Chatbots helping pull Hong Kong insurers into the digital world. Just don’t ask them for sympathy
Hong Kong trails mainland China in ‘insurtech,’ but its insurance companies are trying out tools that boost efficiency and cut costs.
It’s fast. It’s helpful. Just don’t expect the new internet chatbot at BOC Life Insurance to be sympathetic to news of your broken leg or death of a loved one.
“For death claim, which following item you would like to ask?” the Easy Chat bot matter-of-factly types back when you explain you need to file a death claim.
Easy Chat is part of the major Hong Kong insurer’s push into insurtech – bots and other digital tools that the insurance industry hopes will transform it akin to what happened with fintech and its blockbuster innovations such as cashless pay.
The efficient-but-emotionally-clueless Easy Chat bot made its debut in May. Since then, it has responded to 10,000 inquires for clients at BOC Life’s corporate website, Facebook page or WeChat account.
Other Hong Kong insurers are starting to jump in to surf the insurtech wave as well, largely to save money, provide speedy 24/7 service and also to get ahead of the competition. Behind the scenes, adoption of technology not so obvious to customers includes cloud storage, cloud computing, big data and predictive analytics.
And just last week, Tencent-backed Blue, the city’s first purely digital life insurance company, started selling policies.