In an increasingly digital world, the life insurance sector in India still faces numerous challenges, particularly in streamlining the policy management processes. Traditional methods relying on manual work at all stages result in inefficiencies and delays, impeding smooth operations and customer satisfaction.
This case study explores how iNube’s innovative digital solutions – Virtual Office and Digital Onboarding from the POLICY Suite, transformed the policy management process for India’s leading life insurer, addressing critical challenges and paving the way for a more user-friendly and efficient approach.
Problem
Our client, the largest life insurer in India, faced several challenges with their policy management systems, particularly with scaling up their business while integrating with external systems.
The client’s customer base continues to grow in the Indian market due to their diverse product offerings. However, as internal stakeholders increased and customer volumes surged, their systems struggled to handle the policy management process efficiently.
Traditionally operating through the Agent to Customer (A2C) channel, the client had outdated and basic systems for their Direct to Customer (D2C) business channel.
Business Problems
- Operational Inefficiencies: Fragmented processes and manual involvement at all stages led to slow policy creation.
- High processing time: Manual handling increased the delays through the policy management stages and its processing.
- Customer Dissatisfaction: Delays and manual errors resulted in poor customer experience.
- Scalability Issues: Existing infrastructure could not efficiently handle growing volumes of policies and customer data.
Project Vision
The project aimed to create an end-to-end self-service digital platform serving as an integrated solution for onboarding customers via direct and agent channels. This platform would allow customers to onboard themselves directly and support sales agents in onboarding their clients. Acting as a virtual digital office, the platform would provide various services at the fingertips of customers and sales intermediaries during the onboarding process.
The ultimate vision is to be prepared for scalability, reduce manual intervention, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the overall customer experience.
iNube’s Record: Multi-Channel Solution Implemented in under 150 Days!
To address our client’s challenges, iNube introduced POLICY Suite, a comprehensive digital platform that includes a Virtual Office for Agents and Digital Onboarding platform for customers coming directly through web channel.
This solution streamlined policy administration by integrating all aspects of policy management, automating workflows, enhancing user interfaces, and transitioning processes online.
POLICY Suite significantly reduces the turnaround times and improves operational efficiency. It also features robust security measures for handling sensitive PII of the customers, real-time dashboards, and multi-channel communication, ensuring transparency, convenience, and enhanced customer satisfaction throughout the policy issuance journey.
A glimpse of the client’s transformation journey from iNube:
There were multiple functional modules that streamlined the entire policy issuance journey:
Digital Platform
iNube’s robust digital platform integrated all the aspects of policy administration – catering to customers, agents, and bancassurance/web aggregators.
Quotation Module
The module automated quote generation based on the data collected and increased accuracy policy coverage.
Underwriting Rules
Implemented an Underwriting module that automated sending proposals for the underwriter’s decision for STP/NSTP claims based on pre-existing rules
Pre-Insurance Video Verification D2C
A pre-insurance video verification feature was introduced for D2C journey cutting down on policy issuance time
Proposal Module
The module implemented effortlessly digitized proposals which will be filled up by the agent on behalf of the customers. The digital proposals had generic and specific to the insurance plans
Lead Generation Module
A module which facilitated filling up of the basic details of the customer and a unique lead ID is generated for smart lead management
Medical/MSP Scheduling
The module offered a list of reports that are tailored for different proposals and slashed manually curating tailored reports for different proposals.
Agent Confidentiality Report and Customer Consent Form
This module triggers a consent form that is based on the unique proposal numbers via a link from both the agent’s and the customer’s end during policy issuance for ensuring data security and privacy
Custom Journeys across Different Stakeholders
iNube customized the journey of each stakeholder and created multiple portals (agent portal, customer portal, MHR portal, bancassurance portal) to cater to diverse user needs, enabling faster and seamless operations.
Self-Service Portal for Customers
iNube’s way-of-doing prioritizes security above all else. During an A2C journey, to eliminate the scope of potential data misuse involving customer’s PII data, the step of manual document share was digitized by adding a self-service portal for the customers.
