IAG has released more details on how it is using artificial intelligence (AI), this time in relation to vehicle claims that lead to total losses or “write offs”.
According to IAG, the technology, which combines AI with business process automation, has helped reduce total loss claim times by up to two and a half weeks by removing the need for a vehicle to be towed to a repairer before assessment. Automation of total loss claims processing has also eliminated the need for claims teams to perform tens of thousands of manual processes each month.
Hannah Sakai, Director of Analytics at IAG, said ‘predictive total loss’, which was developed in-house, was created to help reduce the emotional impact of a car accident by providing customers with more clarity and certainty earlier in the claims experience.
“A car accident can be a traumatic and challenging time for our customers, so we turned to artificial intelligence to help improve this experience,” said Sakai. “Our predictive total loss solution leverages machine learning to detect a potential total loss with more than 90 per cent accuracy, using information provided by the customer when they make a claim on the phone with a consultant or online.
“The customer is notified of the potential total loss outcome via text message the following day, providing transparency upfront on the process and providing answers to commonly asked questions.”
Sakai said that the company had seen a significant uplift in customer advocacy as measured through total loss customer experience surveys.
“The predictive total loss model is one of many AI applications being developed by data scientists in IAG’s AI Centre of Excellence. Using an internal team allows us to leverage our unique business knowledge to tailor the experience to our customers,” added Sakai.
The IAG AI Centre of Excellence said it plans to refine the model using customer photos of the vehicle damage and extending the methodology to predict motor claim liability to help automatically validate claims at the time of customer lodgement.
IAG’s Bora Arslan recently told FST Media’s Future of Financial Services Sydney 2020 conference about the company’s experience with AI so far, going into detail about it was using the technology to help identify who is responsible for a motor vehicle accident, to personalise the insurance quote process, and for operational analytics including pricing.