Our key takeaways and observations from Insurtech Insights Europe.
As we entered day two of Insurtech Insights Europe, there were new faces and there were increasingly familiar faces, but the discussion had changed somewhat. People were reflecting on how the big topics of transforming insurers from day one had left us all a little bereft. So what? How do we move forward then? Why is it that we remain so risk averse, so fearful of change? And how do you change all of this in tandem? These are of course all good questions, and the right questions to ask.
The answers increasingly seemed to elude our prospects, but as they circled around the array of technology driven potential on display here at Insurtech Insights Europe, the questions about having the right foundation arose once more. And of course, inevitably that word “ecosystem” made its appearance – only this time with some condemnation.
Here on day 2, we all marveled at the people (in person and for real), engaging, debating and speaking on the various stages. And that’s all for the good, but the feeling of “I’ve seen and heard this before” is also followed by “everyone seems far more coherent.” Insurers want to, and in a lot of cases have to, change. And this time it can’t be about a slightly improved FNOL experience here, and a slight tweak to claims analytics there. They want to be able to do all of it, and at considerable pace. It feels like they are all entering the same race, the gun has gone off, but at this stage they are all still on the start line, conscious that whoever sets off first will have a considerable advantage.
The debates over today covered algorithms, and the rise of machine-driven everything and how this is driving efficiency and outcomes never seen before, providing massive processing power, generating claims decisions or accelerating assessment, and in turn driving out huge business value. What was interesting to us was that a lot of this is still in the “garage” or “pilot” phase, and when asked what was stopping it from scaling, the inevitable barriers were disclosed. The frustration of innovators in insurance is visceral, but the passion to drive out the new technology ecosystem was equal to this.
Here’s a few of the technologies on display:
- AI-powered claims and heavy process automation
- Visual recognition powered by AI providing immediate risk profiles, from 360-degree deep lens scanning properties, to biometrics and visual assessments
- Hyper-personalized CX using more predictive methods to drive immediacy and relevance
- Everything in the cloud
- SDKs for integration and app-based solutions
- New payment methods to buy and to settle and in-behavior or on-demand insurance
- Co-existing with legacy and the march towards API-driven architecture
- Data, data, data: cleaning it, making it useful and driving insight from it
So much to integrate with and draw value from, and so many new “digital insurance” businesses entering the market, which is increasing the need for incumbents to operate like insurtechs. And the parallels to the journey banks have been on continued today as well. Insurance has the chance to take the learnings from these transformations and do it far better!
For us at EIS, the truth in all of this is that insurers aren’t asking for anything other industries haven’t been demanding and transforming towards for some time. They want adaptability, they want to move at pace and they need to be able to make use of all of this new technology, potentially a tangible differentiating factor in their customers’ lives. The barriers to this have been made clear. As Roy Jubraj of eSure said on stage with us yesterday, “This is a business transformation, and it’s hard, but ultimately rewarding.” We’re ready to work hard with our clients and partners to make this next transformation happen, we have the foundation technology needed to unlock the future. It’s a journey we’re proud to go on, every time. The destination of these journeys is set within their purpose, and possibilities to meet your business goals are infinite.
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