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For more information, please contact:

Charles Whatling – Insurance Operational Excellence Lead, UK&I

charles.w.whatling@accenture.com

Dan Johnson – Insurance Process Automation Lead, UK&I

daniel.carl.johnson@accenture.com

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A holistic
approach to
insurance
automation
Robotic Process Automation programmes can
deliver major benefits to insurance operations.
But a more holistic approach will allow
insurers to realise its full potential.
Many insurers have set out on the journey of robotic process automation
(RPA). In most cases, this has meant running pilots on simple business
processes before scaling up to deliver more material benefits through an
industrialised automation capability. Our experience shows that a holistic
and integrated approach to these implementations is essential.

2
3
A holistic approach to Insurance automation

The wider benefits of RPA Achieving results

Insurers face a common challenge: how can they build There’s already a pervasive culture of change in the
responsive, high-growth businesses while optimising insurance industry. The quest for efficiency gains
cost? This is where RPA can make all the difference. is a major driver, along with the need to keep pace
with evolving consumer expectations and invest in
RPA is an emerging technology trend that can emulate new digital technologies. RPA is a natural fit in this
transactional, administrative tasks. It works best where new environment because change can be delivered
the underlying processes are rules-based, repetitive with speed and agility to realise benefits quickly.
and frequent. This is why insurers are finding that it Further, RPA can automate the end to end lifecycle by
can have a major impact in back-office functions such integrating new front end digital technologies with
as applications handling, claims processing and data back office environments.
entry. In areas like these, successful programmes can
free up between 20 and 30 percent of capacity at an The results of these programmes have been surprisingly
enterprise level whilst also minimising operational risk encouraging. For insurers across personal and
and improving the customer experience. commercial lines, RPA pilots have demonstrated
material benefits, including a 40-80 percent reduction
RPA is part of the spectrum of emerging artificial in processing times, along with improvements in quality
intelligence tools, including virtual agents, machine rates, auditability and operational risk management. On
learning, computer vision and natural language the strength of this performance, management teams
classification. The move to artificial intelligence are understandably eager to scale up the business
technologies can have many applications in insurance, case for RPA. Urging the creation of industrialised
for example, image classification for claims and automation capabilities, they point to the success
text analytics for servicing customer queries. These of RPA programmes in other sectors of the financial
new technologies will further drive automation and services industry where companies such as Barclays and
augmentation of insurance processes, however, many The Co-operative Group have used automated processes
will require integration with the underlying systems, to generate capacity of up to 200 full-time employees
which is where RPA can also play a role. across Operations.
Properly implemented, automation programmes enable Scalable benefits like these are certainly within reach
a scalable, flexible and responsive workforce that is so when a holistic approach is taken. Not all processes are
essential in a digital marketplace. Freed from routine suitable candidates for automation, which means the
process activities by their new automated co-workers, business case for RPA cannot simply be scaled up
back-office staff can be redeployed into front-office enterprise-wide. More broadly, approaches that seek to
roles where they can focus on complex customer build a robotic capability in isolation often encounter
demands and generate growth. Moreover, the financial significant challenges in governance, sponsorship,
benefits realised through RPA can be reinvested in stakeholder buy-in, integration with IT architecture and
the emerging digital technologies that underpin alignment with wider business objectives.
personalised customer relationships.

Automation Spectrum
The automation spectrum is rapidly changing. The rise of new artificial intelligence technologies, including virtual
agents, machine learning and natural language classification will further drive automation and augmentation of
insurance industry processes.

Integrated Robotic Process

01 Desktop 02 Automation 03 Digital Assistants 04 Machine Learning

Consolidating data from Applying technology Interactive characters Systems that gain knowledge
multiple sources into a single to manipulate existing with human-like traits and from data as “experience”
view to complete a process. application software to communication styles able and apply what is learnt in
complete a process. to answer questions and upcoming situations.
perform business processes.

4
“When they assess
processes, they’re not just
asking, can we? They’re
also asking, should we?”

The right solution,

for the right process
Instead of rushing to quickly deliver benefits through In these environments, RPA has a role to play
RPA, organisations that experience the greatest success alongside digital tools, optical character recognition
tend to follow a more structured and holistic approach. (OCR), business process management (BPM) and
They take time to understand the nature of the tasks Lean Six Sigma. Tackling unstructured data, digitising
that people are currently performing and they analyse paper correspondence and simplifying processes are
process characteristics to identify which of those tasks all essential to successfully automating the right
are the most repetitive, manually intensive and rules- insurance processes. RPA is one tool within the process
based – and, therefore, suitable candidates improvement toolkit.
for automation.
In one UK life and pensions organisation, a diagnostic
Where Operations processes are more mature, higher to identify improvement opportunities revealed that
volume, lower complexity or with structured data 20 percent were suitable for tactical automation on a
inputs, automation programmes can scale more quickly stand-alone basis. However, the remaining 80 percent
with less need for enablers and process simplification. required either automation enablers (such as OCR
technology and e-forms) or would be better addressed
However, in Operations where processes are less through low-cost system enhancement and business
mature, lower volume, more complex or with process re-engineering.
unstructured data inputs, leaders recognise that it’s
unrealistic to apply RPA across the entire business
process landscape. When they assess processes, they’re
not just asking “Can we?”; they’re also asking
“Should we?”
5
A holistic approach to Insurance automation

Insurance Process Automation

Processes which are manually intensive, repetitive and require few judgement-based decisions are more suitable for
automation. Specifically, we’ve seen leading insurers experience major benefits from automating activities across the
end-to-end value chain.

