Picture this scenario: you’re on hold, hoping to speak with an insurance agent about a policy. It’s been thirty minutes, and it seems like everyone in Australia has chosen this exact moment to make the same call.

After finally connecting with someone, they can’t resolve the matter but if you wait another 30 minutes, someone else might be able to help.

According to Bloomberg, customer service wait times have tripled due to a shortage of staff in call centres. While the call centre agents themselves are not all to blame, service call demands are just so high yet many businesses responded with cost-cutting initiatives especially during the pandemic. 

Some businesses opt to outsource their customer service to reduce costs, which can lead to agents being less familiar with the service than in-house staff. They only have limited access to crucial high-level or account-specific details, thus creating discrepancy between what customers expect and what agents can provide and resulting in customer frustration.

Addressing the agent shortage challenge, startup insurance company Ensureing is exploring the use of digital agents with AI company UNITH (ASX: UNT) selected to supply the digital agents for customer support on Ensureing’s website and various platforms. Ensureing is the third new client that UNITH has acquired in the first two months of FY24, in addition to contracts for Spanish-speaking digital customer service agents and digital human social workers.

The partnership marks UNITH’s debut in the insurance sector, which has seen a surge in tech integration and digitalisation. In particular, in light of the growing trend of purchasing various insurance covers online such as travel, home, medical, and vehicle insurance. The initial contract is valid for one month, and is valued at approximately $10,000.

Commenting on the partnership, UNITH CEO Idan Schmorak said, “We are delighted to be working with Ensureing to utilise AI to solve core business problems of customer support, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This application of digital humans showcases to prospective investors how innovation within the insurance sector could produce more engaging insurance products while cost efficiencies could also be passed on to customers. 

“We look forward to demonstrating the disruptive potential of this application with Ensureing and the possible upgrade to a full commercial software licence in the future.”

The digital human agents are set to improve operational efficiency and reduce staffing costs. These virtual agents will engage in guided conversations using Ensureing’s knowledge base to minimise information error or misleading response, simultaneously showcasing the Ensureing platform to prospective clients and investors.

Digital agents solve a persistent issue among insurance providers: not enough agents handle a high volume of customer calls, which worsened during lockdowns when in-person visits were restricted. This problem persists in non-pandemic settings as busy individuals tend to opt for phone inquiries rather than in-person visits, and some things like handling sensitive information demand agent assistance rather than relying on online self-service.

Human agents can focus on higher level tasks like generating complex insurance quotes and handling sensitive data entry, while digital agents can handle general enquiries promptly without causing long holds, delays or compromising service quality. This benefits Ensureing as a startup in keeping staffing costs low, while attracting investors by demonstrating efficient operations with minimal operating expenses. Plus, it might lead to lower prices for customers, further enhancing its market appeal.

UNITH’s Digital Human platform is already equipped to generate conversational AI in more than 60 languages, thus being able to serve a broader customer base. These digital agents can assist human agents when customers require service in a language that may not be spoken by the human team. 

There’s significant potential for expanding into countries beyond the current contract scope. UNITH can explore the opportunity to offer additional healthcare services in new regions by establishing integrations with each country’s public health system, encompassing medical clinics, doctors, and emergency services.

For the full year ending in 30 June 2023, UNITH recorded a $4 million revenue, $0.2 million EBITDA, and $1.2 million cash outflow. The company remains in a strong financial position with $4.2m in cash reserves and no debt. This cash reserve will support UNITH in growing its commercial footprint and future objectives, which include ongoing negotiations with potential clients across both public and private sectors.