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Meet Watson, the AI making your life easier

4 May 2018

The kids of today may not be able to comprehend this, but there was a time when people didn’t have smartphones, the internet couldn’t answer questions immediately and reading a paperback book was the best technology a busy person could ask for.

Nowadays, your mobile phone is always ringing and pinging, people are poking you on social media and you are contstantly being flooded with emails. It can feel like you don’t have a moment to yourself.

The world is changing and you need every minute of the day to get by. We know how busy life can get, that’s why we have just made your life a little bit easier when you need it most.

If you have been one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have unfortunately been involved in an automotive accident and needed to make a claim, it may have taken days to lodge your claim, have it processed, reviewed and approved. But for Suncorp Insurance customers, life just got a lot easier.

Suncorp Insurance receives more than 500,000 motor insurance claims every year, and in partnership with IBM, have introduced the next generation of artificial intelligence and customer service.

It is now possible to complete the claims process in just a few minutes. That’s right, minutes. But how, you ask?

Let us introduce Watson.

In 2017, Suncorp Insurance set out to revolutionise the claims process, where wait times were no longer an issue, and Suncorp Insurance’s Customer Service consultants could better use their time to help you with more complicated claims. That’s why Suncorp Insurance has introduced the ‘zero-touch’ process, where your claim could be done online in minutes.

“We wanted to create a process, which gave customers the ability to make their claim online, quickly and simply,” says Suncorp CEO of Insurance Gary Dransfield.

“Since we implemented the system in June, Watson has been doing an excellent job. Claims are being finalised in as little as five minutes.”

Watson is so smart, it is able to understand slang such as ‘bingle’, ‘crunched’ and ‘slammed’.

“Customers can now lodge their claim online, receive the outcome, pay any excess, and choose their repairer – all within five minutes.”

Like any new technology, Watson will become more intuitive over time, however, in the event the system cannot confidently process the claim, your case will automatically be sent to a consultant to pick up the conversation. Since launch, Watson has been able to complete 90% of claims.

“This is a unique application of artificial intelligence that directly impacts the lives of everyday Australians, while helping Suncorp Insurance’s team focus their time on the more challenging incidents” says Mark Allaby, Managing Partner at IBM.

“Suncorp Insurance is fast becoming one of the leading Australian organisations for digital innovation and technology.”

Check out the video below with Jason Leonard from IBM and Suncorp’s manager of Digital and Integration, Christine Tomikawa.


Insurance is issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as Suncorp Insurance. Please read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision regarding this product