Challenges are an inseparable part of life. While challenging situations can be tough to navigate, yet when dealt with strategically, they can transform into positive pivot points in life. Business woman extraordinaire, Nagina Nargis believes the same. The Director of Hyderabad based Insurance ERP solutions firm Acess Meditech, she believes that it’s inevitable to face challenges in various aspects of work on a daily basis. But Nargis sees them as opportunities to improve the processes, people and systems. She analyses the underlying cause of the challenge to build efficient process-centric systems within the organization.

Incidentally, Nargis was originally not from an Insurance industry background, yet she mastered all aspects of the business domain related to Insurance and has today risen to be the Director of the company.

She brings a similar approach to work and considers constant improvement in achieving daily targets as the most important factor for any department as it helps in achieving significant milestones. A strategic business leader, Nargis believes that efficiency in processes bring unimaginable results, thus focuses on optimizing the processes away from being people-centric. She also ensures that her team grows under her leadership to become the next generation of leaders.

The Women Entrepreneur Team caught up with Nagina for a candid conversation about her multi-tasking role as the Director at the firm. Here are a few snippets from the conversation.

What Motivated You To Co-Found Acess Meditech, A Firm That Provides An Advanced Integrated Health Insurance Management System?

I studied B. Pharmacy & M.S.C. Psychology from the University of Madras. I noticed that there was a dearth of software which provided best in class technology solutions for all lines of the Insurance business. The market needed solutions that were standardized, easy to use and fully automated with various insurance fiduciary channels data transactions along with regulatory compliance.

One of the primary issues were that the workflow processes, and other tools, were never properly set up, therefore not used as an asset to the company. There was no consistency in the way employees were using the system and as a result, on many occasions, errors would occur. Not only was the process repetitive and extremely time-consuming, but there was neither consistency nor a clearly defined workflow. This caused constant confusion and uncertainty as to what the status of a policy or endorsement was and which employee had what information. On occasions some of these steps would be completely left out, resulting in possible high liabilities for the client. The market had the challenge to pace up and implement the required technology to meet the dynamic business operational needs while in turn, technological innovations were changing the industry as well.

In Your Opinion How Has The Market For Health Insurance And Insurance In General Evolved Over The Past Few Years?

The insurance industry is improving its efficiency through the use of new-age technology. Insurers have launched mobile phone apps, making it easier for customers to transact with them. They are, slowly and surely, moving towards paperless claims as well.” Both bancassurance and direct sales are blossoming in this era of modern technology. The channels of Sales and Distribution have broadened to a vast extent, thus ensuring speedy lead nurturing and lead conversions. Claim Settlement is a much easier process than initial years; insurance companies are aiming towards positive customer feedback, for standing out in the competitive market landscape. The higher the Claim Settlement Ratio is, the more profitable and popular the insurance company is.

Digitization has become an integral part of modern life. Today policyholders invest only after ample research, unlike a decade ago when these avenues were not as accessible. Going paperless and cashless is the main mantra behind every transaction and the insurance sector is not an exception. Be it applying for a new plan, withdrawing the amount, or claiming settlement matters, everything can be done online. The social media intervention has brought the insurance sectors closer to the user base and vice versa. They can use the online platforms for clearing doubts, and even get reviews before any investment.

What Trends Do You Foresee Developing In The Said Field Going Forward?

Digitalisation - The use of the internet and mobile phones has witnessed remarkable growth across the world (especially across the insurance industry), which simplifies the entire procedure of buying & renewing the policies with reduced operating costs by offering convenience to customers thereby enriching the customer’s overall experience.

Applied AI- Predictions would help Insurance companies to develop competitively-priced Insurance policies during renewals or increase premiums during policy tenure or suspend the policy once the threshold limit is reached.

Distributed Infrastructure- Insurers around the world have significant technology debt, with many core processes weighed down by extensive on-premise legacy technologies. As the cloud matures, a rapid shift to the cloud for all core systems will help insurers to be more nimble in launching new products and creating better customer service. As ecosystems continue to develop globally, cloud-native insurers will be best positioned to act as ecosystem orchestrators—acting as a connecting hub among customers, distributors, insurtech, healthcare providers, carriers, and reinsurers, among others.

"I feel constant improvement in doing the daily targets is the most important factor in any department as it helps in achieving significant milestones"

Future Of Connectivity- In many markets, insurers have begun using Telematics to evolve the core auto product. The wider adoption of IoT could steer in a similar reshaping of products in life, health, property, and commercial lines. Increasing the frequency and specificity of data being shared through IoT devices helps customers provide a more accurate view of their needs and insurers better understand risk, both at the time of purchase and on an ongoing basis. The increased prevalence of 5G allows this data to be shared at lower latencies and helps insurers provide real-time services to clients

RPA - Robotic Process Automation is one of the emerging technologies that has come up with so many promises for different niches. This will help the insurers collect the information from numerous sources for assessing risks that are associated with the given policy, and reduces manual data entry to the system, also processing the claims or prior approval with an automated rule engine at a much faster pace.

Blockchain: Blockchain technology could trigger the transformation of business transactions and information exchange on one side and the removal of costly layers of overhead dedicated to verificationcon the other. It can impact the areas of Consumer trust, enhanced efficiencies, improved claims processing and fraud detection and prevention.

As A Successful Businesswoman, What Would Your Advice Be To Young Women And Girls Aspiring To Become Business Leaders And Entrepreneurs In The Future?

In today’s world, young people can have the biggest impact on changing the world. Entrepreneurs such as Larry Page, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates were all in their early 20s when they co-founded companies that went on to dominate the global corporate world. In my opinion, it is high time talented people in their 40s or even 30s be allowed onto corporate boards

Nagina Nargis, Director, Acess Meditech

Oversees all operational areas of Corporate development and help set strategic goals. Monitoring and analysing the organisation’s budget and financial reports and collaborating with department management to develop financial plans