LAQO Insurance elevates support with Infobip’s gen-AI and Azure OpenAI partnership

From offering metaverse experiences to using telematics data to encourage better driving habits, LAQO is not your typical insurance company. As Croatia’s first fully digital insurance provider, LAQO by Croatian Insurance is making waves across Central East Europe with its unique blend of seamless digital processes and customer-centric innovation.

With a strong history of innovation, LAQO wanted to enhance its customer service and provide fast, accessible, and personalized support. Offering 24/7 customer support was the ideal solution that would tackle the challenge of optimizing the company’s customer service.

For LAQO it was important to choose a communication partner and a strategic partner with whom they could continue to explore new avenues for collaboration, identify synergies, and capitalize on opportunities. Along with having a shared goal to further expand and deepen the partnership, ultimately delivering exceptional value to clients and achieving mutual growth and success.

In partnership with Infobip and Microsoft, LAQO used Azure OpenAI Service through Infobip’s cloud communication platform to develop a digital assistant, Pavle, that can support customers 24/7 while improving customer experience and driving loyalty. The digital assistant is customizable to suit specific customer needs and can handle many customers simultaneously.

LAQO turned to its long-term partner, Infobip, who had previously equipped the insurance company with an omnichannel cloud contact center solution to connect customers over their preferred messaging channel. Infobip, known for its relentless innovation in generative artificial intelligence (AI) on top of their communication platform, collaborated with LAQO’s marketing agency, Bruketa&Zinic&Grey to initiate the project and define the brand’s character.

With its vision to shape the future of market communication, Bruketa&Zinic&Grey shaped Pavle’s character into a human-like bot with a great sense of humor in line with LAQO’s brand personality at every stage of the customer journey.

Later, we sat down with LAQO team to map the company’s customer support journey. LAQO saw that although all the information was covered on its website, clients didn’t have time to read it. They preferred to talk to an agent via a popular channel like WhatsApp Business Platform. So, LAQO looked for a sustainable solution, and Infobip provided it.

To tackle repetitive queries, LAQO and Infobip teams set out to design the AI Assistant’s decision-making structure using Azure OpenAI Service and Infobip’s chatbot building platform, Answers. Building the AI Assistant took two weeks, but the real challenge was language. The Croatian language is not as supported as English, so Infobip worked closely with LAQO to fine-tune wording to ensure accuracy. With the documentation ready, the team was ready to set up a new version of the AI Assistant in five minutes.

The next step was to test and refine the assistant continuously. The team made sure that the AI Assistant could only cover insurance claims and general information about LAQO to avoid giving misleading information. LAQO also took special care to minimize hallucinations or confident responses that aren’t justified by training data.

Infobip also worked closely with its partner Croatian Telekom, a member of the Deutsche Telekom Group, to implement the solution’s technical delivery.

Pavle is now available to assist and greet customers 24/7 over WhatsApp Business Platform and transfer them to a live agent for more complex queries. The digital assistant offers guided steps in swiftly processing accident claims. After confirming insurance coverage, the AI Assistant directs customers to the app where they can report the incident.

Today, LAQOs digital assistant is handling 30 percent of customer queries, freeing LAQO’s agents to focus on complex cases and customer acquisition. This also resulted in faster claim resolutions, allowing agents to resolve damage claims within 24 hours.

For third parties impacted by a LAQO-insured driver, AI Assistant provides a web link to a process that’s just as automated to facilitate claim processing.

The AI Assistant has completely redefined customer support for LAQO, gaining the immediacy that insurance customers require. In addition, 90% of queries are now resolved in an exchange of three to five messages. Pavle also provides consistent answers, unlike human agents who might vary in their responses. This consistency is essential for us to maintain customer trust.

The AI Assistant also brought about a more optimal allocation of human resources. Agents initially saw it as a burden due to the rigorous testing, but after a few days, they recognized the benefits.

LAQO is laying the groundwork for its next big move, which involves allowing Pavle to sell insurance policies and provide specific information to prospective customers. What’s more, LAQO is working on humanizing customer interactions further by adding new elements to the AI Assistant’s reply repertoire. Pavle will be able to share images and videos connected with the question itself, making the whole interaction more engaging.

Both LAQO and Infobip recognize that given the complex regulations in insurance, innovation must be both daring and diligent. As the technology partner, Microsoft provides the rigor in responsible generative AI, while Infobip offers technology and expertise in crafting user experiences that build lasting relationships.