For those of us in insurance, the journey to digital transformation has felt slow, challenged by regulations, legacy systems and complex business functions that require sophisticated solutions.
The pandemic has been a wakeup call: Digital is no longer an accessory but a necessity for any business. Effective digital technology is essential to meeting our customer needs and providing them with protection, security and peace of mind. We are at a pivotal moment, where we must overcome the barriers to digitization.
No-code technology can play a key role. For decades, enterprises have relied on code to build and maintain software. But coding is extremely complex. It takes a long time to learn and master, and it’s time-consuming to write, update and maintain code. At the enterprise level, a reliance on code creates a system in which a select few who are responsible for building and maintaining software for the entire enterprise. This typically leads to high costs, slow timelines and sub-par outcomes.
We’ve all seen this in action. A team comes up with a software idea or identifies a process that needs updating. The team brings the idea to developers (aka “coders”), who are already underwater with requests. The scope of the project is reduced, then takes 12 to 18 months to get off the ground. If requirements change, funding shifts or people change jobs, the project can fail entirely.
No-code fundamentally changes this. No-code is exactly what it sounds like -- a way to build software without using any code. No-code users build software using a visual interface that houses a library of configurable pre-built components. This approach expands the pool of people who can build software beyond those who can write code and frees developers to focus on truly complex problems. No-code allows companies to build complex, mission-critical applications faster, at a fraction of the cost and with fewer bugs.
No-code is a perfect fit for an industry like insurance, where a reliance on code has held us back from building and scaling the software we need to meet the moment. The potential use cases are vast. We already have great examples of how enterprise no-code is being used.
Digitizing business origination in life insurance
Traditionally, business origination processes have relied on paper processes or solutions built via coding. Multiple points of intake (e.g., paper, e-apps, digital) contribute to data inconsistencies, low adviser productivity and a sub-par customer experience.
A top 10 life insurance company used Unqork's no-code platform to digitize the business acquisition journey from end to end. Through a unified digital interface for advisers, customers and operations, the company streamlined policy administration and underwriting. Turnaround time for new business fell from over two months to less than 20 days on average. The company also reduced costs by 30% and enhanced the customer and adviser experience.
See also: Digitally Challenged Miss Opportunities
Digitizing onboarding of the plan sponsor and adviser
For most insurers, client onboarding is incredibly time-consuming and costly. High-touch and heavily reliant on pen and paper, traditional processes yield sub-par results and are often rife with data inconsistencies.
No-code can be used to create end-to-end, self-service solutions that automate sponsor, plan, servicing, pricing and adviser and third-party administrator (TPA) data capture. This digitized process allows for direct client outreach, integration with third-party data providers, due diligence assessment and seamless coordination across functions.
A top five insurer used Unqork’s platform to digitize plan sponsor and adviser onboarding, accelerating client onboarding times from four weeks to three hours, decreasing the cost of operations and technology ownership while increasing revenue potential and improving client relationship management.
Streamlining rate-quote-bind and policy administration
The policy administration process is notoriously inefficient. Insurers often rely on a number of different channels -- phone, web, agent, self-service -- and intake varies widely across channels. Agents often depend on the back office to receive an indicated rate and issue a policy, restricting agent productivity and delaying the rate-quote-bind process. Inefficient processes contribute to a significant administrative load and hurt the customer experience.
Enterprise grade no-code can be used to automate the intake, quote, bind and issue processes for no-touch and underwriter workflows. These systems are user-friendly and optimized for mobile, to ensure a positive customer, agent and underwriter experience.
A top insurer developed a policy administration system that allows agents to independently perform submission, quote, bind and issue processes. The paperless system was built in just six months, and the insurer experienced huge efficiency gains: more than 70% in quoting and more than 80% for binding and issuance.
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We’re just starting to scratch the surface of what no-code can do for insurance. There are endless use cases across the industry -- with digital solutions for common, inefficient processes and bespoke applications for niche challenges. The potential is revolutionary: The industry can provide a better experience for carriers, agents and customers alike.
