Artificial intelligence (AI) has made enormous strides in recent years and is now used in almost every industry. From education to cybersecurity and marketing, organizations are finding uses for generative AI every day.
The same is true for life insurance sales. AI has made vast improvements to the existing workflow of agents, and while there is always a concern around AI taking over tasks for humans, in life insurance it allows for a more human touch.
Because of AI, many of the day-to-day tasks agents have to juggle are being automated. This creates more time for agents to form stronger and more personalized relationships with their clients.
The rise of AI (in life insurance sales)
It’s not a sci-fi movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but a training machine that uses the internet to learn more, store data and generate new content. Generative AI has exploded in the last year and services like ChatGPT and Claude.ai are seeing a huge boost in users.
The increase in AI adoption in life insurance has been slowly climbing since 2017. Huge jumps however have been happening since 2020, and as of 2023 60% of major life insurance carriers implement some form of artificial intelligence in their sales process.
This amount is still considered the beginning of this trend, and it is likely that the entire industry will rely on AI for everything from underwriting to quoting policy prices soon.
Life insurance automation
AI adoption in life insurance sales has had an enormous impact on automation. So much of a life insurance agent’s day-to-day has been co-opted by machine learning. Algorithms now help underwriters assess risk factors more accurately and in less time. Applications that once took weeks to finalize can now be done in minutes.
But it goes beyond a lot of the logistical work required in life insurance sales. Client engagement can now be automated — initial communications, lead-generating campaigns and prospect nurturing can be happening in the background as agents juggle the rest of their workload.
Most importantly, automation allows life insurance agents to focus on the human aspects necessary for selling such intimate financial services. After all, if AI can help with the more repetitive work, it frees up agents to build relationships and make real connections with their clients.
Automation is even more valuable when you consider the growing consumer base who prefers self-service options. LIMRA’s 2023 Insurance Barometer Study learned that 44% of millennials prefer automated options when researching and purchasing life insurance coverage.
More efficient customer support
Customer support is one facet of life insurance sales that has seen enormous growth thanks to the support of AI. Chatbots can now handle customer inquiries, and elevate them if needed, and they’re available 24/7. Today AI chatbots handle up to 80% of routine insurance inquiries with a 65% customer satisfaction rate.
AI virtual assistants can also help agents and their clients gain a more comprehensive understanding of policy details and options. Virtual assistants can even be used to identify more at-risk customers, in turn reducing policy lapse when combined with proactive outreach by an agent. Beyond that, AI has reduced automated claims processing from weeks to days for most clients.
Customer support services will always require a human touch when dealing with clients, but AI has proven to be a game-changer, making things faster and more efficient.
Data-driven client insights
Speaking of faster and more efficient, having data-driven insights when finding new clients is a huge benefit for agents. AI algorithms can analyze social media and other public data to identify prospective clients to create higher converting leads.
The same virtual assistants who help clients understand policy details can also help agents understand when a client might need coverage adjustments or additional products. Going so far as helping the agent find and quote a specific product has taken a lot of the more tedious preparation needed to match products with clients.
Machine learning can even use behavioral analytics to understand client decision-making patterns to customize an initial approach and additional outreach. AI has made considerable improvements to client engagement, especially early in the selling process.
More personalized product matches
Finally, product matches are another way that AI is helping life insurance agents. AI recommendation engines can help agents suggest optimal coverage using data-driven insights. Product recommendations that are based on individual client profiles rather than broad demographic categories have proven to improve client satisfaction.
After machine learning has accurately matched a client with a product, AI can also create dynamic pricing models to adjust premiums based on real-time risk assessment. For life insurance agents, this means having the ability to offer your clients better rates while also having a higher chance of qualification.
Agents can even use AI to illustrate the effectiveness of a policy. Clients can see demonstrations of the long-term impacts of different choices, which can be used to bolster an agent’s recommendation.
Discover the Symmetry difference
AI is making huge waves in every conceivable industry, and that doesn’t seem likely to change.
Still, the most important function of AI in life insurance is making room for life insurance agents to give their clients a more personalized and comprehensive purchasing experience.
What are your thoughts on AI in the life insurance industry? Send us a message on Instagram and let us know what you think.
