Insurance is booming and as the number of entrepreneurs in the sector grows, so does the competition. As a customer looking for property and casualty insurance, there are plenty of options to choose from. So it becomes important for insurance providers to focus on giving customers a good experience.
Insurance entrepreneurs have found that investing in the digital space and collaborations can help their business grow and simultaneously support the modernization and digitization of the entire insurance industry.
This is where Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) come in. An API is a set of defined communication methods between various components that exposes only those objects and actions needed by the developer and thus simplifies programming.
In the digital insurance ecosystem, APIs are a great tool that improves efficiency and reliability. It modernizes workflows and allows the insurance provider to offer innovative customer-centric services to differentiate them from the competition.
So, how can real estate data API complement a P & C insurance company‘s business goals?
1. Automate Data Entry
Generating quotes for insurance depends heavily on data. For example, insurance for a given property depends on variables like the size of the property, age, sales history, improvements, etc. Traditionally, all of this data was entered manually. Not only is manual data entry slow, but it also has a high risk of error.
Property APIs can automate the data entry process and streamline it. By looking up an address, assessor’s parcel number or other such details the API returns information on the owner’s name, address, property size, amenities, and other such characteristics. One can also instantly see the other properties owned by the individual and the historical sales deeds for the property.
The use of such APIs is beneficial to employees as it saves time and effort and improves customer experience by making the process quicker. In a time when customers look for instant gratification, this can be a great way to retain customers.
2. Verify Addresses
The address of a particular property is probably the most important factor used to calculate insurance values. Thus, insurance agencies traditionally sent field agents to physically verify an address before evaluating insurance coverage. This was slow and unreliable. Customers who provided incomplete addresses further complicated the process.
With an address verification API, verifying addresses becomes simpler and quicker. It compares the input received with data from reliable third-party databases and returns the verified data. It also enhances the data by correcting syntax errors, completing addresses, making changes to reflect updated street and city names and giving precise latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.
For example, let’s say the city changed the name of a street. If a customer entered the old street name, the API will automatically replace the old street name with the new name. Similarly, a customer may not have entered the zip code “ an important consideration for insurance evaluation. Based on the rest of the information provided, the API can add the correct zip code to the address and complete it. Thus, information is not only validated but also kept up to date.
3. Minimize Fraud Risk
When it comes to insurance claims, fraudsters are constantly finding ways to beat the system and cheat the company. Some criminals may even impersonate real customers to claim insurance. This is why companies need to stress on verifying identities before dispensing claims. However, manually verifying identities is difficult and time-consuming. The lengthy timeframe can give real customers a poorer experience and thus bring down the company’s overall satisfaction rate.
An API allows insurance companies to verify identities in real-time. All you need to do is enter personal details such as the customer’s name, address, email address and phone number. The API checks this information for authenticity by matching it to third party databases, making corrections when needed and parsing the information into relevant fields.
This API can be integrated into a variety of applications to check, verify and append information in the fastest way possible without inconveniencing real customers.
4. Inspect Property Damage
Sending field agents out to inspect property damage can be risky to their own health and safety. For example, how do you assess damage to a property in an area that is flooded? Given the increasing occurrences of natural disasters, insurance companies have had to look for a more viable solution and drones emerged as the best choice.
Drones can be operated remotely and hence the field agents themselves are not put in a risky situation. They are innovative and provide a comprehensive damage assessment report.
Comparing the assessment to the pre-claim status by using an API gives insurers context for critical factors such as age, construction type, size, etc. to calculate replacement costs. Connecting the data collected by the drone to an API thus helps insurance companies assess the materiality of a claim and issue the same quickly.
5. Improve Communication
Having incorrect or outdated information in your database can affect the deliverability of your emails and postal mails. By correcting and completing addresses to reflect the most up to date information, real estate data APIs can play a vital role in improving communications and hence, customer experiences.
Another way they help is by integrating the information from these APIs with chatbots. Instead of asking the customer to enter a complete set of data for every interaction, the chatbot can retrieve relevant information from the API. Thus, the interaction becomes smoother and the customer is happier. This not only helps satisfy existing customers but also aids in customer acquisition.
In Conclusion
Many insurance companies are already taking advantage of APIs to improve their efficiency, mitigate risk and improve the experience provided to customers. In today’s technology-driven world, constant innovation is the only way to succeed. As an insurance provider, you need to integrate an API that is easy to access, flexible and affordable. The options available are limitless so weigh the pros and cons of each API and find one that prepares your company for the future.
