Why risk control will always need the ‘human touch’

Technology has changed the way the insurance industry performs daily tasks, but it has never overshadowed the essential human element required for the business, an insurance industry VP told Insurance Business .

“You can never replace the human touch,” Christine Sullivan (pictured), Sompo’s senior vice president of risk prevention for North America, said. “In risk management, we pride ourselves on our relationships with clients, and that is more important than ever in today’s world.”

However, he said, “technologies make us more efficient in our work.”

“It has the ability to take a third of our assigned duties off our plate because it is now streamlined through a mechanical solution, giving us more time to work on other, more challenging projects,” Sullivan said.

During a sit-down interview at the 2023 edition of RIMS in Atlanta, Sullivan spoke to Insurance Business about how AI and other technologies are changing how risk professionals conduct their day- day roles, and what the future looks like.

COVID has helped foster a new way of doing business

Many industries operating during the COVID-19 pandemic are experiencing a steep learning curve to perform duties in a remote environment. This is true for risk management professionals, who suddenly cannot inspect physical businesses and other physical structures due to health orders.

“Since COVID basically shut us down, we weren’t allowed to travel or go to client sites and potentially expose others to the virus in a confined space,” Sullivan said.

To avoid these obstacles, insurance companies must use hi-tech equipment that allows risk managers to complete their tasks with the attention that the job requires. There is also the benefit of being able to do work that transcends geographic boundaries while being deployed remotely.

“There’s more use of virtual technology that allows us to walk through a facility without being physically present,” Sullivan said.

“Now, instead of flying all the way to Alaska to inspect a site, I can see everything through the software and take pictures to create a report and share it with an underwriter, who can then write a policy to match it. .”

“AI is more than a buzzword”

AI has become a hot topic in the insurance industry, mainly thanks to its sophisticated design and ability to complete multiple tasks in different areas.

For those who input the right information and statistics into AI, its capabilities to streamline a workflow can provide an advantage.

“AI is more than a buzzword, and it’s proven to be very useful in some areas,” Sullivan said.

“We can now take a lot of records and data, feed it through software and it will pick out key words and other information that an underwriter needs to know, like if a company is using a chemical that can be controversial.”

There is also the benefit of AI and other gizmos in training new professionals entering the field, replacing the more standardized PowerPoint deck or monotonous video.

“Walking around here at RIMS, I saw a couple of Oculus technologies making the rounds, which are slowly being used to teach people to enter the field in a more immersive and less passive way,” Sullivan said.

“We can also use AI-formulated images to illustrate more specific points in a training module, rather than using stock photos that are less specific.”

However, beyond this new development of standardized procedures, one must not forget the interpersonal connections between the insurer and the insured that are both underlying and essential.

“As AI becomes more sophisticated and helpful, it still has human emotion or empathy that is at the core of what we do,” Sullivan said.

“Hazard prevention is refined and enhanced by the human touch and that’s something that no one can forget, especially in the face of a disaster or loss.”