Southern Cross Travel Insurance (Southern Cross or SCTI) has launched a conversational AI chatbot in preparation for a post-COVID-19 rebound in tourism and subsequent increase in travel bookings.
Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s new digital ‘employee’, a kea named Scout, will support the travel insurer’s Claims and Contact Centre teams by automating high volume, but straightforward, enquiries such as how to get a quote, find out the status of a claim, how to upload supporting documents, and where to access policy information.
Designed by Ambit, Scout will provide better functionality and customer experience for SCTI customers needing less assistance with those kinds of questions. Available 24/7, Scout also has an option for customers to chat live with the Claims and Contact Centre teams during business hours.
As the travel insurer operates in both New Zealand and Australia, Scout has been designed to have slightly different personality characteristics for each market to help optimise the user experience, based on the unique cultures of each country.
Wayne Carter-Stuart, Head of Operations for Southern Cross Travel Insurance, said, “Investing in conversational AI is another way that we’re digitising our business to offer more ways for customers to access timely information.”
Having the ability to provide 24/7 support via Scout is particularly important for customers travelling overseas, who are often in different time zones.
“In anticipation of the borders reopening and international travel resuming, we’re expecting an increase in customer enquiries, and Scout will support us in scaling back up our customer response,” added Carter-Stuart.