Crawl, walk, run
That’s the way to reach AI ‘nirvana’, according to insurtech Javln
By Miranda Maxwell
Javln chief executive David Leach has a passion for liberating professionals from outdated manual processes and decades-old technology – and demystifying use of artificial intelligence in insurance.
The insurtech leader has devised a “crawl, walk, run” approach to AI use, and wants to spread the word – to share his pathway to “this future nirvana where AI is deeply embedded in insurance business”.
It begins with getting data in the correct order for digital use, then enabling teams to be “AI natives”, using the technology day to day.
“Make a big effort to start to use these tools right now and think about how you can start crawling as a business and getting ready for full adoption of AI,” Mr Leach tells Insurance News.
“Don’t have your head in the sand – try it. You’ve got to have a mindset of moving forward and trying new tools, because the world keeps changing. They don’t run business on paper any more.”
Governance must be introduced from the start, he says. Javln staff are trained to use generative AI products, but with strict use guidelines – for example, not entering customer data.
“There’s a safe playground for trying these tools in the crawl phase. We want our employees to have those superpowers, which gives us a productivity boost, speed, quality and a competitive advantage. We’re passionately wanting this for our customers as well.”
Mr Leach urges insurance staff to “master the trade tools”, which for a broker are chiefly a mobile phone and laptop.
“Builders are really good with a hammer but for a certain type of job will use a jackhammer.
“AI is bigger and better than a jackhammer – you don’t need to use it all the time, but for certain use cases it’s amazing. It’s not just hype, it’s very real.”
Since it was founded in 2011, Auckland-based software group Javln has expanded rapidly into Australia.
Mr Leach took the helm in October after specialising in health technology and supply chains.
“I’m newer to insurance and maybe bring a fresh pair of eyes. I’ve noticed everyone knows everyone, but the problem is weak system-to-system connectivity – the humans are talking to each other but the systems are not.
“Many are a little bit stuck with old, legacy desktop technology that’s not in the cloud. It becomes an anchor on the boat instead of a jet at the back.”
Step one in modernising is to ensure managers are “up for the change as change agents”.
“Most companies don’t approach it properly,” Mr Leach says. “The culture of innovation means experimentation, trying things … where you learn from failures and you pick everyone back up and try again.”
Second, choose a technology partner to move core software to the cloud, making sure data is captured in a useful, structured way – “starting with the end in mind”.
“Think about that future date where you’ve actually got software that … gives your staff this big boost – almost a superpower your competitors don’t yet use.”
Third, different systems must integrate and be connected into one “ecosystem”.
Insurance policies and claims are often not in the cloud and not stored in a standardised way, which Mr Leach says becomes a “drag on the boat”.
“It’s holding the whole industry back and we’re not benefiting from AI as much as we could be compared to other industries until we modernise the approach to connectivity.
“It’s not you having to look after integration – the folks that should be are your technology partners, organisations like Javln. This is the crawl, walk, run approach to get to the end game.
“You can’t skip these steps I’m describing because it sets you up for the next layer on top – artificial intelligence, which fundamentally changes how the user can interact with technology.
“That’s nirvana – smart software that gives the ultimate boost of speed and quality. If you follow those basic steps you can benefit, stepping towards artificial intelligence at a faster pace.”
