Create a more stringent appetite for underwriting
Customer
Aegon Schadeverzekering NV
Solutions
FRISS Underwriting Analytics
FRISS Claims Analytics
Results:
Thorough digitization.
A fully integrated and automated real-time solution using AI to optimize claims processes
Create a more stringent appetite for underwriting
Customer
Aegon N.V. is an insurance company listed on the Dutch stock exchange, that operates in multiple countries throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Aegon offers insurance, pensions and asset management products to some 30 million customers worldwide. In the Netherlands alone, 4 million customers use an Aegon product.
Aegon Schade Particulier, part of Aegon Schadeverzekering N.V., offers 450,000 customers a wide variety of private non-life insurance. Customers trust Aegon to be both an advisor and insurer when signing a contract with them because Aegon’s approach is based on mutual fairness and they pride themselves on not hiding anything in fine print. At the same time, Aegon wants to keep insurance affordable for everyone. It, therefore, is actively committed to fighting fraud to prevent unnecessarily pay outs to fraudsters. This ensures affordability for everyone.
As an insurer, Aegon is thoroughly committed to fraud prevention. This includes the use of specialized fraud contacts and fraud analysts, modern technology such as image analysis and anomaly detection and, of course, expert partners such as FRISS.
Challenge
Aegon is committed to fighting fraud. It has an obligation to be alert, not only for itself but for all of its customers and society as a whole. Fraud must not be rewarded. It is therefore only natural that Aegon is committed to this and will do everything in its power to investigate suspected fraudulent activity and, if found, will combat it. Aegon focuses on morality and the common good, and its actions also have a preventive effect for fellow insurers. After all, the circulation of immoral customers must be prevented.
Selling insurance online is what peaked Aegon’s interest in FRISS. It was originally an advice-driven insurance company, and when taking out new insurance policies, a large part of the customer experience was advising. Often, these advisers already knew their customers and knew what they were dealing with, for example, when it came to policyholder behavior or morality.
In 2010, when Aegon first decided to offer its products online, almost immediately its figures were being negatively impacted by new, online fraud schemes. Because Aegon had a responsibility to its honest customers, fast action was necessary.
Solution
FRISS has given Aegon a helping hand in upgrading its processes through an automated real-time solution that uses AI to optimize claims processes and create a more stringent appetite for underwriting. The FRISS application needed to integrate well with the administration of Aegon, provide real-time information, and enable Straight Through Processing (STP). By using FRISS data, Aegon was not only able to better assess risk, but also to eliminate some fraudulent activity in advance and to increase the automation of the underwriting process.
However, actually understanding what FRISS could do and how Aegon should deal with it took some adjustment. At some point, Aegon made a firm commitment on the underwriting side to increase the Straight Through Processing (STP) and to use other sources of data, sources that were much more suited to the insurer. This was also reinforced by the fact that the focus was entirely on private non-life insurance. This allowed Aegon to identify much more targeted data sources that help it to progress further.
For the past two years, Aegon has held periodic structural consultations with FRISS at various levels; strategic, tactical and operational. The operational consultation may even occur weekly, when necessary. This has allowed both sides to get to know each other better, and enable Aegon to become more familiar with what is possible and what FRISS’ abilities are.
Currently, Aegon also uses FRISS for customers of advisors.
Results
“FRISS is automatically consulted for all new policy applications, whether direct or via an intermediary. The results of FRISS screenings are decisive and help us further decide what should be accepted, reviewed, or rejected.”
The digitization rate has increased by using the FRISS results. On top of that, the underwriting rules are fully integrated into Aegon’s application, determining whether or not coverage will be offered to a customer.
FRISS is also used on the claims handling side. Here, too, the scores are used to determine whether or not claims should be reviewed by a claims handler. If the signal is not green, a claim will be reviewed and, naturally, many other checks will be performed to establish whether a submitted claim is valid. This is followed by intensive work by the claims handler, but the FRISS results give the first impetus as to whether a claim is morally justified.