Sales & Underwriting Policy Admin Finance

Claims
Distribution & Pricing & Servicing & Accounts

• Create sales • Data entry for • Automate updates to • Process claims bulk • Automate daily bank
scorecards to push clearance and personal details and payments with pre- reconciliations
notifications to registration bank account details approved expense
• Process low-
agents processes amounts
• Reject or cancel a risk money out
• Conduct compliance, • Update systems policy if a payment • Automate manual transactions
legal and credit and produce client has not been made assignments to
checks information with 21 days claims handlers,
input FNOL
• Gather information • Identify policy
• Paper or online submissions into
from various systems premium
account maintenance various systems
and generate a discrepancies and
not currently
renewal premium reconcile if required • Automate
supported by straight
notification
through processing
to loss adjusters

“The importance of
maintaining and
changing robots in BAU
is often overlooked.”

Taking a strategic approach

As well as targeting processes most suited to opportunities, that IT provides architectural oversight to
automation, successful automation programmes are ensure tactical automation is the optimal solution and
driven through a measured, top-down approach. that the overall delivery framework enables changes to
be made in an agile but controlled manner.
Rather than rapidly developing an isolated robotics
capability, these programmes allow enough time to Furthermore, the importance of maintaining and
identify and answer key strategic questions in respect changing robots in BAU is often overlooked. Like any
of programme governance, roles, sponsorship and workforce, robots require productivity measurement,
alignment with the business and IT change framework. reporting against SLAs and continuous improvement.
Operations retain responsibility for exception handling
This has some clear advantages. As RPA programmes and become the agents of change to reduce failures.
gain traction, they will inevitably impact existing IT, on the other hand, need to maintain the technical
capabilities and change initiatives across Operations infrastructure and ensure the virtual workforce keeps
and IT, and compete for scarce resource. on working.

An RPA capability could feasibly reside within By ensuring a consistent approach across Operations
Operations, IT or a Shared Services organisation. and IT, RPA implementations with top-level sponsorship
Regardless of where the capability is developed, avoid clashes with other change programmes, ensure
a collaborative approach between Operations focus on delivering business priorities, and secure the
and IT is essential. It is critical that the business critical business analysis and IT skills needed to deliver
provide sponsorship and insight to identify the right and maintain the automation programme.

6
Understanding the
impact on talent
While insurers’ workforces are by now accustomed to the business – smart technology empowering smart
participating in change programmes, the introduction people -, or as a threat to their roles.
of automation can have a more fundamental impact
on individual roles and responsibilities. For front- There is no doubt that RPA will reduce the number of
office teams, it’s most likely to be viewed as a positive roles in Operations teams. Insurers, therefore, need to
development, with real benefits for the customer focus on retaining and redeploying talent to support
experience and improved efficiency of administrative front-office activities or new roles created through
tasks. However, it’s in the middle- and back-office business growth. If RPA programmes are counter-
operations, where RPA has the greatest potential to balanced by training that re-equips people for new
automate manual activities, that uncertainty is most roles then they are more likely to be seen in a positive
likely to be created. light.

The impact of RPA is multi-dimensional. Operations One UK based general insurer embraced this concept
staff can either perceive robots as a new type of co- when implementing a recent automation programme
worker that releases people from mundane work and (which also freed up 35 percent of capacity in one area
creates new, value-adding opportunities for them in the of the business). Management took time to understand
business, or as a threat to their roles. the impact on the people involved and invested in
making RPA integral to the overall businessculture.
The impact of RPA is multi-dimensional. Operations Where automation was introduced robots were given
staff can either perceive robots as a new type of co- names, and accepted as colleagues that helped people
worker that releases people from mundane work and to create greater business value than ever before.
creates new, value-adding opportunities for them in

The Foundations for an Effective

Automation Programme
• Establish governance – ensure a C-suite opportunities which are suitable for RPA (and
member is leading the automation whether they need to be standardised/re-
programme, and that there is full alignment engineered in advance), and which ones are
between the COO and CTO. Ensure the unsuitable (judgement-based).
automation programme is integrated with
other change initiatives and there is a • Build an effective capability – establish
collaborative approach between Operations robust processes/tools that are aligned to the
and IT for delivering change and maintaining broader business, IT and change framework,
in BAU. but which enable agile delivery of tactical
changes; clarify the roles and responsibilities
• Define the vision and strategy – establish a and availability of resources with the right
clear vision, strategy and roadmap for the skills.
programme, and consider a broad range of
automation and process improvement tools • Plan talent impact – follow a disciplined
(not just RPA) for identifying and addressing approach to work through the impact of
opportunities. automation on traditional roles, the future
mix of onshore/offshore/outsourced roles,
• Identify the right processes – conduct and the best way to engage and secure
a top-down diagnostic of end-to-end stakeholder buy-in.
processes, with Operations and IT, to identify