Etiqa Philippines, an insurtech company, recently introduced its virtual assistant called Eriqa, in the hopes of assisting customers more efficiently than before.

Eriqa is a chatbot that acts as a virtual assistant to help respond to questions and a multitude of requests including processing a Letter of Guarantee (LOG) for outpatient availments.    

“The presence of responsive and consistent customer service enabled by technology is crucial in the omnichannel approach we started adopting last year,” said Gladys Pascual, head of Strategy and Transformation. “We will continue to enhance the efficiency and quality of responses of our new virtual assistant, Eriqa, to complement our frontliners and our other interactive touchpoints for our customers.”  

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Available 24/7 through Etiqa’s website, the virtual assistant is easy to use and accessible from any device with internet access.

Turnaround time

Through the digitalization of the process of Etiqa, including the involvement of a virtual assistant, the turnaround time to secure approval of the Letter of Guarantee (LOG) for outpatient availments, Annual Physical Exams (APE), and Executive Check-Ups (ECU) can now be done in roughly four hours.

Throughout the process, Eriqa is capable of guiding the customers until the request is completely actioned on, enhancing the virtual experience while at the same time saving time and effort. 

Investing in this technology helps minimize and avoid scenarios where customers in need are put on hold and made to wait in line. This newly introduced automation also frees up time for frontliners and allows them to concentrate on more complex queries and concerns from customers.    

Equipped with advanced natural language processing technology, Eriqa responds in a conversational manner.  Beyond LOG requests, the virtual assistant can also assist with questions and concerns about the Smile PH App, as well as group health and travel insurance.  It can also receive customer feedback more efficiently as it could filter them to help determine the nature of responses needed.   

“While our virtual assistant is currently in its early stage, we intend to expand its function by enabling customers to file claims through it to achieve a more seamless, frictionless customer experience,” said Ariel Meneses, head of Operations and Service Excellence, Etiqa. “For innovation to thrive, we should treat technology solutions as being always in beta and in continuous evolution.”