Today’s
digital technology is driving massive changes in the insurance industry
as insurers aim to increase work efficiency and productivity while
improving the customer experience at the same time. One technological
advancement that has become key to helping agents remain more
competitive and retain more business is optical character recognition,
or OCR.
What
Is OCR and How Does It Work?
OCR
technology converts unstructured data into machine-readable text. Simply
put, it transforms the content in a physical document (printed or
handwritten) into a digital format. The process is easy. A document is
scanned and uploaded, and the data is read and converted into a digital
file. Once the information is in the system, it can be further used for
other data processing needs, such as applications, supplemental forms
and proposals.
The
global character recognition market is expected to expand at
a compound annual growth rate of 16.7% from 2021 to 2028
– according to Grand View
Research
What
are the Benefits?
The
insurance application, quoting and renewal processes have always been
labor intensive. Even with the advent of online applications and new
software management systems, marketing accounts require hours of keying
in information, which can lead to errors and processing delays. Just
imagine the time saved if you could streamline the remarketing of
accounts; pre-populate applications, proposals and certificates of
insurance (COI); and receive instant renewal pricing — all with
increased accuracy? With OCR, that’s exactly what you can
do.
“[The]
main application of OCR technology is in industries where a
lot of data entry happens and numerous printed records are
to be decoded. [OCR] is crucial to the ongoing digital
transformation of the insurance
industry.”
The
key benefit of OCR in the insurance industry is its ability to process
documents. This easy-to-use, efficient document-processing tool can save
time and administrative costs by:
-
Reducing
manual data entry processes.
-
Expediting
the turnaround time on quotes.
-
Eliminating
the chance for errors through automation.
-
Reducing
the claim cycle time.
-
Prefilling
new business and renewal applications, forms, proposals and COIs
with data capture capabilities.
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