Swiss Re (Zurich) and Appian (Reston, Va.) are launching a partnership to create what the companies call the first ever end-to-end scalable AI solution capable of combining underwriting process rules and underwriting risk decision management. The integration partnership combines Swiss Re’s best-of-breed Life Guide and Underwriting Automation Software, Magnum Pure, with the workflow capabilities of the Appian Low-Code Automation Platform.
Through the Swiss Re and Appian partnership, insurers will be able to process massive volumes of forms and data using AI to significantly increase efficiency while maintaining the highest accuracy rates, a Swiss Re statement says. Insurers will also be able to apply and compare past use cases using the AI to better understand how previous cases were issued using a similar profile. Bottom-line, this major advancement is a win that will benefit all involved parties, including underwriters, distributors and customers, according to the statement.
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“The partnership of Appian and Swiss Re came about through recognition of a need in the market around underwriting workbenches being used in operational areas by the underwriting staff,” comments Brian Simpson, Business Development Lead, Swiss Re. “The solution allows the fine balance of underwriting ‘art and autonomy’ while concurrently bringing ‘automation and intelligence’ to the underwriting experience, both at the consumer level and operational underwriting level.”
The solution aims to meet the challenges of increased demand for life insurance and other challenges caused by the pandemic, such as reconsidering how to factor long-standing health risks and new complications associated with Covid into underwriting policies. Applications for life insurance policies increased by 4 percent in 2020 according to MIB Group Inc., and 36 percent of consumers planned to purchase life insurance within the next 12 months as of April 2021, as reported by LIMRA.
The collaboration between Swiss Re and Appian will help insurers to cope with increased demand by making it possible for them to automate a traditionally manual, cumbersome underwriting process (made more difficult during COVID) and improve the experience for the end consumer, without sacrificing confidence in decision making, according to the Swiss Re statement.
The solution is built around Swiss Re’s Magnum, which provides the capability of instant risk classification, which speeds policy issuance. Appian automates the surrounding process, which can require amendments, exclusion riders, and other transactions, before a policy can be issued.
Real-Time Visibility into Underwriting Deviations
The companies report that the new solution also provides real-time visibility into underwriting deviations, making it easier to identify when insurers stray from their underwriting philosophy, which can cause a variety of financial implications downstream (e.g., mortality slippage). Magnum will now receive final underwriting dispositions as part of the Magnum Reporting through a feed from Appian to support data and metrics on final decisions.
“Appian is deeply committed to creating innovative solutions for life insurers that help them increase efficiency while providing a differentiated customer experience at scale,” comments Mike Heffner, VP, Appian. “Our partnership with Swiss Re is further evidence of this by aligning two companies that share similar goals to rapidly advance the life insurance industry and underwriting experience. By combining Swiss Re’s Magnum Pure with the Appian Low-Code Automation Platform, insurers can unlock the power of hyperautomation and create highly flexible differentiated underwriting applications 10-20x faster than traditional coding.”
Source: Insurance Innovation Reporter
