Digital transaction management 101: what you need to know

Sam is buying a new car. She opens her insurance carrier’s app on her phone, and logs on to the company’s secure portal. She reviews 2 to 3 auto insurance options that the provider recommends for her  and selects the one that best meets her needs. Since she has worked with this carrier in the past, the portal immediately generates an online application with her personal information automatically filled in. She quickly adds the info about her new car and clicks submit. 

Sam then goes about her business, and as she does, the carrier’s underwriters review her application digitally, evaluating risks and determining her policy terms. It doesn’t matter where those underwriters are—they could be in another state, or working from home in her city. Wherever they are, they can see any info Sam has submitted to the company in the past, and data points about her previous interactions that they can use to make their determinations. 

When her application is approved, Sam gets a notification on her phone and e-signs the policy documents in the app while she’s on the go—no need for physical paperwork. It’s a seamless, frictionless, and efficient insurance experience both for Sam and her insurance provider. 

Welcome to the world of digital transaction management. 

What is digital transaction management?

Digital Transaction Management (DTM) refers to automated systems for managing, tracking, and optimizing digital transactions and documents, such as contracts and agreements. DTM includes features like document creation, workflow automation, electronic signatures, secure document storage, and security and compliance measures. It integrates with various enterprise software systems and offers insurance providers advanced analytics for improved efficiency.

DTM is critical to providing mobile accessibility and a streamlined customer journey, like the fictional one described above. That’s important because modern consumers expect frictionless interaction in everything they do, including insurance transactions. In addition, this type of seamless digital transaction management is a must for the many insurance companies with a remote or hybrid workforce, allowing employees to access customer data easily and securely, no matter where they are. Due to its many benefits, DTM has been widely adopted across industries to enhance productivity, reduce paper usage, and ensure secure and efficient digital transactions.

Key trends in DTM

The importance of DTM in insurance is indisputable. It’s also a dynamic field that is changing rapidly, making it hard for many insurance providers to stay on top of all the latest developments. To make it easier, we’ve broken down some of the key trends in DTM today.  

Low-code platforms

There is a major digital skills gap in the insurance industry and fierce market competition for experienced coders and programmers.  Therefore, insurance providers don’t always have the in-house human resources they need to build, implement, and support various digital transformation projects, and DTM is no exception. 

No-code platforms can help insurers overcome this challenge by simplifying the development process and empowering non-technical staff to create and support digital solutions like DTM. For example, EasySend allows users to build and customize applications using visual interfaces, drag-and-drop elements, and pre-built templates—no coding is needed. It lowers the barrier of entry, allowing non-technical staff to become “citizen developers”, and facilitating the development and implementation of DTM.

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) also play a pivotal role in DTM since they can be used to connect DTM platforms with other critical tools and services, such as CRM systems, document repositories, e-signature solutions, and identity verification services. API-based integration helps to create a comprehensive digital transaction ecosystem and prevent organizational siloing. Furthermore, APIs give organizations the flexibility to adapt to changing needs and market demands quickly and remain competitive.  

Integration with app stores

Many DTM providers are now offering their tools in app stores like Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. This not only simplifies the procurement process for insurance providers but also ensures compatibility and deep integration with the productivity and business software and enterprise applications that they’re already using in the company. 

Moreover, acquiring DTM solutions through app stores supports seamless integration, allowing insurance providers to incorporate DTM capabilities into their existing workflows and enhancing the overall effectiveness of digital transaction management.

Generative AI and content AI in DTM

Large language models (LLMs) and GenAI platforms like the now ubiquitous ChatGPT excel at understanding and generating human-like text. Among other things, that means they can play a pivotal role in enhancing the efficiency, accuracy, and user experience in DTM processes. For example, GenAI can simplify interactions for consumers, summarizing lengthy documents or contracts, making it easier for users to grasp important details quickly. In fact, a recent Gartner survey shows that 38% of companies’ GenAI investment focuses on customer experience and retention. 

For insurance providers, they also enable a major productivity boost, because GenAI can be used to create documents, contracts, and communications more efficiently than any human employee. It can also be used to analyze documents for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of inevitable human error or oversight.

Image and video analytics in DTM

It’s no secret that fraud is a major problem in the insurance industry—the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) estimates that insurance fraud costs the U.S. a staggering $308.6B annually. The trend towards digitalization in the insurance industry, including DTM, compounds that challenge, posing new challenges for fraud prevention. That’s because, in remote and contactless transactions, it can be difficult for insurers to verify the identity of their customers and/or confirm that they have in fact signed the documents being submitted. 

Facial recognition and video technology hold the key to overcoming that challenge. For example, facial recognition technology can use an image taken by the camera in any handheld device and can compare it to that of a government-issued ID to confirm a customer’s identity. 

Videoconferencing technology can also be used to support remote notarization. Using video, “eNotaries” can now verify the customer’s identity, witness the signing process, and confirm the authenticity of documents, all while maintaining a clear audit trail. This technology reduces the hassle of having to meet a notary in person, a requirement that often leads to churn in the customer journey.  It allows customers to notarize documents from anywhere, at any time, making notarization more convenient, efficient, and accessible to a broader audience.

The rise of DTM Copilots

Traditional data capture methods, from old-school paper forms to the latest user-friendly app, have always been composed primarily of forms or questionnaires. That’s now changing as conversational interfaces are replacing forms and offering a more user-friendly and efficient way to gather information. 

Virtual assistants and other types of conversational interfaces can now engage users in natural conversations and give them the option to provide data through interactive chats, voice commands, or messaging platforms. This approach not only enhances the user experience but also yields higher-quality data as it encourages more genuine and detailed responses and can verify data in real time. 

Insurance providers have been utilizing virtual assistants as “copilots” in DTM processes for some time, but the introduction of GenAI tools like ChatGPT has opened previously unimaginable new opportunities. Instead of having to write every virtual assistant script from scratch, insurance providers can now leverage GenAI to write infinite, personalized interactions for their customers. 

Users aren’t the only ones to benefit. We predict that insurance providers will increasingly utilize advanced AI capabilities to copilot employees in the document creation process. They can offer insurance employees suggestions for content, grammar, and formatting and also be used in research, data integration, and even legal or technical expertise. This comprehensive support will enable insurance employees to produce higher-quality documents with greater efficiency and accuracy, making document preparation more cost-effective than ever before.

Customer-centric approach in DTM

No one likes to feel like they’re the target of a sales pitch. That’s why sales processes are usually more successful if the customer feels like the provider is trying to solve a problem for them, rather than sell them something they don’t really need. 

DTM can be used to digitize sales processes and create a more holistic customer-centric approach to sales. For example, DTM co-pilots can recommend the specific products and services most relevant to a customer’s needs at a specific point in time, based on information about the customer from previous interactions. Using helpful, conversational language, these sales prompts can be crafted to feel like customer support rather than sales pitches. 

DTM can also be used to create an employee-centric approach in internal processes like employee onboarding and internal documentation, leading the employee through a process just as it would a customer. Doing so can improve employee engagement and satisfaction, as well as prevent errors and missteps. 

Summing it up

DTM is a must for insurance providers, creating a seamless customer experience and optimizing operations for customers and employees alike. It’s also a field that is developing and changing rapidly due to the introduction of technologies like GenAI and digital identity verification. 

No-code platforms like EasySend make it easier for insurance providers to access the developing capabilities of DTM and leverage its full business potential. With EasySend, insurance employees of all types can utilize DTM tools to provide better service to customers and optimize their own work processes.