Thought Leadership

Australian insurers have been under constant pressure to adapt to new customer expectations over recent years, with rising demand for digital and mobile services. In addition to this, global insurtech disruptors have been increasingly making omnichannel digital experiences the norm. COVID-19 has also intensified this pressure, with major organisational challenges around transitioning large workforces to remote working, as well as continuity plans, self-assessments of occupational risks and sick leave or leave for quarantine.

The past year has altered our lens on many aspects of work and life, including sustainability. For insurers, sustainability evolved beyond altruism into a new business imperative.

The biggest insurance companies around the world are increasingly prioritizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in their investment practices.

The pandemic has shown how crucial the chief information officer is; now it’s time to keep the momentum going through seamless customer journeys and delivering growth

Innovation in insurance is one way technology can help service companies with gig employees weather the growing storm of regulations and legislation.

Life insurance and retirement solution providers with an ear to the ground know their industry is in the midst of a sea change. The industry — which, until recently, comprised of traditional insurance carriers— has been shaken up by many new Insurtech entrants.

Insurers understand the need for digital innovation – many have had digital transformation strategies in place for several years. However, since the coronavirus pandemic, the race to digital has taken on more urgency.

While the pandemic has pushed many brokers to adopt technology quicker than they had planned, many would agree it was past due.

Innovation in insurance is a complex, yet invigorating challenge. Canadians living and working in the fast-paced digital economy are looking for products that reflect their way of life

A new report has been published by McKinsey, exactly one year after the start of the COVID19 crisis, examining current remote work in 9 countries, and what they expect to see in upcoming months and years.

Imagine you never had to think about buying insurance—that it was automatically attached to everything you own. Your apartment is broken into? Renters insurance came with your lease. Your dog breaks his leg? Your vet bills are covered. Your business gets hacked? You got cyber when you bought your domain name.

It took a global pandemic to accelerate digital transformation in the life and annuity industry. COVID-19 prompted major changes in the way we live and work, thrusting consumers of all ages and digital abilities online, like it or not.

Accenture’s analysis of North American insurance organizations’ public innovation announcements suggests that investments in customer experience and distribution innovations reap the biggest rewards. Agents, of course, play a key role in supporting the customer experience and extending distribution. That’s why Accenture suggests that insurers focus their innovation efforts on empowering agents across four dimensions—partner, growth seeker, collaborator and entrepreneur.

More than two-thirds of insurance customers are now digitally transmitting photos or videos when filing property claims, decreasing claim cycle times and helping drive the highest overall satisfaction scores ever measured, J.D. Power Associates said.

Americans have experienced an unprecedented leap in digital adoption over the past year and it is unlikely business will ever go back to “normal.” Insurance companies need to take notice and adopt new technologies as well or risk failure, explains Paul Ford, CEO of Traffk.

Consumer expectations and preferences are changing in distinctive ways, although this shift varies across different types of consumers. Age, gender, location, income level and occupation all influence insurance expectations. However, the most important determinant is personality.

While the pandemic has forced the industry to embrace agility amid resource constraints and pressure to maximize revenues, it must not distract from the customer-focused forces driving cloud adoption in the first place.

The InsurTech ecosystem in Asia is relatively smaller as compared to that in Europe and North America. However, the InsurTech industry in Asia has witnessed a significant boom in 2020. According to Venture Scanner, Asia’s largest InsurTech hub is Singapore, followed by Indian cities Mumbai and Gurgaon.

Given the infrequency of customer contact with insurance carriers ‘being there’ becomes more important when it matters, but it means different things to different customers.

Whether it’s AI-enabled bot or self-servicing insurance portal for customers, all-digital offerings have been designed to enhance customer experience and reduce time for servicing them and facilitating new business and renewal transactions

Underwriters of the future are going to look a lot more like technology trailblazers, data pioneers, dealmakers, portfolio optimizers, and risk detectives, according to a new report by Deloitte.

Ecosystems provide a win-win opportunity for incumbent insurance carriers, InsurTechs, and service providers by enabling them to operate in a coordinated fashion and devise competitive insurance offerings by opening new avenues.