With rapid improvements in artificial intelligence technology, the insurance industry is rapidly turning to chatbots to provide a better customer service, improve user engagement, and streamline the claims process.

So far New Zealanders have been slow to adopt chatbots, unlike their overseas counterparts where people are having their questions answered via customer service chat bots every day. A well-designed chatbot can help an insurance company offer a more personalised and instant service to its customers and millions of people are happily engaging with chatbots across thousands of brands in all industries. iPhone’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, two popular voice-recognition chatbots, already have more than 44 million monthly users between them, according to TechCrunch.

The artificial intelligence which powers these bots is growing more sophisticated by the day. The days of frustrating chatbots are behind us, and Cove is bringing a smart, intuitive chatbot experience to New Zealand’s insurance industry.

So what are the benefits for Kiwis of interacting with an insurance chatbot?

Chatbots can provide better customer service

How frustrating is it to have to call your insurance company on their terms? During their office hours, when they are ready to answer your call, and jumping through their hoops to identify yourself, before you can even ask your question.

What if you could do it on your terms?

Chatbots are fast, efficient, and always accessible. Customers can interact with chatbots via any internet connected device they happen to have available. Unlike call centres which have a limited number of agents, chatbots can help hundreds of customers at a time, are available to help around the clock and never have a day off. Chatbots never sleep.

This eliminates the frustration of being put on hold, prior to being shuffled through the call centre until you arrive with the person best suited to answer your question.

Chatbots know who you are, which eliminates “What is your most recent address” or “Please confirm your date of birth” call centre questions required before you can start asking your own questions. They are data-driven, and once you are a customer they can recall any information on your policies within seconds.

For new insurance customers, the entire process of buying insurance can be intimidating. Chatbots can enhance the customer experience and help to make the entire process of purchasing, managing, and claiming on an insurance policy more user friendly.

Chatbots can improve customer engagement

New Zealanders typically interact with their insurer as little as possible, which is a result of the belief that calling an insurer or attempting to login online, will be a frustrating, drawn-out experience.

Chatbots enhance customer engagement because they provide customers with a communications channel which allows users to quickly get the information they need, without a lengthy phone call.

With chatbots, checking or updating your policy can be as quick as a few taps on your mobile device while waiting for the next Netflix episode to begin. It doesn’t matter if it’s 4am, 2pm, or 11pm – chatbots never sleep.

With a quick, personalized approach, well-designed chatbots provide exactly the information the user is looking for to ensure that they are not overwhelmed with insurance-lingo. Consequently users will have a better understanding of what they are covered for.

Chatbots can reduce stress during the claim process

Insurance claims processes can be complicated, long, and inefficient. Customers are often left in the dark while wondering what step of the process their claim is at.

With chatbots available 24/7, claims can be lodged the day of the event, at the time that best works for you. Instead of lengthy conversations explaining your incident while you’re at work, you can choose to answer bite-sized questions once you’re in a more relaxed environment in the evening.

^{*Our products will be underwritten by a licensed insurer}