CKYC and Payment Gateway Modules
Implemented meticulous Intergrations and automated flows at stages like CKYC, payment gateways to significantly reduce the turnaround time for policy issuance.
User-Friendly Journeys
Designed detailed, user-friendly journeys for agents, customers, and bancassurance partners. Developed a user-friendly UI to enable customers to complete the DIY policy issuance journey independently.
Dashboards and Reports
Incorporated dashboards and reports to provide real-time updates on products, plans, payments, and policy issuance, customized for every level within the organization, right from agents to the Managing Director.
Communication Matrix
Established a robust communication matrix to ensure accurate communication trigger to all the stakeholders at each stage.
A sneak peak of the impact iNube made
- 1M+ Policies issued
- 52K+ Agents onboarded
- 10 minutes for end-to-end policy booking time
- 4B+ INR GWP booked
- 90 days D2C journey implemented
- 120 days Agent journey implemented
- 30K+ policies booked per day
- 6M+ Quotes generated across channels
- 5K+ employees actively using the services
- Average 500+ quotations being sent everyday
Customer Benefits – The Payoff from Our Solution
Improved Efficiency: Reduced the transaction times of Virtual Onboarding via A2C channels from a massive 17 minutes to 2 minutes, end-to-end.
Business impact: Increased policy handling volumes by at least 60% with the same resources.
Increased Customer Satisfaction: Enhanced customer experience leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates.
Business impact: Streamlined processes and real-time updates improved customer trust.
Scalability: Increased customer base via the digital platforms without compromising service quality.
Business impact: Future-proof and Scalable architecture supporting lateral growth in the days to come.
Cost Savings: Significant cost savings in operations through automation and improved efficiency.
Business impact: Reduced operational overhead and resource allocation.
Mapping Out the Transformation Journey
iNube’s POLICY suite platform paved the way for a transformative journey that was previously unthinkable.
A Quick glimpse of the transformation journey:
Semi-Automated Process
Before iNube: Earlier, the client’s agent operational processes were cumbersome and fragmented with semi-automated process
After iNube: With the implementation of iNube’s Virtual Office, the agent operations were digitized and unified under a singular platform
Policy Issuance Time
Before iNube: Earlier the policy issuance time could take up to one day
After iNube: Now, the policy issuance time is reduced to just 12 minutes
New Product Configuration Time
Before iNube: Previously, the product configuration time for the client would take up to 10 whole days
After iNube: With iNube’s implementation, the client’s product configuration time was reduced to just 2 days
Policy Handling Volume
Before iNube: Earlier, the client could only handle 10k+ policies per day
After iNube: Now, they are handling 30k+ policies per day
Underwriting Process
Before iNube: The client was manually handling underwriting for all policies
After iNube: Now, there is an automated underwriting rules with STP/NSTP process journeys
Solving complex problems the iNube way
iNube adopted a structured approach to implement the phase 1 of this solution in less than 90 days (about 3 months):
- Requirement Analysis: Conducted detailed discussions with the client’s stakeholders to understand their specific needs and challenges.
- Custom Solution Design: Designed a tailor-made solution for policy administration across A2C and D2C channels, focusing on enhancing user experience and operational efficiency.
- Phased Implementation: Rolled out the solution in phases to ensure a smooth transition and minimal disruption, allowing for continuous feedback and iterative improvements.
- Training and Support: Provided comprehensive training to staff and ongoing support for effective system use, ensuring users were well-equipped to utilize the new system efficiently.
- Continuous Improvement: Gathered feedback and continuously enhanced the system to meet evolving needs and challenges, focusing on long-term sustainability and adaptability.
iNube’s POLICY Suite – Virtual Office and Digital Onboarding successfully transformed the client’s insurance operations by addressing inherent challenges with a comprehensive digital solution. The implementation not only streamlined processes, significantly reduced turnaround time, and improved overall customer experience but also positioned the client for increased efficiency and scalability. The integration of user-friendly interfaces, robust communication channels, and advanced verification processes underscored the success of iNube’s product in revolutionizing the client’s life insurance operations in India.
