Zurich UK pilots new chatbot for quicker claims handling

Zurich UK has launched a six-week chatbot pilot, designed to help customers submit claims quicker and more efficiently.

‘Zara’ is a new chatbot system which helped Zurich log claims during the latest nationwide snowfall and the problems which cames afterwards.

Through ‘Zara,’ Zurich says the information is gathered at any hour, seven days a week. It is then passed to a human claims handler who can then respond to the customer and process the claim within three working hours – an improvement on the targeted 24 hours.

It was developed with external partners Spixii, an insurtech startup that came out of Zurich-sponsored StartupBootCamp.

David Nichols, chief claims officer at Zurich said: ”In a digital age, many of our customers expect to be able to interact with their insurer online and this pilot has allowed us to gauge interest in this type of innovative and exciting technology.

”The recent launch of Zurich’s UK Innovation Foundry also demonstrates that we’re truly dedicated to exploring new technologies for our customers and will seek out the innovative start-ups that will ultimately benefit them.  

“The move to use robotics shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a hindrance. New and innovative technologies will help customers, but also empower us to redeploy people so they can develop new skill sets beyond traditional career paths.”

Renaud Million, chief executive at Spixii added: “Completing this integration in such a short period of time was only made possible by the collaboration between Zurich and Spixii, and their clear investment in delivering value to their customers. It is with great pleasure that we have completed this step with Zurich.”