How Digital TPAs Drive Increased Productivity and Customer Engagement

Do you remember the days when workflow consisted of sending an annotated, system-generated report via interoffice mail from premium collection to policyholder services? Letters to policyholders were prepared by the typing pool, interactive voice response (IVR) was in its infancy, with few options and little functionality, and automation was confined to tracking policy level information in the administrative system. Seems a long time ago doesn’t it?

Insurance company executives consistently note that the key to winning the future is increased customer engagement and enhanced efficiency. However, it is difficult for an insurer to achieve these two goals using expensive, outdated technology that is difficult and costly to replace. While administrative systems have become more powerful with advanced functionality such as basic rules engines, they can’t deliver the efficiency and digital access demanded by today’s consumers and insurance companies. Integrated platforms are required to perform many of the functions needed by insurers to survive in this extremely competitive, digital era.

Digital TPAs look beyond the insurance administrative system to provide a digital ecosystem that delivers state-of-the-art functionality with the flexibility to adapt to future trends and technologies. By investing in building out the platform ecosystem to include integrated “plug and play” third-party or proprietary applications in a highly automated environment, Digital TPAs drive efficiencies and increase productivity.

An insurance company must consider a range of factors when choosing a Digital TPA that offers the right platform ecosystem for its business, including:

• Best of breed products — Digital TPAs leverage best-in-class technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure highly efficient processes that provide outstanding service and reduce cost. Several years ago, an insurance company I was working with chose an “all in one” administrative system instead of stacking best of breed products. The IT department convinced the business that avoiding the pain of integration outweighed the advanced functionality provided by utilizing best of breed components. A few years later, the insurer issued an RFP for a new administrative system to replace the “new” system that was already out of date.
• Investment in technology — with technology developing at a breakneck speed, the most advanced technology today may be obsolete in a year. A few years ago, the trend in client communication was mobile apps. Today, customers require omnichannel portal access with advanced communication tools such as chatbots. By consistently investing in and updating its technology stack, a Digital TPA embraces these trends and accommodates new technologies at a fraction of the cost an insurer would need to update its own administrative platform.
• Flexibility — no two insurance companies operate in exactly the same way. Each company has its own financial systems, its own digital strategy and its own customer strategy. As such, the services required from an administrative system or TPA vary from company to company. Digital TPAs have the flexibility to incorporate the various parts of its ecosystem to meet the needs of each insurance company. In addition, Digital TPAs that leverage a flexible ecosystem approach can respond to new trends by replacing ecosystem components or adding to its stack.

Technological innovation in the insurance industry has been evolving almost exponentially in recent years, and with the advent of automated underwriting, increased process automation and higher levels of customer interaction, the future promises to accelerate the pace of these advancements. To remain competitive, an insurance company’s administrative system needs to be the anchor for a technology ecosystem that includes innovative digital components. Digital TPAs can provide this ecosystem in a timely and cost effective manner to help insurers navigate their journey to Digital.

To find out more about how our IBAS solution can provide a digital ecosystem that adapts to future trends and technologies for your insurance company, contact: howard.ehrlich@capgemini.com

Capgemini’s IBAS (Integrated Business Administration Services) provides an integrated technology and operations platform for Life and Health insurers in the North American market.

Click the links to read the other blogs in this series:

Six Reasons Why Digital TPAs Will Disrupt the Traditional TPA Industry

How Digital TPAs Can Enhance Your Digital Customer Engagement

How Digital TPAs Deliver Faster Growth for Insurance Companies Through “No Regret” Product Launches

Leveraging a Digital TPA to Eliminate Paper Delivers Benefits across Your Insurance Company

Conversions vs. Technical Wrappers—Bridging the Gap

How Digital TPAs Can Improve Decision-Making through Delivering Actionable Insights