What are the best practices for communicating complex insurance information during underwriting?

When communicating complex insurance information during underwriting, it's essential to prioritize clarity, transparency, and simplicity. Use plain language and avoid technical jargon whenever possible to ensure that all stakeholders can understand the information effectively. Break down complex concepts into digestible chunks, provide clear explanations, and use visual aids such as charts, graphs, or illustrations to enhance comprehension. Additionally, tailor your communication style and content to the audience's level of expertise and familiarity with insurance terminology, ensuring that they feel informed and empowered to make informed decisions. Finally, encourage open dialogue and be responsive to questions or concerns.

En plus des documents fournis expliquant les risques couverts, les garanties qui protègent et les exclusions, communiquer verbalement avec le client dans un langage clair et simple pour appuyer et lui faciliter une compréhension.

Conversational AI offers significant new opportunities to Underwriters. I’ve used 100% chat-based UI to onboard customers, designed to remove the need for inefficient, post-sale manual review. Through conversation, we highlight areas of the application that customers misunderstand and answer complex follow-up questions, promoting greater understanding. In real-time we’re able to highlight areas of the application where further interrogation is needed. Customers are asked to review and confirm details leading to improved risk representation and selection. As a result of the improved customer suitability in line with the product offering, we see improved CSAT scores, below-average complaint levels and a reduction in costs.

It's essential to use clear language, provide written documentation and visual aids, offer interactive presentations, use real-life examples, personalize communication, establish open channels for questions, leverage technology, train underwriters in communication skills, and offer ongoing support to enhance understanding and build trust with policyholders.

Obviously providing relevante and accurate information and communication builds trust and improves customer satisfaction. The Insurance industry is using data to understand client preferences, purchase history, and demographics to tailor the marketing campaigns and to offer products that match clients specific needs, but same data should allow the industry to evolute into personalised and specific information about what are the features that suit best their profile.

During underwriting, think of explainability as providing a clear roadmap for how decisions are made, much like ethical AI. Just as AI algorithms should be transparent and understandable, underwriting decisions should be clearly communicated, ensuring stakeholders understand the factors considered and the rationale behind them. This transparency builds trust and helps mitigate risks with opacity. In addition, incorporating personalization tailors the explanation of decisions to each individual case, mirroring the ethical AI principle of considering unique context of users, therefore underwriters can better address specific concerns and nuances, fostering a deeper understanding of the decision-making process, promoting fairness and equity.

Most Underwriters nowadays are limited either by guidelines/reinsurance and/or driven by "experience"/generic information. Best practice is to understand communication as a dynamic, iterative process. In both cases, let them ask questions and entertain a true dialog. This takes longer time and higher efforts, but will get you a better deal in 9 of 10 cases.

Communicating complex insurance information during underwriting requires clarity, transparency, and tailored communication. Use layman's term, provide clear documentation, and personalize communication channels. Educate stakeholders, maintain transparency, and follow up regularly to address concerns and provide updates. These practices build help trust and satisfaction among clients/stakeholders.

Open honesty from the get-go, between the client and the broker and also between the broker and the insurer. The more information that is shared between all parties, the easier the underwriting process will be. An insurer needs to fully understand the risk, in order to enable them to provide the appropriate rates, terms and conditions, hence the requirement of sharing all information from the start. Clear communication is key in the underwriting process. And if done correctly, I believe that many unnecessary obstacles, claims and disputes can be avoided. Shortcuts often cause problems in the long run, so in my opinion it is better to dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's".