It was terrific to meet with so many industry leaders at this year’s InsureTech Connect Conference. The industry is really moving forward with digital enablement of front-end and back-office systems— great to see.
Here are the hot topics from #ITC2019:
AI and analytics engines #
Across the two days I had the chance to have many discussions around key innovations in the industry and the promise that they hold. Everyone is building APIs in order become digitally enabled.
AI seemed to be on everyone’s mind and there was a lot of interest in the potential it has to have meaningful impacts across many areas including Sales, Claims and Underwriting. AI combined with analytics engines can also predict trends and generate business insights that will lead to new product innovation.
Of course, to realize the benefits of AI, organizations need access to the fuel, which is vast volumes of data in their repositories. In many cases, that means modernizing their legacy core systems.
Change in our industry is being driven, not just by competitive pressures, but also by the overall raising of the bar when it comes to how to do business digitally in the way that agents and consumers have come to expect from their interactions online with organizations like Apple and Amazon.
Meeting these heightened customer expectations means implementing digital tools like agent and customer self-service portals and streamlined quotes, illustrations, application and policy issuance solutions.
Digital Strategy #
Many companies are still fighting legacy system issues. Platforms that were terrific years ago can’t keep up with the pace of technological change. In order to compete, gain market share and increase revenue in today’s world companies need to ensure that they are providing their agents and end consumers with an optimum experience.
Whether it’s buying a policy or providing value add to agents to help them do more business, modernizing infrastructure increases sales and has real impact on the bottom-line.
There is still a tremendous opportunity for the industry to retire legacy systems and move forward. This modernization requires the development of the right strategy, step-by-step, to get to the end vision of an organization’s digital transformation.
Each insurance company is different when it comes to what that strategy will look like. Their pain points are different. The cost parameters are unique. One-size does not fit all. Companies need to make sure they craft a strategy that is right for them and matches their corporate priorities.
The main thing I took away from InsureTech 2019 was the excitement around what the future holds for the industry, the optimism around how technology is powering innovation and the belief that harnessing this passion and the promise of digital transformation will enhance the lives of all insurance stakeholders.
