Insurtech funding hit a record high of $7.4 billion in the first half of 2021—already surpassing funding in 2020. With more and more emerging players entering the field, consumer demands for a more digital, connected insurance experience have grown to new heights. For many insurance customers, the claims process is a critical moment of truth, making it essential that insurers deliver a hassle-free, seamless experience.
As insurtechs and tech giants continue to disrupt the market, traditional insurers are under increasing pressure to modernize and keep pace with customers’ digital expectations. This trend shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, global insurtech investment reached a record $7.1 billion in 2020, with overall funding up 12% from 2019, according to Willis Towers Watson. It seems like everywhere you look there’s new technology promising to solve business challenges or inefficiencies.
Consumer demand for a digital, connected insurance experience is on the rise. But with disparate legacy systems in place that make it difficult to share data and make informed, real-time decisions, insurance companies are finding themselves in need of new technology to streamline their customer journey.
Climate change is a challenge for insurers in some obvious ways, such as stronger and more frequent natural disasters. Yet there are also more subtle risks to monitor, including changes to insured assets, risks, and exposures. Climate impacts the production quality and quantity of insured consumable goods, their location, and their supply chains.
Last week, insurance industry expert Rob Galbraith introduced us to “The 7 Fatal Flaws of Insurance." This week, Galbraith weighs in on low-code automation as a competitive advantage in the $5 trillion insurance industry. “For a $5 trillion industry as mature as insurance," says Galbraith, “technology that can help solve any one of the seven fatal flaws would make a pretty good business. There's a lot of room for improvement.”
Insurance carriers have a unique opportunity: They have access to powerful technologies and a wealth of information that can help them to better understand their customers and provide an enhanced customer experience.
With the onslaught of hyperautomation, it’s easy to assume insurance is stodgy and boring. But don’t be fooled. Yes, the industry has its flaws—some of them fatal. But over the next decade, technology will revolutionize insurance more than it has in the past three decades combined.
Insurers, reinsurers and intermediaries are under pressure to adapt to new customer expectations. Insurtechs have made omnichannel digital experiences the norm. And COVID-19 has forced the issue further, on top of necessary operational and claims process changes. Digital transformation is no longer a buzzword or something that can fix just one area of an insurance organization.
