AAR Insurance is now targeting 80 percent of its transaction to be conducted online with the launch of a new mobile application.
In a statement to the newsroom on Tuesday, AAR said its revamped digital suite was part of the company’s move to become a branchless and paperless underwriter.
According to Nixon Shigoli, AAR Insurance Managing Director, the firm was focused on creating value for customers through a digital-led business model.
“Our DNA is to empower our customers to take control of the things that matter most to them including health. Our digital transformation strategy is aligned with this goal. The mobile app is part of our quest to be a branchless and paperless insurance provider and create a lean and efficient business,” said Shigoli.
With the looming calls to channel business models online, the company said it was adopting a digital-centric business model to attract and retain an increasingly tech-savvy clientele.
“Building optimal customer relations in the digital era means integrating transformative technologies into our operations to not only enhance convenience but also generate real-time data on evolving client needs,” added Shigoli.
Going all-time digital, however, would mean a reduction in the company’s costs as it shifts 95 percent of the paperwork online while increasing employees’ productivity.
“The insurer anticipates that technology-enabled remote working coupled with the branchless, paperless model it is currently pursuing will yield significant financial savings hence more profits,” reads the statement in part.
Widespread adoption of digital insurance has been identified as a factor in increasing underwriting coverage in the country, currently at a paltry 3 percent, compared to a mobile penetration rate of 98 percent.
The move comes at a time when the medical underwriters are struggling to position their business model in the fast-growing digital world.
During the award-winning fete for best insurance companies in the country on Metropol TV on February 18, Think Business Africa Chief Executive Ochieng Oloo castigated the medical underwriters for continuing to adopt traditional measures to distribute their products.
“It’s important that if you have a good product you know how to distribute it – Insurance companies tend to embrace tradition in terms of distributing products.” Said Oloo.
The AAR Mobile App brings itself with minimizing claims-related fraud and reducing the cost of insurance.
The App which is downloadable on the Android Play Store and Apple Play Store will enable customers, agents, and service providers to perform transactions on mobile on a self-service mode thus cutting the need for face-to-face interactions with company staff and agents.
