UPFRONT
HEAD TO HEAD
Has insurance become too reliant on technology? The industry seems to have finally warmed to tech – but has it truly reached a tipping point yet?
Pascal Millaire
CEO CyberCube Analytics
SVP of national sales Sedgwick Canada
Gary Gardner
Armand Ferranti
“Not only are insurers not too reliant on technology, they are insufficiently reliant on technology. According to Deloitte, insurers spend 3.6% of revenues on technology versus 7.2% for other financial services segments. This manifest itself in cumbersome human interactions for customers, highly manual processes for insurance staff and inflated expense ratios. But the future looks bright. Not only will new technology tools enable insurance professionals to focus on higher-value and more interesting work, but over time, internet-connected technologies are creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for carriers to insure against new technology risk pools.”
“Changes in technology are reshaping the insurance industry, and these advances are making processes more accessible, improving the way in which companies perform their functions and enhancing the experience of policyholders. Technology is making processing of claims more efficient, yet the industry remains rooted in human trust and relationships. While claims with greater severity, such as CAT losses, fire or a terrorist attack, require an increased level of expertise to deal with complex problems and perform adjudication, these are skills that our specialist adjusters have, and they remain just as critical today as they will be tomorrow.”
“Not at all. Contrary to all the innovation and insurtech news we read today, many insurers continue to operate in the traditional environment. But we’re certainly in a transitional period. Technology is starting to heavily assist insurance businesses, empowering underwriters to make wiser, data-driven decisions; enabling a closer interaction with clients; providing ways to understand risks better; and more. Legacy systems and manual processes are still very much at the core of operations. The trend certainly indicates that tech can improve expense ratios and efficiency. It’s only a matter of time before more companies adopt these solutions.”
Accelerate partner AXA XL
AN UNEVEN APPROACH A survey of insurance CEOs conducted by KPMG in 2017 revealed that 69% plan to invest in digital infrastructure by 2020; of those, 59% said the primary objective of their investment is to transform their business and operating models. High-profile disruptor Lemonade is leading the curve with its claims bot, AI Jim, which can decide on and pay out a claim in less than three seconds, cutting out the traditional paperwork. But other insurers’ back-office processes remain enmeshed in legacy systems, which “have not kept pace with innovation,” according to Anders la Cour, co-founder and CEO of Banking Circle. “Today, outdated payment architecture has a stranglehold on the insurance industry, holding it back from providing policyholders with the most efficient service.”
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3/04/2019 2:46:26 AM