The Sri Lankan insurance industry is one of the first to successfully adjust to the “new normal”. It did so by customizing its offering by introducing hospitalization as well as death covers for Covid19 as well as embracing digitalization for swift delivery of services.

What is the role of digitalization in insurance?

Primarily, digitalization in medical insurance claims helps to optimize and simplify the claims process which is otherwise cumbersome. Services such as DigiMed have proved to be greatly effective in this regard when compared with the conventional approach of manually reconciling medical (Both Outpatient (OPD) and Hospitalization Claims) claims. Automation makes the process faster, more efficient and accurate minimizing the waiting time thereby which is a positive for all parties concerned.

How does the platform work?

DigiMed obtains necessary documents from the customer, virtually, and processes for example an OPD claim within a few hours – this is a welcome improvement to the previous situation where a few days, sometimes weeks, was taken for manual verifications. The app can be downloaded from App Store or Google Play for free and has a pay-as-you-go model for upgrades.

DigiMed makes the process simpler, hassle free as well as sustainable considering it doesn’t require printed, physical documents which is better for the planet. Paperless concept isn’t new but it didn’t take off, at least in Sri Lanka, until the Covid19 pandemic restricting travel and contact.

Other benefits of DigiMed include it giving customers the option to monitor the status of the process from start to finish and the app storing all submitted documents safely for later retrieval playing the role of a digital archive.

Industry Outlook

The Sri Lankan insurance industry giants believe digitalization is the way forward for the local industry for delivery of services. In the Sri Lanka Insurance Report published by audit firm KPMG in 2020, industry leader and Managing Director Soft Logic Insurance PLC Ifthikar Ahmed is quoted stating: “In this new norm of business, smart digitalization is what matters and not just digitalizing existing processes.” He then goes on to note that when compared with two decades ago, how technology & talent are readily available today and how insurers need to invest wisely on whatever brings the most effective outcome and customer convenience.

DigiMed is a local product and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews so far from the industry as well as customers. In order for the local industry to thrive under present challenging circumstances, adopting available technology prudently is a must. Services like DigiMed that take no initial investment to explore are ideal in this regard. The service only starts charging once the customer has used the service. DigiMed is suitable for insurers as well as organizations that internally manage employee welfare by offering compensation by reimbursing their medical OPD expenses. Processing such claims with greater efficiency serves to restore publics’ faith in insurance which is otherwise perceived as a complicated affair. In contexts such as Sri Lanka insurance is seen as a luxury more so than a necessity as in the developed world. This gap of information and awareness can be bridged by making insurance accessible and convenient for all.

Investing in digitalization is a wise decision any organization can make at this juncture because all industries, especially insurance, are bound to be heavily reliant on digital platforms in years to come.

Sources:
https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/lk/pdf/2020/11/sri-lanka-insurance-report-november-2020.pdf