InsurTech: 5 benefits of technologies in Insurance Sector

InsurTech is a buzzword nowadays where a variety of technologies are set to transform the traditional insurance industry. In the last two years, insurers have already transformed themselves digitally to offer convenience, security, choice, and a seamless experience to their customers.

Accenture estimates that insurance companies can increase their annual profitability by 20% with the right investment in the technology.

Internet of Things (IoT), telematics, drones, the blockchain, smart contracts, and artificial intelligence (AI) are providing new ways to measure, control, engage customers, reduce cost, improve efficiency and increase customer experience.

Here are five ways Insurers can stay ahead in the market and successfully fulfill high customer expectations.

1. Lower Insurance rates:

– Fitness apps or wearable devices:

Staying fit has many perks. Some of the fitness apps like Wysa and wearable devices help maintain weight, and food habits and boost energy and mood. And most importantly they can help save a huge amount of expenses related to health insurance costs. Numerous insurance providers have tapped into wearable devices to keep motivating their customers to stay fit and healthy and offer them discounts and benefits based on fitness levels.

– Self Driving car:

Self Driving cars can help in reducing the chances of accidents and lower life insurance rates. Since road deaths are a significant percentage of deaths in the entire world, any slight downward change will ultimately lead to lower deaths and hence life insurance claims.

2. Fraud Prevention:

Insurance fraud costs companies billions of dollars per year across the globe. Insurance companies should establish a technology framework, tap into advanced automation and analytics, and take steps to prevent it.

– Digital Signature:

Digital signature technology is without a doubt lowering fake insurance account activation and hence a fraud. For example, a digital signature can prevent fraud- insurance purchased after the accident can be brought down with digital signatures verifying the actual date.

– Data analytics:

The technology involves data mining tools and quantitive analysis. Data analytics can be applied to detect fraud. Predictive analytics is useful to improve the fraud detection process, helping prevent claims payouts. Analytics on claims and fraud transactions helps enhance risk management.

3. Lower underwriting cost:

–IoT

According to IoT Analytics, the global number of connected IoT devices is likely to grow at 9%, with 12.3 billion active endpoints. By 2025, there will likely be more than 27 billion IoT connections, which will have a significant impact on the availability of real-time information that insurers can use for better pricing/underwriting. Drones are satellites on steroids at least as far as underwriting is concerned. Satellites have dramatically changed how home insurance policies are written due to fire. Everything can be captured via drone footage even the houses that get covered behind the trees. Captured data can be used for underwriting purposes.

4. Billing efficiency:

Billing systems are not only integrated but now can accept varied forms of payments allowing ultimate flexibility to the customer and thereby making the billing systems efficient. The automated systems inform and remind customers of approaching due dates for premiums thereby lowering unintentional defaults.

Digital wallet has become one of the most widely used platforms for payment systems. Insurance companies are leveraging payment gateways like Google Play to sell insurance to users. Last year, SBI General Health Insurance launched Arogya Sanjeevani on Google Pay Spot to offer standard coverage at affordable premiums and improve the penetration of health insurance in the country.

5. Specialized insurance:

Each type of insurance is different from the other and the factors that are suited to one are not suited to the other. This requires the insurance agents to have specialized knowledge and the internet helps. however, Machine learning is vitally important here. It has the capability to learn and analyze billions of patterns and identify suitable underwriting clauses as well as identify specific customized plans for the customers based on the data provided. This can change the customer perception of the insurance company and provide an engaged customer who is likely to stay longer.

Dinghy, is a pay-by-the-second insurance provider that customizes coverage for freelancers and businesses where customers may switch their policies on and off as needed without any upfront premiums, interest, credit checks, or fees.

6. Smart and Faster Claim Processing and Settlement:

–AI-Powered Chatbots:

Claim settlement has been one of the pressing issues in insurance. With intense competition looming in the market, delay in the claim settlement gives a bad experience to the customer who prefers to switch to another brand. Insurance providers worldwide have been investing in AI-powered insurance chatbots to enhance customer experience. Metromile can validate 70% to 80% of claims instantly using AVA, an app based-claims assistant.

