We have successfully deployed several use cases using AI & ML: Goutam Datta, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

From streamlining processes to creating personalised experiences, insurance companies are leveraging the power of digital technologies to stay ahead in this rapidly changing era. In an interview with TechCircle, Goutam Datta, Chief Information & Digital Officer, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, discusses the top tech priorities for the insurance sector, how the company is innovating with the latest technologies to improve business revenue as well as customer experience, and more. Edited excerpts:  
 
Which technologies excite you the most in this sector, and why? 
 
Within our industry, I am seeing that companies are planning and implementing exciting new initiatives in processes, products, service architecture, etc. The evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and data analytics has opened up wider avenues to enhance operational efficiencies, and we will continue to pursue them. The impact of generative AI is going to be huge for insurance companies, for engaging meaningfully with customers, and resolving their specific requirements. We're also seeing chatbots, supercharged with natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, delivering instant, user-friendly support, addressing queries, and guiding stakeholders through their journey, enhancing their overall experience. We have successfully deployed several use cases using AI and ML, for instance within our fraud prevention, underwriting and risk assessment functions, to ensure the quality of our business constantly improves. On the whole, we are on a transformative journey, where we will continue to innovate for our customers and stakeholders. 
 
How has your tech budget changed in the last 5 years or so? 
 
Over the past five years, we’ve significantly increased our tech budget to match our company’s growth and digital transformation. We’ve been consistently investing in upgrading our tech infrastructure, trying out relevant new solutions, and beefing up our cybersecurity. We have also invested in the right talent. Our tech team is diverse, agile and can deliver on all the differential requirements across departments. We are one of the few insurance companies to move our policy administration systems from a legacy-bound one to a modern microservices-based architecture. This has enabled us to create a consistent Service Layer and transform applications into a low-code and configuration-based platform and it can match up to only a few global projects. In the last few years, we have equally invested in both the back-end and front-end of tech and digital, which wasn’t the case earlier. Our investments would typically focus on enhancing backend tech to build efficiencies in processes and so on. Now, every aspect of tech development and delivery receives the right amount of investment support. 
 
How do you tackle the human capital challenge? 
 
We employ a rigorous and diverse hiring process that allows us to find the right fit for the right job given the varied roles within the team. Once the right talent is onboarded, we have a series of interventions and opportunities to ensure they stay updated on tech and skill sets that will help them professionally. From online learning platforms to regular face-to-face training and investing in e-learning platforms, all form a part of this approach. We follow a structured approach to map out our teams and their aspirations, identify areas for their respective improvement, and implement interventions that foster transparency and performance enhancement. We also constantly recognise and reward exceptional contributions, and this has helped us build an agile and strong team who truly empower us to march ahead in our transformational journey. 
 
What are the top tech priorities for the insurance sector in 2024? 
 
Post Covid-19, we have observed that life insurance has moved slightly from being a complete push product to a nudge product now. We are also seeing that customers prefer life insurance solutions to meet their long-term financial goals. These trends are constantly fueling the innovations within the industry. Technology here plays a crucial role in simplifying the processes and driving innovations. The industry is making good use of technology to enhance product offerings, service architecture, and communication infrastructure to meet customer expectations. AI/ML, data analytics, and NLP are being widely used to create a seamless customer experience from buying to claims. Bots are also being employed extensively, benefiting both customers and employees by streamlining processes and making them more user-friendly. This familiarity helps employees assist customers effectively and improves customer understanding. There are a few priorities that the industry is rigorously working on amongst many other such pursuits. I would also like to mention IRDAI, our regulator is enabling the industry to deliver differentiated experiences to different customer segments through tech-driven initiatives. Their efforts towards curbing fraud within the industry is a case in point. 
 
In the last one year, can you think of any case where technology has been used as an enabler and helped improve your business revenue as well as your customer experience. 
 
One initiative that I take pride in is DigiBanca, which has played a pivotal role in enhancing both our revenue and customer experience. The cloud platform is a comprehensive solution that engages not only salespeople and distributors but also customers and has enabled us to reduce the entire partner onboarding process from weeks to a day. Instead of waiting for a sales manager or distributor to initiate the process, customers can take the first step themselves. With DigiBanca, we are able to literally plug and play when it comes to going live with any bank as our partner to sell our life insurance solutions to their customers. To date, over 50 partners have been onboarded using DigiBanca, and this number will surely grow in the coming months. 
 
Do you have any digital transformation plans in the next 12-18 months? 
 
Our focus will continue to remain on ensuring both the front-end and back-end systems are systematically and periodically enhanced to ensure all our stakeholder groups, including customers, have the most unique, latest, and efficient systems with them to get their life goals done with us. The transformation of our policy administration system will further ensure we remain future-ready. It will help us drive contextual innovation to drive impactful change, keeping our 'customer first' philosophy in everything we do.