3 ways Insurers can survive Digital Transformation

With global markets available to do business, every company is spreading its wings across the world. This has put tremendous pressures on local players.  Also, with digital technological advances, empowered consumers and innovative competitors are bringing massive changes in the insurance industry. 

In the 90s, customers looked into the Yellow Pages for local insurance brokers or agents and then rang them to ask for help to get their insurance coverage. Times have changed now with digital age.

Even though Insurance is one of the oldest industries to use statistics and modelling, compared to other industries, they have been slow to react to disrupting digital technology.

Key issues for the insurance industry:

• Insurance is an optional product and this makes for a highly competitive marketplace.
• Increasing complexity of regulatory & legal requirements like Solvency II, IFRS
• Consumers now have on-demand access to endless information, customized products at lower prices and require less agent interaction than ever before
• Capturing & consolidation of reliable data from variety of internal or external systems
• Threat from non-insurance companies entering insurance business

Here are 3 ways insurers can survive this paradigm shift:

1. Manual to Digital: Modernizing quotes, policy admin and claims processing systems will be key. Simplified & quick insurance quotes, automated underwriting, easy to purchase and manage policies, digitized faster claims processing will accelerate the speed of customer gratification.
2. Big data Analytics: Until recently, insurers were struggling to collect the data from so many different systems. But with digital transformation, they can mine existing internal data and combine it with valuable alternate data sources like social media & health data to help gain the 360-degree view of customers. This will help engage customers as individuals and offer them a personalized, tailored experience.
3. Customer first approach: Compared to the banking or retail business, insurers interact with customers only when they buy a policy, pay the premium or file a claim. With a customer first approach, insurers can get closer to customers and grow loyalty.

Benefits of Digital Transformation in Insurance:

• Faster streamlined quotes, policy and claims processes
• Properly mapped customer journeys with Big data Analytics to identify areas of improvement and opportunity for business growth
• Internet of Things with connected devices, sensors and digital imaging helping immediate assessment and processing of claims
• More effective and efficient fraud detection via Machine learning 
• Increased digital channel adoption and native mobile applications which can deliver exceptional experiences to customers and agents
• Avalanche of data generated by connected cars, connected homes and electronic health records to improve risk assessment, innovate on new products 

Digital transformation is a matter of survival for today’s insurers.

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