The outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic is an event that has ushered in a shift in the social, economic, and behavioral aspects of human life. As we have reopened societies, and resumed social activities, contact rates have increased. This might or might not drive potential rise in coronavirus cases that can trigger newer economic uncertainties in the upcoming days. What does this imply for the insurers? It means that the hardships faced by the insurance sector due to this pandemic are unlikely to subside any time soon. They must be ready with solutions to meet the unforeseen challenges.

Due to the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, the insurance industry had to face a few challenges, such as implementing regulations to protect buyers' interests, the emergence of technology-first insurers, and many more. Moreover, with the transformation that the pandemic has brought in the insurance industry, there comes a need to find, foster, and retain skilled resources beyond a traditional local pool of talent to drive innovation. These challenges are expected to continue in the coming years, as most insurance players are still struggling to resume their operations completely. Insurers are wondering if they have enough resources for a seamless workflow. How will they keep their business model responsive to the disruptive economic scenario this year and beyond? How will they cater to their customers’ evolving expectations?

Let’s go through this article to understand how insurance BPOs will gain relevance in the forthcoming days as it helps insurance firms overcome pandemic-induced operational roadblocks.

How Outsourcing Helps Insurance Carriers Meet Challenges in the Post-Pandemic Landscape?

Opting for insurance BPOs is the best option to meet the challenges and enhance ROI in the post-pandemic landscape. This is the reason behind the growth of the insurance BPO market worldwide. Do you know? As per a recent report, the global insurance BPO market size was worth USD 5,924.10 million in 2021 and is estimated to grow to USD 9826.42 million by 2028, with a CAGR of approximately 8.80% over the forecast period. Outsourcing helps insurers to free up their time that can be used to concentrate on more significant and profitable activities. Besides, the added benefit comes from cost savings that outsourcing can achieve, and these savings can be funded back for new business developments.

Moreover, insurance BPO companies can also help insurance firms to put in place long-term staffing solutions in order to develop new technologies and reach ever-evolving customer expectations in the most cost-effective way possible. Although some tasks may be replaced by automation, the development and implementation of these technologies will require investment in the appropriate human resources. Henceforth, BPO companies can help insurers to a great extent.

Let us go through a few challenges faced by insurers and how insurance BPOs provide solutions to those:

Financial Losses

Challenge

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, few insurance revenue sources have been reduced considerably. For example, the job losses induced by the pandemic impacted the prospects of worker's compensation coverage which had decreased sales. Therefore, in the coming days, insurers will prioritize financial recovery while reducing their operational overhead expenditures.

Solution

Here, BPOs can help insurers to gain open access to labor at a lesser remuneration with uncompromised service quality. This will enable insurance carriers to engage their in-house staff in the core services, thereby boosting the productivity of the workforce.

Remote Work Model

Challenge

Following a hybrid model or migrating to a completely remote work model has its own set of challenges for insurers. This disrupts a cohesive work culture in an insurance organization. For a global carrier, a hybrid work model will have critical challenges because of varying time zones and work conditions. For example, a remotely working employee who follows the Central time zone will have difficulties catering to a client following the Pacific time zone.

Solution

Most BPO providers have a global presence and work 24*7. This ensures that they are in a position to keep their client's operations running round-the-clock.

Resource Constraint

Challenge

The pandemic has exposed the insurance industry to a shortage of skilled resources due to subsequent lockdowns. A majority of carriers do not have the necessary infrastructure to continue working offline. Henceforth, it has become challenging for insurers to acquire qualified resources for back-office support.

Solution

Insurance BPO companies provide expert professionals who can remotely offer the necessary support for vital functions like underwriting, claims management, renewal processing, etc. This will not only boost the productivity of the insurers but also save on infrastructure expenses.

Regulatory Compliance

Challenge

Even in the backdrop of Covid 19 pandemic, the regulatory board is leaving no stone unturned to protect consumers' interests. New rules and regulations are turning up on a daily basis. Following these rules strictly is a challenging task for insurance organizations.

Solution

Outsourcing firms have an accurate understanding of the complexities of rules and regulations. Therefore, insurers increasingly depend on BPO companies in order to adhere to regulatory requirements. This enables the outsourcing providers to help insurers stay completely compliant.

Few Insurance BPO Services that Will Gain Significance in the Future

Risk Management

Due to the pandemic, the susceptibility to defaulting insurance payments is likely to be high among clients. To prevent this possibility, it’s crucial to use predictive analytics to get valuable insights into consumer behavior. But the lack of required tools or expertise is preventing them from getting appropriate insights.

Insurance BPO companies have the correct tools and expertise to make use of the data to develop a cohesive risk management strategy that entails analysis of past and present client behavior to procure actionable insights on future behavior.

Client Management

The pandemic-driven job losses discourage customers from either buying new policies or paying their premiums, leading to a fall in revenue sources. In order to retain customers, insurers are turning towards BPO service providers to curate customized insurance plans.

Outsourcing companies use data analytics to identify potential prospects for targeted sales and use virtual agents to make customer management more efficient. These agents accelerate the process of resolving customer issues by retrieving data from the client base that can be particularly helpful when there is a surge of customer queries.

Claims Management

A claim processing file usually goes through the scanner of multiple departments, which might lead to unnecessary delays. Also, due to the pandemic, insurers faced a tough time dealing with a surge of claim filings. This brought about client dissatisfaction and attrition.

Insurance BPO providers have resources that are primarily dedicated to claims management. They have the required infrastructure to work from remote locations and also can resolve customer claim issues 24*7. Likewise, they have the necessary expertise to flag fraudulent claims.

In a Nutshell

Not all players in the insurance industry are able to easily adapt to the BPO strategy to sustain business continuity post-COVID19. Whereas those who are managing to adapt, the journey ahead for them may not be easy, but these leaders will realize the enhanced ROI and will grow expeditiously in the future.

Want to know more about insurance BPO services? What are you waiting for? Get in touch with us today to understand how we can help you with outsourcing solutions.