7. Data-driven pricing

–Telematics:

Innovation has become one of the top priorities for insurers today due to rapid change in customer demand. The usage-based insurance market is projected to hit over $190 billion by 2026, telematics is allowing carriers to capture user data and create personalized usage-based insurance products.

For example, auto insurance was based on a pay-as-you-drive model where customers use to pay a premium based on the distance covered. But with technological innovation, insurers are working on a pay-how-you-drive model where customers can get discounts based on their driving skills.

Rise in demand for innovative solutions, intelligent experiences, and speedier processes has led to technological disruption in the insurance industry. According to IDC, IT spending in the insurance industry will increase globally at a CAGR of 6.0% by 2024, touching $135 billion. With continuous investment in technology, insurers are working on improving customer experience and operational efficiency to maximize profitability in the long run.

Thanks you Scott W Johnson, owner at WholeVsTermLifeInsurance.com for providing your valuable information on how technologies are helping Insurance industry.

In the world of product design, consistency is the cornerstone of delivering a seamless user experience. As digital products evolve and scale, the challenge of maintaining design consistency across multiple platforms, teams, and touchpoints becomes more complex. This is where design systems come in. A design system is a comprehensive set of guidelines, components, and tools that help designers and developers create a consistent and cohesive user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). From a designer’s perspective, building and maintaining a design system requires a strategic approach to ensure scalability, flexibility, and alignment with business goals.

Source: https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux/design-system)

Why Design Systems Matter?

Design systems are more than just style guides or pattern libraries. They offer a unified language for design and development, bridging the gap between creativity and functionality. Here are a few reasons why they are critical:

Consistency Across Products

One of the primary goals of a design system is to ensure uniformity across different platforms and devices. When users interact with a product, whether on a website or a mobile app, they expect a consistent experience. A well-implemented design system ensures that visual elements, interactions, and behaviors are aligned, offering a familiar and intuitive experience for users.

2. Faster Iteration

With a design system in place, teams can reuse components and patterns rather than reinventing the wheel for each new feature. This speeds up the design and development process, allowing teams to focus on solving new problems instead of reworking existing designs. For designers, it means less time spent on repetitive tasks and more time dedicated to innovation.

3. Scalability

As products grow and new features are added, maintaining a coherent UI/UX without a design system can become chaotic. A design system provides a scalable framework, enabling teams to add new elements or modules without compromising the overall consistency of the product.

4. Improved Collaboration

A design system fosters collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders by providing a shared language and reference point. This ensures that design decisions are communicated effectively, reducing friction and misunderstandings between teams.

Building a Design System: A Designer’s Perspective

Designing a system from scratch can seem like a daunting task, but with a clear roadmap and understanding of core principles, it becomes a powerful tool for creating scalable and user-centered products.

1. Define the Core Principles

Before diving into visual components, it’s essential to establish the core principles of your design system. These principles serve as the foundation and guide decision-making throughout the process. Ask yourself:

• What are the key values of your brand?

• How should the design reflect the needs and emotions of users?

• What goals are you trying to achieve with your design system (e.g., accessibility, flexibility, innovation)?

For instance, if accessibility is a top priority, you’ll need to ensure that your design system accommodates users with different abilities, by providing color contrast guidelines, clear typographic hierarchies, and accessible components.

2. Create a Unified Visual Language

Once the principles are established, the next step is creating a cohesive visual language. This includes defining elements such as:

• Color Palette: A well-structured color palette ensures harmony across different UI components. It’s crucial to include primary, secondary, and accent colors, along with usage guidelines to avoid inconsistency.

• Typography: Define a typography system that establishes hierarchies and clarity, including font styles, sizes, line heights, and spacing. Consistent typography helps users navigate content effortlessly.

• Spacing and Grids: An established grid system ensures a balanced layout and harmony between different UI elements. Proper spacing guidelines prevent crowded or misaligned components.

• Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.

Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.

Image Source: https://designerup.co/blog/10-best-design-systems-and-how-to-learn-and-steal-from-them/)

3. Design Reusable Components

A design system is incomplete without reusable UI components. These components include buttons, forms, modals, and navigation elements that can be used across various features and pages. Each component should be:

• Modular: Components should be flexible and adaptable for different contexts. For example, a button should have variations for different states (hover, active, disabled) and types (primary, secondary, destructive).

• Documented: Each component needs comprehensive documentation that explains how it should be used, its variants, and the rules governing its application. This ensures consistency when different team members use the same component.

4. Implement Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility should be at the forefront of every design system. As a designer, consider:

• Color Contrast: Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background for readability.

• Keyboard Navigation: Ensure that interactive components are navigable via keyboard for users who rely on keyboard shortcuts.

• Responsive Design: Components should be responsive, adapting seamlessly across different screen sizes and devices.

• Assistive Technologies: Design components should be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies to provide an inclusive experience.

Maintaining a Design System: Evolving with the Product

Once a design system is in place, the work doesn’t stop there. Maintaining it requires ongoing effort as the product evolves and new design challenges emerge. Here’s how designers can ensure the design system remains relevant and effective:

1. Regular Audits and Updates

A design system should be treated as a living document that evolves with the product. Regular audits are necessary to identify outdated or unused components. Designers should collaborate with developers to ensure new features are aligned with the existing design system, and updates should be documented to avoid fragmentation.

2. Version Control and Documentation

Version control is essential for keeping track of changes in the design system. Documenting why and how changes are made ensures that the design system grows in an organized manner. It also helps onboard new team members quickly, as they can reference updated guidelines.

3. Foster Collaboration Across Teams

Designers need to maintain an open line of communication with developers and other teams using the design system. Tools like Figma, Sketch, and Zeplin allow designers to share components and guidelines in real-time, fostering collaboration and ensuring that everyone is aligned.

Some well-known examples of design systems that have set benchmarks in the industry:

1. Google Material Design

URL: Material Design
Overview: Google’s Material Design is one of the most comprehensive design systems available. It provides guidelines on how to create visual, motion, and interaction design across platforms and devices. Material Design is known for its grid-based layouts, responsive animations, and depth effects like shadows and lighting.
Features:
- Comprehensive color palettes, typography, and iconography.
- Extensive component library (buttons, cards, etc.).
- Customizable UI components for both web and mobile applications.

2. Salesforce Lightning Design System

URL: Salesforce Lightning
Overview: Salesforce’s Lightning Design System provides a comprehensive library of UI components and resources to help build applications on the Salesforce platform. It ensures a consistent experience across Salesforce products and enables developers to create custom apps easily.
Features:
- Ready-to-use components, design tokens, and code snippets.
- Comprehensive accessibility guidelines to ensure inclusivity.
- Detailed documentation for developers to integrate components into Salesforce applications.

3. Microsoft Fluent Design System

URL: Fluent Design
Overview: Fluent Design is Microsoft’s design system, created to provide an engaging and scalable UI across all Microsoft products. It is heavily focused on interaction, animation, and motion while ensuring accessibility across various device ecosystems.
Features:
- Focus on depth, motion, and light to create modern and interactive UIs.
- Cross-platform components supporting web, desktop, and mobile applications.
- Accessible components with detailed guidelines for developers.

Conclusion

Building and maintaining a design system is an investment that pays off in the long run. It ensures consistency across your product, improves collaboration between teams, and allows for faster iteration and scalability. For designers, a design system is more than a collection of reusable components — it’s a framework that enables you to create user-centric products with confidence and clarity. By embracing modularity, documentation, and accessibility, you’ll ensure that your design system remains a valuable asset as your product grows.

About the Author:

Shristi is a creative professional with a passion for visual storytelling. She recently transitioned from the world of video and motion graphics to the exciting field of product design at Mantra Labs. When she’s not designing, she enjoys watching movies, traveling, and sharing her experiences through vlogs.