KM improves risk, fraud and sales opportunity management for insurers

Attensity developed its text analytics software in response to the growth of social media. Such user-generated content represents a vast resource for insurers-as long as they can find a way to sort through all the content. Fortunately, Attensity's KM solution does that for them. By analyzing the user content it finds on the Web, the software can tell insurers how consumers feel about their products.

Attensity software also can be used to detect insurance fraud. For instance, a customer could file a compensation claim for two broken legs with his or her insurer, and subsequently post on Facebook about winning a break-dancing competition. Attensity can spot the discrepancy, and report it to the insurer.

Gleaning sales opportunities

However, not all of the "over 100 out-of-the-box reports, dashboards and prebuilt analytics" produced deal with potential fraud, according to Attensity. Some of them crunch through social media information, looking for sales opportunities. If the software sees someone complaining about a competitor's insurance products online, the platform can alert the client insurance company's sales department, so that the staff there can make a pitch of their own.

Meanwhile, keeping an eye on one's own customers using social media can improve retention, says de Haaff. Online complaints logged by unhappy policyholders-"those who are likely to churn," as she puts it-can be dealt with quickly, before the customer's resentment turns into action.

Taken as a whole, KM solutions for insurance are more than just enhancements to databases. Today's applications allow insurers to better manage their risks, resolve customer situations more quickly, track down cheats and reduce the loss of policyholders to competing companies.