NelsonHall recently caught up with Genpact to discuss their recent acquisition of OnSource and their plans to integrate it with BrightClaim – we were not surprised to hear that the two acquisitions are indeed connected, and part of Genpact’s strategy to introduce new digital process models in P&C insurance.

To set the scene:

• Earlier this month, on the day of its Q2 earnings results, Genpact announced it had acquired OnSource, a small software house based in Boston, MA. On its own, OnSource will not make a meaningful contribution to revenues
• In May, Genpact announced it had acquired BrightClaim, a U.S. domestic P&C insurance BPS provider with centers in Atlanta, GA and Austin, TX and its associated company National Vendor that provides content evaluations, through its large field force, and content fulfilment services.

Genpact has an active M&A strategy currently; the priorities include adding

• Digital and analytics capabilities to help accelerate the build out and deployment of digital assets, as OnSource does
• Domain capabilities in targeted verticals and services, as BrightClaim does.

BrightClaim brings in a new client base of Tier 2 carriers for Genpact to cross-sell its services - and indeed the short-term opportunities include adding global delivery options for some of its services offerings. But the strategic opportunities are in applying disruptive technologies to some of the touchpoints and currently manual interventions within the claims process. And OnSource provides an opportunity to do this in certain areas.

Applying digital solutions from auto FNOL to improve the inspection and appraisal processes in property claims

Now BrightClaim’s client base is around 85% property/15% auto insurance, whereas OnSource has essentially the reverse ratio with its client base - so what are Genpact’s plans in integrating these two companies, based in different regions, and serving different segments?

Quite simply, they center on applying Onsource’s ‘Inspection-as-a-Service’ solution, developed initially for the auto insurance market, to the loss estimating process in property claims. The solution uses either mobile devices or drones to obtain photos and videos (also written evidence) that are used to assess damage and generate loss estimates for claims payouts. Carriers can use the solution to offer customers, when making a claim, a choice of:

• A self-service approach to the FNOL process, using the OnSource ‘Instant Inspection’ mobile app to connect to a Virtual Appraiser’s desktop for a claim submission. The photographic evidence provided can be downloaded directly to the insurer’s appraisal software. The app can also be used by motor repair shops for any supplement approvals
• An assisted solution using a network of 17k ‘Uber-like’ field photo inspectors who can walk the customer through the claim submission process using an iPad.

The benefits of Onsource’s ‘Inspection-as-a-Service’ solution for carriers and also their customers are obvious:

• In terms of the customer experience, either method (self-service or assisted) offers ease of use and a significant reduction on the traditional cycle time – Genpact claims by around 30%
• And for the carrier, there are major cost reductions in loss adjustment expenses (LAE) from eliminating the traditional field inspection process and from more efficient workflows - Genpact claims by 50% plus – and the visual MOI can also mean more accurate indemnity.

In short, digitizaling this process can help in improving three priorities which carriers have to balance: customer satisfaction, expense control and loss control.

The use of mobiles in submitting photographic and video evidence of damage in auto claims is now very well established, and the use of drones as a Method of Inspection (MOI) for high value/ hard to access property claims assessments has also been gaining traction in many Tier 1 carriers over the past few years – but both methods remain fairly new for Tier 2 carriers in their personal property lines. Video technology will become increasingly important across the P&C insurance sector over the next few years. The FAA has taken some time in sorting out regulations for the commercial use of drones which slowed things down slightly: OnSource brings with it a nationwide network of certified drone operators; this capability has the potential to transform the independent property appraisal services offered by BrightClaim. The ‘Instant Inspection’ app could also be applied to some of the contents evaluation services provided by National Vendor, enabling some activities to be done remotely.

Genpact’s integration streams for OnSource and BrightClaim are moving at pace.

With its P&C BPS services, Genpact has positioned on its domain knowledge combined with expertise in lean process mapping, intelligent automation, and workflows for straight-through processing, analytics, as well as offshore delivery. With OnSource, Genpact has another digital solution it can offer to BrightClaim’s carrier client base.

Further Acquisition Activity in Support of New Digital Process Models by Genpact Highly Likely

Genpact is one of a number of BPS specialists that have in the last few years been energetically reinventing their portfolios to embrace the sometimes dramatic shifts afforded by Digital in enterprise operations and develop new digital business process models (NDPMs).

Genpact’s other acquisition this year was that of Rage Frameworks, whose NLG software has enhanced its AI capabilities. We expect to see more investments by Genpact soon, including possibly acquisitions that bring more cognitive tools into the Cora platform, and/or more consulting-rich domain expertise to help clients in the digital transformation of their middle and back offices.