How Is Technology Taking Over The InsurTech Space?
Every so often, we come across something that is so astounding, it leaves us speechless. The last time that happened, was a surgery that was performed from the beginning to the end by a robot. Artificial Intelligence is reaching heights that we did not believe were possible, especially since the last decade and a half.
Smart Watches with pulse oximeters, Speaking assistants that can power a whole house, cars that can drive themselves- just some of the recent examples technology has given us. There has been a steady integration of AI into our lives since we have been introduced to it.
How has AI experienced a shift in recent years?
AI has been used in almost all industries over the past two decades. Government bodies have been spending millions on research in the development of AI, and have seen tremendous success in doing so. AI systems are designed to make decisions in real-time, often using dynamic data and machine learning. With a huge improvement in their workflows, storage systems, techniques, and processing speeds, AI is now capable of putting out sophisticated and intelligent output.
Since AI is capable of making intelligent decisions based on constantly changing and updated data, it is believed that most forms of AI see early adoption from potential users. In the security industry, for example, AI has seen improvements in regards to sensors, cameras, and even facial recognition software that is impressive enough to catch the attention of a ton of people who are now private dealers, in the field.
In the automobile industry, self-driving cars are now the trend. They can make both navigational decisions, as well as take control of the wheel when required, processing traffic conditions and vehicular situations.
Why is AI so prevalent, one might ask. The answer is simple- because in this day and age, people want to simplify their tasks instead of further complicating them, and AI does just that. With the fact that AI requires negligible to no human intervention at all, it results in a chain reaction where data is processed faster, is more accurate and there is very minimal margin of error. With all this, industries have sought to include AI in their processes, and have done away with manual work as much as possible.
What impact has AI had in the Healthcare Industry?
Over the past few years, AI has impacted the Healthcare industry so much, that it is now called the HealthTech Industry, in parallel. Robot-assisted surgeries are just the beginning. There have been improvements that not only speed up the diagnosis of a disease but also provide Healthcare practitioners with the prognosis and the treatment steps.
Even individuals are said to feel safer whenever they keep track of their physical health with trackable devices and have their daily movements tracked through fitness tracking apps. In fact, video consultations have become commonplace in first-world countries like the USA, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic happened. People are more comfortable going for online consultations rather than physical, so that they can avoid human contact as much as possible, thereby reducing the risk of infections.
While Machine Learning is already being used in a big way, there is an advanced technology called Supervised Learning, which takes data and manipulates it from case to case, to provide a more accurate result for the treatment of a disease.
Companies like Artivatic Data Labs have developed various HealthTech platforms, which detect minute accuracies like if an individual is a smoker, to not just improve their fitness results, but also to make sure that their insurance payout estimates come up with a minimal chance of error. They also use Natural Language Processing, also known as NLP, in speech recognition and contextual learning, so that their systems learn and assimilate new information all on their own, and update themselves on a regular basis.
While HealthTech is multiple billion-dollar industry, because of the COVID era, it has seen a multifold rise. There are a lot of small-scale companies entering the HealthTech market because it has seen a boom in the past year itself. The industry is said to rise at a gradual 30-35% over the next couple of years, taking it from billions to trillions. Since it is the need of the hour, companies have also developed programs to track one’s health patterns over the years and send out warning signals if a minute deviation occurs. This is all a part of preventive healthcare, while machine learning is also used in health administration, to build a system/network where all that is required is a database of the patient and their previous history so that all of their details exist in the system and in uncommon cases like trauma care, one does not need to spend any time figuring out details about the patient. It increases productivity and allows for institutions to attend to more people, thereby reducing burnout.
Further, Artificial Intelligence plays a big part in Remote Patient Monitoring, leading to a rise in homecare, since hospices and daycare centers are usually at their maximum capacity, especially in the metropolitan scenario. It not only covers their care, but it also covers their insurance needs. Lately, with companies like Artivatic Data Labs coming into place, insurance has become a lot more simple and uncomplicated due to the elimination of manual legacy processes, and also makes it easier for people in remote areas to be insured against health issues, if any.
AI, already a part of our lives, is predicted to be on the rise in the near future. As long as the human mind exists, AI will continue developing, and as long as AI continues developing, we will become more dependent on it, as we progress. And that is the fact of the matter.
Author: Supriya Bhaskar Rao, Head of Strategy and Branding, Artivatic Data Labs Private Limited.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of IIA and IIA does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)