Aviva has become the first UK insurer to launch an Alexa Skill on Amazon’s Echo. Specifically, the Aviva assistant gives users voice-controlled access to a glossary of over 300 insurance terms and their definitions. If you’re not sure what certain insurance terms in your policy mean, you can ask Alexa to explain it to you with following voice commands.
“Alexa, open Aviva, what is accidental damage cover”.
Aviva is testing an insurance jargon buster skill on Alexa which will act as as launchpad for more sophisticated offerings in the future
Although the current application looks simple and easily substituted by a google search, Aviva’s long term ambitions for Amazon Echo are clear “Our first foray into this world is pretty straightforward, but in future, you can expect this to be much more closely linked to your own policies. It is a new way for our customers to interact with us at Aviva.”
Alexa will likely take on more tasks that were traditionally completed by insurance agents such as policy inquiries, renewals and claims initiation.
Ultimately, as home assistants transition from their current ‘plug and play’ state into ‘integrated connectivity’, where smart home technology is standardised for new homes, insurers will need to consider the role that home assistants are already providing in terms of quote generation and policy management services, in addition to what role they can play in preventative and usage based coverage capacity going forward.
