maximizing sales effectiveness.
What does this mean for carriers?
As agencies transform their own businesses to be technology and AI-enabled, they will expect the same from their partners and carriers. Agents want to work with carriers that are easy to do business with. For agents, this means carriers should be partners in helping to identify at-risk customers and reduce churn. At a minimum, carriers should have a system in place to notify agents when customers submit an intent to not renew.
As agents' responsibilities shift from handling administrative tasks to solving higher value problems, carriers need to be able to support this transition from a technology standpoint. As a carrier, if you're lagging on technology adoption, the best agents won’t want to work with you because they won’t be able to integrate with outdated technology.
One of the most cumbersome tasks for downlines is commission management, which routinely involves spending countless hours and resources every month reconciling commissions. And then even more time is spent having to work with carriers to get paid for missing or inaccurate commissions. Carriers who can provide timely, accurate commissions will be more successful in motivating and retaining the best agents.
Embracing AI and technology
The potential of AI to streamline and transform insurance sales and distribution for agents and carriers seems limitless. Many carriers are already struggling to address data issues and keep up with the pace of technological adoption by agents. A great place to start is streamlining and improving the accuracy of commissions data – a huge win for carriers and agents. e123 can make that easier than you think with Commissions for Carriers. Learn more.
