With just a few more months of 2019 left, it’s a good time to take stock and see where your business stands in terms of the prevailing trends in the insurance industry.
The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) is the leading membership, education, training and professional development organisation for the insurance and finance industry in the Asia-Pacific region. The trends we will cover are as mentioned in an article on the ANZIIF website and are all underpinned by technological advances.
- Streamlining processes using AI
Developments in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to save insurers both time and money, reducing the resources required to do repetitive tasks that can be automated.
The areas of business impacted include risk profiling, product pricing, claims processing and client communication. In terms of the claims process, AI could help to reduce the paperwork a client has to complete and the amount of time they spend on the phone to their insurer. The easier it is for your client to submit a claim and the quicker a claim can be processed and paid out, the happier your client will be.
With streamlined processes, insurers will improve operational efficiencies and market competitiveness. More importantly, both staff and clients will benefit from a more favourable overall experience, boosting satisfaction and loyalty.
- Use of advanced data analytics
The world is becoming increasingly connected, with mobile phones and wearables tracking our every move, and our online activity anything but private.
With so much data from multiple sources potentially available for the taking, there is an opportunity to extract valuable insights about what clients really want and need. Armed with this knowledge, insurers can offer personalised covers, tailored to their clients’ specific requirements. Clients will have the assurance that they are only paying for what they need at that point in time and nothing more.
The information drawn from client data will allow for more personalised premiums and more accurate risk assessments, creating a better customer experience and reducing fraudulent claims.
Advanced data analytics can be used (amongst many other things) to segment clients based on their needs, model behaviours and identify exceptions, adjust policy prices, optimise business strategies and identify new growth opportunities.
- Growth in the InsurTech industry
InsurTech refers to insurance technology, an emerging industry largely focused on improving the customer experience. Products and services they offer typically target consumers and small businesses, helping them to improve their processes and better serve their customers.
With new technology and a better understanding of consumer expectations, InsurTechs are well-placed to help their clients deliver better end products or even give legacy players a run for their money by competing with them directly. PWC’s InsurTech report found that 56% of insurance companies surveyed felt that their revenues were at risk to InsurTechs.
Not all legacy players are taking this trend lying down, with some insurers and reinsurers investing in InsurTechs to stay ahead of the game. They are also improving their own direct-to-consumer digital interfaces to improve the overall experience.
InsurTechs are assisting to create new products or lines of business within the insurance industry, unlocking new markets and opportunities.
- Adoption of blockchain technology
According to Accenture, blockchain is a distributed database system in which transactions and records can be signed, exchanged and verified without the control of a central party. This secure, open means of conducting business transactions creates a level of transparency, security and trust not previously possible. This technology could revolutionise operations across a multitude of sectors, enabling additional stakeholders (such as brokers, vendors, reinsurers and ecosystem partners) to interact with each other. The result is a more connected ecosystem that ensures confidence in the security and accuracy of the data.
Using a blockchain platform allows for large volumes of client data to be processed in real time, with secure and easy transfer of data among relevant stakeholders. According to an article on the CB Insights website, blockchain technology has the potential to be a transformative force for industries like insurance, which require the coordination and cooperation of many different intermediaries with different incentives. Insurance companies working with blockchain technology will however have to overcome significant regulatory and legal hurdles before it can be more widely explored.
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P: 1300 850 890
E: hello@flexifundit.com.au
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