USAA Accelerates Innovation and Use of Emerging Technologies Amid Pandemic
SAN ANTONIO – (June 17, 2021) COVID-19 impacted the lives and finances of many Americans as they searched for ways to survive and save money. As digital adoption soared during pandemic stay-at-home orders, many companies were forced to serve consumers differently.
During this time, USAA accelerated its digital roadmap as the pandemic served as an innovation incubator, finding new ways to serve its members in a rapidly evolving world. These new solutions will help keep USAA members safe and ultimately save them money and time through technology and automation.
Here are some of the new and innovative solutions USAA has worked on or launched amid the pandemic:
Safety and Savings in the Members’ Hands
Telematics
Following increased member demand for more personalized auto insurance, USAA recently announced it plans to acquire insurtech company Noblr, Inc. to offer usage-based insurance to its members.
Additionally, USAA’s behavior-based app SafePilot will launch in the majority of states in 2021, enabling more members to save up to 30% off their auto insurance policies through safe driving. SafePilot provides members more control over their cost of insurance by creating personalized pricing and more opportunity for savings. Enrollments grew over 200% in 2020 and in May 2021, for the third consecutive month, over half of new policyholders enrolled in SafePilot. Check SafePilot eligibility here.
HOVER
USAA recently began utilizing HOVER, an app that enables smartphones to capture exterior measurements and derive 3D models of a home from a series of images. The traditional inspection process can take hours for a trained adjuster but with HOVER technology can be completed in minutes. For example, aerial roof measurements can take up to four hours to receive; HOVER can deliver roof measurement reports within 30 minutes. Eventually, this technology will be placed directly in the hands of members for self-service if desired.
Connected Home: Water Loss Detection
Non-catastrophe water claims are the most filed property insurance claims. USAA is working with Resideo to offer member discounts to those who use the company's Wi-Fi Water Leak Detector in their home. These devices can be installed near appliances and if a leak is detected, the user is alerted.
New and Improved Services
Telematics Enabled Auto ClaimsTM: Crash Detection
In 2020, USAA announced the launch of telematics enabled auto claims (TEACTM). TEAC utilizes SafePilot telematics data to expedite the claims process, allowing for a more seamless member experience and faster resolution of claims. Auto claims levels are still currently below pre-pandemic levels, but it is anticipated this will change over the coming months and into the new school year. While fewer minor accidents are occurring than in the past, severity has also increased, accelerating the next phase of TEAC, proactive crash detection. USAA plans to launch the crash detection experience in app this year.
Augmented Reality Ride Along
In 2019, USAA completed a pilot where field adjusters were given augmented reality (AR)-enabled glasses that enabled their managers to see what the adjusters were seeing and give real-time feedback during physical inspections. The pilot eliminated 160 hours of travel time for four adjusters over the course of three months. USAA is now entering a production-level test period with 250 pairs of AR-enabled glasses distributed to adjusters.
Machine Learning-Enabled Life Insurance Underwriting
USAA is now utilizing machine learning to digitize paper medical records and build summaries for applicable life insurance underwriting. This results in a significant reduction in time; where manual summaries took up to five days, machine learning has reduced to one day with improved accuracy.
Additionally, USAA continues to move forward on its blockchain subrogation solution alongside State Farm and vehicle claims machine learning solution alongside Google Cloud to improve the claims experience.
To learn more about USAA, visit www.usaa.com.
USAA
Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking and investment and retirement solutions to more than 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has offices in seven U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs approximately 36,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.