We are in the process of building a scalable digital foundation using three pillars – data, API & cloud: Kallol Basu, CTO, NICL
As the insurance landscape undergoes rapid digital transformation, National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation. At the helm of this shift is Kallol Basu, Chief Technology Officer, NICL, who is spearheading initiatives that blend emerging technologies with customer-centric strategies. In an exclusive interview, he highlights NICL’s strategic digital initiatives, key milestones, and the future of technology in the Indian insurance sector through the lens of its ongoing transformation journey.
How is your organisation integrating digital transformation into its long-term strategic roadmap, especially in the context of the evolving insurance landscape?
National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) is integrating digital transformation into the company’s long-term strategic roadmap by aligning digital initiatives with NICL’s business goals, customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and insurance market trends in India. NICL is approaching this by defining a clear vision for digital transformation aligned to the business objectives and customer-centricity. This vision is followed by conducting a digital maturity assessment, collaborating with insurtechs and leading consulting organisations, and benchmarking with peers and global insurers. Next, we are already in the process of building a scalable digital foundation using three pillars – data, API and cloud. Many NICL digital initiatives have already been implemented with this strategy.
What role do you see AI and data analytics playing in enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction over the next three to five years?
Over the next three to five years, AI and data analytics will play a transformative role in the Indian insurance sector, significantly driving higher total experience while continuously enhancing cost and operational efficiency. Key areas where AI and data analytics is already driving significant transformation include operational efficiency improvements through automated underwriting and risk assessment, ML-based faster and frictionless claims processing and fraud analytics, improving total experience through AI-chatbots/virtual assistants, and driving better dynamic pricing through AI-driven telematics. It will also significantly improve customer engagement through predictive analytics, which can anticipate customer needs and sentiment analysis to further improve customer service. Gen-AI and Agentic AI will help to drive further transformation to drive higher cost and operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
How are you addressing regulatory and cybersecurity challenges while adopting new technologies in insurance operations?
An aggressive digital transformation strategy is bound to increase the attack surface, so a solid cybersecurity strategy is the key to survival. For a larger part of our application and data, we are relying on setting up an on-premise private cloud and a robust layered security architecture to address the regulatory and security challenges. We are also working to implement stricter consent management and data handling processes to remain compliant with the DPDP, 2023 Act. We have already implemented Aadhaar-based eKYC while onboarding customers. To reduce our surface of attack from inside and outside threats, we have implemented a sophisticated cyber recovery solution and continuous cyber-threat monitoring practices.
Could you share key milestones from your ongoing or upcoming digital transformation initiatives within the organisation?
Digital transformation is a continuous process, and we are in the process of implementing digital while transforming our systems of engagement, system of record, and system of intelligence. Many of the projects (like AI-based claim processing for motor through digital service providers, WhatsApp chatbot-based insurance sales and services, mobile super-app for iOS and Android platforms) are already live, while others (like digital insurance middle-office implementation, advanced analytics, AI-chatbot, etc.) are in various stages of being implemented.
How is the company leveraging AI and machine learning in areas such as claims processing, fraud detection, or customer service?
We have already implemented mobile app-based AI-driven Motor OD Claims Processing for loss amounts up to INR 50K through many digital service providers. This includes techniques such as Computer Vision for Damage Assessment, in which our customers can upload accident photos via mobile apps, after which a machine-learning-based system analyses the extent of damage and estimates repair costs instantly. For improved customer service, we have already implemented our super mobile app and WhatsApp chatbot. For improved fraud detection and prevention, we have already implemented an in-house analytics solution named “Health Audit and Claim Tracker (HACT)”. Our advanced analytics project is ongoing, which will soon provide us with further fraud detection capability across lines of business.
What does the future technology roadmap look like in terms of cloud adoption, automation, and creating a more agile IT infrastructure?
The Indian insurance sector can expect to see significant improvement in areas like risk management, claim processing, and customer experience through technology transformation. The future technology roadmap in the Indian insurance sector will see a dominance of better use of data through IOT, AI, and analytics. Considering the vast set of data to be managed, the cloud is going to be a default choice, which is expected to host >50% of the total workload by the next three years’ time. All these technological capabilities will transform the Indian insurance ecosystem DNA from reactive to predictive. Agentic AI has the potential to drive significant changes in the sector through LLM-powered autonomous agents. These agents can process vast amounts of structured and unstructured data through NLP-based inputs, comprehend documents, and implement actionable insights. Integrating agentic-AI solutions with the insurance system of record can significantly improve cost and operational efficiencies. From improved underwriting, fraud detection, and fully automated claim processing to delivering a personalised total experience, Agentic AI offers Indian insurers an unprecedented opportunity to streamline operations, enhance customer engagement, and respond more effectively to evolving risks and regulatory demands. Further technological transformation can be seen through improved adoption of IOT devices to drive “Pay-as-you-drive” (through telematics and 5 G-connected vehicles), “Pay-as-you-live” (through wearables) and parametric insurance policies. Blockchain-based smart contracts can redefine the insurance and reinsurance payout experience and improve real-time fraud detection. In the next three to five years, Quantum computing could also transform the way insurers assess risk and could significantly transform the underwriting process. A quantum computer can revolutionise predictive analytics by predicting the probability of vehicle damage based on the usual route of the insured or the probability of hospitalisation based on the health data of an individual.
