Department
Last Word: Tech Support
Insurers are building Amazon Alexa skills to help consumers make decisions about medical benefits, check on claims and get information about insurance products and terminology.
Simply uttering the name “Alexa” can awaken voice-enabled speaker devices and allow users to play music, order groceries, control home devices, create to-do lists and more.
Now devices such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomePad are also taking the guesswork out of insurance.
“Alexa, what’s a formulary?”
Surprisingly, 66% of respondents to the 2017 Measuring Health Insurance Literacy in Connecticut survey didn’t know the answer to that question, and 20% said they did not understand the use of the word “premium.”
Cigna recently rolled out an Amazon Alexa skill to demystify health insurance language and provide instant answers to more than 150 common health care questions.
“Answers by Cigna” personalizes and simplifies health benefits information. Studies show that people who don’t understand the terms used in their health plan are less likely to take full advantage of their benefits.
“Having a good understanding of your health and health plan offerings is so critical in making decisions about medical benefits, doctors and other health care needs,” said Rowena Track, vice president of digital marketing at Cigna.
Prudential Retirement is also partnering with Amazon to allow plan participants enrolled in its defined contribution, defined benefit cash balance and non-qualified retirement plans to check their account balance, rate of return, vested amount and outstanding loan balance.
More than half of Americans now use a voice assistant device. This year, 30% of technology interactions will be through “conversations” with smart machines, Gartner reports.
Geico, Nationwide, Progressive and other insurers have created voice device skills or apps that allow policyholders to check their claims status, request ID cards, find a local insurance agent and get information about insurance products and terminology. Some insurers are also using voice technology assistants like Alexa to allow input and access to customer information and engage in a two-way conversation with their policyholders, said Tom Benton, vice president of research and consulting at Novarica.
Liberty Mutual’s Alexa skill helps users navigate the insurance claims process and provides tips for individuals on the road or at home. Existing Liberty Mutual policyholders can begin the claims process for property loss through voice interaction by answering a few simple questions.
California-based insurtech Ladder has an Alexa app that allows users to ask insurance-related questions and receive a ballpark quote.
“These are potential game changers for the industry,” Benton said. He expects insurance sales through voice-control artificial intelligence to soon become the norm in the industry.
There are some security and privacy concerns that weigh heavily on consumers’ minds, including fears that IoT devices connected to voice-controlled personal assistants could be hacked. And because microphones inside the devices are always on, it sends up some red flags about potential privacy issues.
Users of Prudential Retirement’s Alexa skill are required to provide a personal identification number with each use, and its skill shuts down after 16 seconds to ensure information doesn’t fall into the hands of others who may be listening in.
The use of virtual personal assistants in insurance is expected to grow.
Benton expects the connection of digital voice assistants to insurers’ customer-facing systems and smart home IoT devices will soon bring new capabilities to insureds, including protective notification of water leaks, smoke detection and other risk factors.
Lori Chordas is a senior associate editor. She can be reached at lori.chordas@ambest.com.
