In the past few years, the number of travel insurance claims made have surged by 148%. It seems that travel insurers have successfully responded to this huge increase in the number of claims. The Chartered Insurance Institute revealed that customer satisfaction with travel insurance policies reached its highest ever level in September 2023.

What Makes a Happy Insurance Customer?

A number of factors will determine a customer’s satisfaction with their travel cover:

• How easy they found it to buy cover.
• Whether or not they understood just what they were buying, and why.
• Customer service throughout the process.
• In the event of a claim, a speedy and straightforward resolution with a satisfactory settlement.

In this post we will focus on how you can streamline the travel insurance claim process, so as to deal with the increased number of claims without compromising on customer satisfaction.

Don’t Be Afraid of How Artificial Intelligence Assist with Repetitive Tasks

Trailblazers in the travel insurance industry have made use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to transform the way they manage customer data and claims.

AI modules are capable of quickly sorting through huge datasets, which means that insurers can use them to automate certain tasks. Currently, AI modules can assist with repetitive routine tasks, such as filing. But we’re not too far away from a world in which travel insurers can use AI to automate the claims process.

Read our full guide to how AI can help you streamline the travel insurance claims process.

Draw From Your Data to Automate and Streamline Claims

Here’s how travel insurance claims might be managed in the future: A customer gets stranded at an airport due to a cancelled flight. They’re covered for this, so there’s no question that they’re entitled to compensation.

So, they open a dedicated travel insurance app on their phone, and press a button marked “my flight has been cancelled”. AI modules then confirm that the flight is indeed cancelled, and that the customer has cover. The customer then immediately receives the settlement to which they’re entitled. There’s no need to make any extra calls, or provide any extra information. It’s all achieved at the touch of a button, more or less instantly.

This might sound too good to be true. But we’re not too far away from a world in which this is a reality. Swiss Re Ltd is already using an AI module that can predict flight delays in advance. This means they can provide compensation without their customers even having to make a claim.

This is the sort of thing that becomes possible when travel insurers optimise the way they collect, store, process, and leverage their customer data. Read our full guide to how your data can streamline your claims process.

Commit to Customer Service

If AI modules are automating certain time-consuming, repetitive tasks, and if they’re capable of managing the more straightforward claims, then how are travel insurers going to spend their time?

Answer: Through committing to providing next level customer service. If your days are no longer consumed by paperwork, then you’ll have more time to focus on designing bespoke travel insurance packages for your customers, and on managing the more complicated claims so as to secure a satisfying settlement for all parties.

Ideally you should give every customer a named contact, and a single number to call should they ever need to make a claim. Yet if this isn’t possible, then once again AI can come to the rescue. KPMG has demonstrated the use of generative-AI models to provide their customers with “intelligent virtual assistants”.

But if this seems beyond your means, you might at least consider using automated chatbots on your site. These can provide live, round-the-clock customer service chats, which means that customers can get the ball rolling on the claims process whenever they want, wherever they want.

How Capacity Insights Can Support You to Streamline Your Travel Insurance Claims

With our embedded travel insurance, you can enhance your product offering while streamlining your entire customer service journey. With our support, you can offer your customers a seamless experience, and rapid access to the cover they need. We can also help you remove all the pain points and frustrations from your claims process.

Learn more about how our embedded travel insurance can transform your business.