USGIC Launches India’s 1st AI-powered Conversational Agent for

USGIC Launches India’s 1^st AI-powered Conversational Agent for Motor Insurance

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused ambiguity and disruption in customer services across the world and has changed the life of people in unthinkable ways. In these unforeseen circumstances, Universal Sompo General Insurance, as a customer-first organisation has launched Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered virtual agents for its motor claims services.

Universal Sompo's AI-powered virtual agents will use conversational AI to automate the routine conversations traditionally handled by live agents. The First Notice of Loss (FNOL), which is the first step in claims processing, is usually a call center-based service which requires extensive questions and data gathering. Customers who have had a motor accident and are wanting to register a quick claim are usually under stress and look for convenient ways to report the claim without having to wait in call queues. 

Offloading routine calls from customer service representatives to AI-powered virtual agents will create a far superior customer experience. The entire turnaround time (TAT) in the claim registration process is impacted significantly thereby reducing the wait time for filing a claim, checks on claims status, review of policy information, and much more - all the things live agents would typically manage. With this first-of-its-kind solution in the insurance sector in India, this entire process at Universal Sompo will shrink to a few minutes.

"Claims notification is a critical customer touchpoint in insurance. In Post-Covid era our biggest challenge is how we should Never Miss a Customer Call. AI automation will help streamline experience for both our customers and backend operations and we are placing big bets on it,” said Sharad Mathur, Managing Director & CEO, Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd.

As a customer-first and responsible organization, Universal Sompo has been consistently scaling up its technology and infrastructure to align itself not only with regulatory changes but also to provide best services to its customers. Hence, to remain future ready and always ahead of the curve, it has recently deployed various initiatives like Mobile Application (M-POS) for POS channel, Payment Integration with digital wallets, System for Crop Insurance and Customer self-service portal etc.

Soon, Universal Sompo will be co-creating many AI and digital solutions which will help offset productivity losses and successfully face challenges of new operating environments. It is keen on recognizing tech trends, evaluate business opportunities, and actively incorporate relevant processes and programs into the business model, for outpacing and outperforming market competition. At the same time, the company will try to deliver simpler, innovative and customer need-based products.

Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Limited has

Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Limited has announced the appointment of Sharad Mathur as its Managing Director & CEO

Sharad Mathur has been appointed as Managing Director & CEO of Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Limited w.e.f. 2^nd June 2020. He will lead the company's overall operations and report to the Board of Directors. Sharad is a seasoned business leader and brings over 23 years of extensive experience and a strong track record of building scale and profitable general insurance businesses. 

Universal Sompo is a joint venture between Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Karnataka Bank, Dabur Investments Corporation and Sompo Japan Insurance. Universal Sompo employs over 1,000 employees and has 86 offices across India.

"We are glad to have Sharad on board as we plan to drive the next phase of development of Universal Sompo. 

Under Sharad's leadership, company aims to develop a capability to deliver more innovative products, re-engineered distribution architecture and significant improvements in productivity,” said Padmaja Chunduru, Managing Director & CEO, Indian Bank.

On his appointment, Sharad said, "It has been a fulfilling journey in the general insurance sector wherein we have achieved many milestones together and will definitely achieve many more. I am thankful to the board of Universal Sompo for having faith in me and I am looking forward to working with all stakeholders to accelerate the company's expansion. Together, we will leverage our ability to innovate, with sharp customer focus which will remain at the heart of our DNA as we continue to build a great service platform for our customers and channel partners.”

"India is a rapidly-growing market for our business in Asia. Sharad's understanding of Indian market and general insurance business, combined with his expertise in sustainable business expansion and digital technologies, will be a huge asset for Universal Sompo." said Daniel Neo, Regional Chief Executive Officer of Sompo Holdings (Asia) Pte. Ltd. 

Sharad has been employed with SBI General Insurance Company Limited in different roles since its inception in the year 2009, and finally as Head - Distribution till July 2019, appointed as a KMP by the Board of Directors of the Company.

Prior to joining Universal Sompo, Sharad had a specific stint in a new General Insurance project, developing business structure and long-term strategy for a proposed venture. Earlier, he has been employed with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, since its inception, in the year 2001, in various regional and national leadership roles. In the past, he has worked with large diversified manufacturing organizations, including, MRF, Bharat Shell and Reliance Retail.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi; Completed Post-Graduation Program in Management with a specialization in Marketing; 'Certification Programs in Leadership and Management from Indian School of Business and Harvard.

Sharad has been a key-note speaker and panelist in international insurance summits, being held in parts of Asia, South Africa and Europe.

He has been conferred with awards such as '50 Most Talented Retail Professionals of India' by CMO Asia and '50 Most Influential Digital Media Professionals' by World Marketing Congress.

Sharad added, "The current environment has made the safety of our customers, partners, vendors and colleagues, our top most priority. We are making our best efforts and certain that together, all of us will get through these challenging times!"