The focus over the last decade in insurance has been around streamlining business processes to reduce waste and increase efficiency. Robotic process automation (RPA) is a set of technologies to automate processes that currently require human involvement.

Changing customer expectations, digital transformation, growth needs in the face of resource scarcity, and environmental concerns are impacting every industry, including financial services. These changes accelerate the growth of the sharing economy and the demand for new customer value. For example, sensors and intelligent digital ecosystems blur the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds and generate massive new data sources. Next-generation analytics and artificial intelligence are coming on stream to harness that data and provide new services to prospects and clients.

This report principally discusses robotic process automation and references the organization of people doing the work, and the demonstrable and sustainable economic value derived from implementing technological and organizational change. It touches on AI and cognitive technologies as well as what some are calling Bionics — processes that blend human and robotic inputs.

In Celent’s view, RPA is a valuable technology that insurers should consider.

“RPA is not suitable in all situations,” says Craig Beattie, a senior analyst with Celent’s Insurance practice and author of the report, “But in cases where a quick, cheap automation solution is appropriate, RPA may be a pragmatic solution.”

Companies which have invested in innovation programs can use these results to benchmark their own expectations. Firms which are considering such initiatives will gain a valuable insight into the activities of their competitors.