Robotization of processes in the insurance industry
A major insurance institution supports the dynamic growth of its organization by relying on intelligent automation, using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technologies. With the implementation of software robots, assisted by Mindbox, it accelerates business processes and frees employees from time-consuming manual tasks, allowing them to focus on more creative and value-added activities.
The insurance company described here is, in fact, made up of two cooperating entities: one provides life insurance, the other property insurance. With over a quarter of a century of experience in the Polish insurance market, the company currently serves more than 2.3 million clients and, in 2021, recorded gross written premiums totaling 1.332 billion PLN.
In recent years, the company has followed a path of rapid growth. It is constantly expanding its product offering and working on methods to speed up, modify, and launch new products to the market, as well as improve operational efficiency. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the globally proven methods for increasing productivity. Awareness of the opportunities offered by this technology has developed within the organization over time. The company prepared to launch a long-term automation program by analyzing various technologies available on the market and identifying the processes with the greatest potential for automation. Working with specialists from the company’s associated bank, they managed to implement robots supporting two processes. However, the automation program gained real momentum only after the collaboration with Mindbox began.
“Thanks to the groundwork previously done in the organization, we were able to move directly to concrete activities. Awareness and enthusiasm for robots among employees were already high. From the beginning, we had a fairly large funnel of candidate processes for automation. A small team was quickly formed to prepare and implement the automation procedure.”
“The first objective was to create a standard framework—a working procedure for automated processes. This was necessary—just like in any other IT project—based on best practices, to align the steps taken with organizational procedures, particularly in terms of security and regulatory compliance. The result is a multi-page document detailing all the steps that must be followed before, during, and after automating any process,” says Daniel Chrapczynski – RPA Developer at Mindbox.
Planned and Ad-Hoc
The first two software robots—implemented during the collaboration with the bank’s specialists—began operating in the company at the end of 2021. They handle monitoring overdue payments and canceling unpaid policies.
The first automated process implemented by the company’s internal team in cooperation with Mindbox experts was the reporting of vehicles without mandatory car insurance. Every insurer submits reports to the fund that include information not only about uninsured vehicles but also about any one-day interruption in insurance continuity.
This task, when performed manually, was time-consuming and required logging into multiple IT systems. Now, the entire process is handled by a robot. Only during the initial two-week “hypercare” period were final reports approved by a human before being sent. Currently, although the reports are still sent to a responsible employee for confirmation, they no longer need to be checked and approved before submission.
“Although it seems simple, precisely describing what the robot should do was not easy. Translating the business rules used by employees into a list of steps for the robot was so complex that additional analytical steps—unforeseen initially—were necessary. The result, however, is a sophisticated solution that communicates with an external UFG (Polish Insurance Guarantee Fund) application. The robot operates reliably and has completely relieved people from this task,” says Daniel Chrapczynski – RPA Developer at Mindbox.
The implementation of the next robot was not originally planned. The aim was to automate a process triggered by the escalation of the war in Ukraine. As a result of sanctions imposed on Russia, it became necessary to eliminate listings of Russian funds to prevent investments in them.
“This could have been done the traditional way—by modifying the quotation website—but that would have meant launching an IT project lasting several weeks. There was no time for that. Therefore, before the quotations were uploaded to the site, a robot was developed to modify them by removing the Russian funds. It took just a few minutes to configure and it still operates without issues,” says Daniel Chrapczynski – RPA Developer at Mindbox.
Another process that was recently automated—although it was not planned initially—was sending emails to clients with an attachment added to the case file in the administrative system. Due to a system error, regular information campaigns needed to be conducted for customers. The final goal was to use this solution for all mass communication with clients. The robot made it possible to fully automate this process.
The RPA Program Expands
By the end of 2022, the insurance company will have 12 software robots in operation. Recent automation efforts have focused on assisting employees in their daily tasks or handling duties they often no longer have time for. Such implementations will also be a priority next year. The company continues to grow rapidly, and the number of customers is so large that managing all processes would require additional work from employees. Therefore, support from software robots is essential.
Recently automated processes include damage registration based on data from the document management system. A robot enters the claim information into the insurance system and informs the client that the claim has been registered. Another robot is responsible for payments. Employees enter payment information into the insurance system, but the actual payment is now made by a robot.
Finally, the robot is also responsible for verifying information to eliminate the risk of fraudulent claims. Based on agreements between insurance companies, they exchange information about recorded damages—this task is handled by the robot in this insurance company.
“We’ve achieved a lot, but there’s still a lot to be done. We’ve identified many simple processes that can be successfully automated. We still have nearly 30 projects in the funnel, and that number continues to grow as more suggestions are submitted. As a result, our client is considering forming an internal team of developers and analysts to manage them. Mindbox will provide external support for the more complex projects,” says Daniel Chrapczynski – RPA Developer at Mindbox.