By Legal Futures’ Associate Allianz Legal Protection [1]
As technology is continually advancing and becoming more integral with our lives, it’s likely that we’ll see a number of technological changes which will impact the Personal Injury (PI) market, from prevention to cure and several touchpoints along the way.
Man v machine
In the long term, it’s thought that autonomous vehicles will have one of the largest impacts to the PI market. Especially as we transition from hardly any autonomous vehicles being available, through to having man versus machine on our roads, to, at some point in the future, where all vehicles will be autonomous. It’s currently predicted that automated cars will become the standard in 2040 [2].
Tech: invisible amour?
From a prevention perspective, 79% of adults now have a smart phone [3] and it’s estimated that 225 million units of wearable devices (such as smart watches, head mounted displays, ear worn devices and smart clothes) were shipped in 2019 [4]. So with the amount of data available from our everyday movements and actions, linked to a better understanding amongst users in how to utilise these devices, it’s becoming far easier to predict what could happen next. Soon, this technology may be able to submit instant messages to smart devices to try to prevent injury.
During the claims process the use of voice recognition, software robots and machine learning can automate the entire customer journey, with greater accuracy, consistency and speed. This enables claims handlers to carry out more value add activities like fraud prevention, refining or enhancing the product and service offerings and adding a personal touch to each claim to improve overall customer satisfaction.
Tech in recovery
And finally, cure. With big data becoming more usable, all the data from our everyday movements can also help to support rehabilitation to recovery. In addition it can be used as evidence in supporting the strength of a PI claim. And it’s possible that at some point in the future, we’ll be able to use 5D printers at home to create our own dentures and prosthetics where required.