RMI MBAs have had the opportunity this semester to work with Allstate Insurance Company on an initiative to offer insights and recommendations regarding digital claims efforts. A key element of our spring applied projects is the opportunity to invite undergraduates to join the team. After careful review, we selected a diverse, talented, intelligent group of seven undergraduates to work with us in analyst roles. Together, we split the project into two parts: operations internal to Allstate; and market research external to Allstate.
Allstate has offered valuable experiences to the internal team, giving them access to a wide variety of Allstate personnel. The result is rich insight into Allstate’s capabilities, processes, and overall goals regarding digital offerings intended to enhance the claims process, make it more efficient, and increase customer retention.
The external team took deep dives into the operations of both legacy insurers and insuretech startups, identifying where they seem to be headed in utilizing technology to improve customer experience. Those efforts focused on claims, although the insurer of the future is fluid, with each unit affecting and affected by all of the others. Hence, the research led us to other initiatives as well, including distribution, support services, and many other technological innovations.
In working on this project, we hope to create as close to a real-world working experience as possible. Even the recent world events have caused our team to complete the remainder of our project virtually, mimicking a true post-graduation work environment. These challenges are preparing us for the roles we will take on after leaving the UW, as remote work and video conferencing have become common even prior to the need for spatial distancing. By finishing the project and presenting our findings virtually, we are learning the importance of, and best practices for, clear communication, focused meeting agendas, and utilizing content-sharing platforms in a modern business environment.
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