The Insurtech industry uses emerging technologies like artificial Intelligence, machine learning to improve the customer experience and business processes. The market size of the global Insurtech industry was estimated at $2.72 billion for the year 2020. India’s share in the global Insurance market, is evaluated at 1.7% . Furthermore, the number is expected to grow around 2.3% by 2030. This indicates that there is a great opportunity awaiting the insurtech industry in India.
Software-as-a-Service or SaaS, is a software licensing and delivery model, where one can reap the benefits without actually maintaining or managing the software by a third party. Using the best of both worlds, SaaS insurance solutions provide many benefits for the insurance industry. For example, catering to client needs, reducing the money spent on hardware and software, and offering data protection are some of many.
Hence, enabling SaaS insurance solutions can help the insurance company focus on the business. As a result, the manpower focuses on driving growth for the company rather than concentrating on IT maintenance.
SaaS Insurance Solutions
The present Insurance market is very competitive. To provide excellent services there is a need for a bridge which connects the insurers and the policyholders. This should be cost effective and efficient to provide great customer experience. For instance, in the case of employee benefits insurance an online employee benefits platform is essential for the employees to check their status of insurance, raise claims etc. The SaaS delivery model excels at meeting these needs.
In the present situation, using SaaS software you can maintain a software interface for core systems, decrease the need for internal resources, and not compromise on the security too. SaaS makes this digital transformation faster with reduced use of manpower. For example, the use of SaaS-powered chatbots to answer customer queries can save a lot of time and energy.
There is a swift digital adoption in India, as there is an estimate of 829 million internet users by 2021. In addition to this, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the insurance companies are digitizing their functions. This includes providing new features that are mandatory to engage the customers and their employees. SaaS is the ultimate solution for this new model.
How Can SaaS Insurance Solutions Benefit Companies?
SaaS software can benefit insurance companies in the following ways.
Increase efficiency while spending less
One can reduce the burden on the IT maintenance team on the costs, maintenance of core systems infrastructure, security and certifications when you implement a SaaS software solution. The SaaS provider takes care of all the concerns regarding the software saving your time and resources. Now you can reassign this manpower to the core business to drive sales.
Manage your costs and fast-track your speed.
The SaaS provider takes care of your high-priced security certifications, data encryption, monitoring, intrusion detection, and amending cyber threats. Some providers even offer security to your cloud-hosted assets and processing.
A fully managed SaaS software with extensive configuration and automation will help you to push production that can help you get to the market faster.
How Can SaaS Insurance Solutions Benefit Policyholders?
Improve customer experience
Like any other industry, customer satisfaction and loyalty are significant for the insurance industry. By implementing Insurance SaaS software we can increase the experience of a policyholder. Moreover, SaaS insurance solutions are easily scalable and updatable. For example, a policyholder can pay the premium bills when, how, and where they want. This can save the policyholders time and not depend on others to pay their bills. Updating new features like this can increase the customer experience.
Information is secure
The policyholder's information, personal details, and payment details must be secured according to the industry standards and this requires the latest security updates. Businesses can issue advanced security updates at regular intervals for a large number of clients using the SaaS model.
How To Implement SaaS Insurance Solutions?
To carry out a hassle-free implementation of insurance SaaS solutions, one has to take care of two things:
Proper planning
Firstly, prepare a list of self-assessment questions to make this switch easy. These questions can be, how will the old system interact with the new SaaS Insurance software, do they require any special route for connectivity etc. Addressing these questions in detail will make this transition smooth.
Integration inventory
Carriers need to look at their SaaS integration inventory and look if they’re still providing the value they need. If otherwise, carriers must determine if there is a third-party provider that will give them more functionality and information that can service the end user more efficiently.
Barriers For SaaS Insurance Solutions
Old ways do not open new doors. But these new changes can be difficult on the side of business. We cannot extract the benefits of the new technology just by transferring the old processes into the new ones. For this, demonstrating the key values of the Insurance SaaS solutions is necessary.
Preparation for implementing Insurance SaaS solutions must be carefully studied and done. Some barriers for the SaaS insurance solutions are
Technical glitches
SaaS insurance solutions are cloud based. Hence, the insurance company and the policyholders may experience technical glitches with the system. However, these glitches cannot be fixed in-house. Your SaaS software provider must fix this. This glitches can be fixed fastly only if your provider offers you 24*7 support.
Accessibility of the software
A SaaS software solution that can be accessed remotely requires a high speed internet connection. Even if there is rapid adoption of the Internet in India, this software may not be accessible to all the policyholders of the insurance company. As India is a developing country, not all have access to a high speed internet connection.
Limited features
Each SaaS insurance solution is unique. Not all SaaS software solutions have the same features and benefits. One may provide limited features that can impact your insurance business. So it is mandatory to go with those insurance SaaS solutions that align well with your business and goals.
To Summarize
SaaS insurance solutions save time and human resources of the insurance providers. The team does not have to concentrate on IT management. Instead the team can focus on the business driving sales and growth. A classic example of this could be the integration of chatbots to answer the policyholders' queries. A chatbot answers the frequently answered questions in place of a customer care executive.
Despite a few bottlenecks in integrating insurance SaaS solutions, it can be greatly beneficial to the insurance company and policyholders if implemented properly.
