Insure Think

How does an insurance organization transform to digital when its digital technology experts are so strapped for time and resources?

SMA research identifies a definite slowdown in the purchase of core systems in the P&C market.

The two technologies account for nearly half of global insurance tech investment, up from 10% in 2015.

Vehicle-to-vehicle communication and streaming video of drivers can revolutionize both personal and commercial lines.

The insurance business is changing, and all technology providers have something to contribute.

Carriers are right to embrace new methods of making customers safer, but must navigate the impact on premium.

Insurance has the worst smartphone platforms among customer-facing industries. That can’t continue.

There's still lots of room for improvement in machine learning before driverless cars can take over fully, if virtual assistants are any indication.

Modernizing insurers' IT environments often leads to more reliable data that can facilitate improved processes.

Steps to help ease the transition from people-centered processes to machine learning and AI.

While other industries struggle to actionalize customer data, insurers see a lift from more targeted messaging

Savvy investments, partnerships and hiring practices seen as key to digital transformation.

Technology is adding a new dimension to insurers' analytics practices as essential information for customer applications may be already readily available.

Transforming personal lines’ ‘moment of truth’ isn’t easy, but the payoff is clear.

Digital innovation can improve the lot of independent agents just as easily as it can disrupt their businesses.

With 10 million cars featuring self-driving components expected within three years, insurers and regulators are eyeing the sector.

According to the latest data from Venture Scanner, overall InsurTech venture funding grew at an annual clip of 31% from 2011 to 2017.

With last week’s announcement that Insurity has acquired Valen Analytics, the core and analytics landscape changes again.

Embracing the cloud will make the transition to digital processes less painful.

A major benefit of moving away from legacy processes is the ability to cover more risks for more people.

The Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative, co-founded by five European insurers late last year, is preparing to add new members.

A likely repeal of the Affordable Care Act and adjustments to other regulations on the financial sector have insurers watching President Trump intently.

Getting to insurance digital excellence requires new ways of thinking as much as new technology.

Automation that enhances the agent experience and ultimately their selling and service capabilities is fundamental to enabling their success. But with so many potential areas to focus on, it can be challenging to know what to prioritize.

Insurance industry stakeholders are urged to think enhancement, not replacement, of human intelligence with AI implementations.

A recent study finds younger agents feel good about job security and their future economic prospects.

The pressure is on to go digital, but staffing and budget headwinds mean that tech leaders must think on their feet.

As the value propositions of connected cars and homes increase, so does the imperative for insurers to enter those ecosystems through alliances and standalone offers.

Insurers have set goals around the technology in an effort to simplify the customer experience and meet regulatory requirements.

Examples of insurance processes being automated through RPA include first notice of loss, fraud checking and policy renewal.

Sure, there was lots of hype on insurtech in 2016, but signs point towards tangible results in the coming year.

Pessimistic about their preparation for disruption, insurers are ramping up their innovation efforts to match what new entrants are doing.

This upcoming New Year’s Day, agents and brokers should make a resolution to adopt technology that will more easily support customer requirements.

Data mining techniques may be able to more readily identify red flags or spot patterns that suggest fraud, but insurers will still need to rely on data-minded teams to create the algorithms and systems that will detect it and root it out.

Insurers are now ingesting more data than they can swallow from a host of new sources. Making sense of that this mix is just the beginning.

As technology supplants old insurance jobs, new opportunities are available for enterprising individuals.

Not many teams win consistently with an inexperienced quarterback, and the same is true for insurance companies and project managers.

Insurance offers the perfect landscape for robotic process automation (RPA) because of the many repetitive tasks that form standard industry transactions.

Companies are lured in, spending oodles of money on functions and features they don’t really use to their full advantage early on in the transformation process.

As analytical efforts mature at an organization, it becomes increasingly important to build cross-functional teams in which data science is the primary focus and tool.

Although access to markets is more readily available, consumers still seek advice and guidance from agents before making policy decisions.

Carriers should expect some agent skepticism whenever they announce the intent to modernize or replace their core systems, and proactively take steps to improve the acceptance.

There will always be a place for independent agents, but carriers will move forward with those that can leverage technology to provide ongoing value.

DARPA predictions include the possibility that devices or applications will be capable of being launched by human thoughts.

Insurers have never been in a better position to be able to tailor messages or offers to prospects based on their behavior.

Blockchain is likely to play a major role in the reshaping of insurance, but many carriers are still in learning mode.

Truly infusing an insurance organization with data-driven decision-making cannot start with hiring external employees and building stand-alone departments. It must start with frontline employees.

Several large insurers have been asked to rationalize their use of occupation in setting auto insurance rates, reports The Wall Street Journal.

There has been a great deal of press and research released in the last several months that have begun to question the how and the when of the advanced safety systems that have begun to make strides within the market. Specifically, what percent of the overall vehicle fleet/auto claim count now has these systems; how well do these systems work in reducing both loss frequency and costs; and when can the industry expect to see measurable impact in both frequency and costs?

Within companies transitioning to analytics-driven organizations, there are significant opportunities for frontline insurance professionals who can develop their data analytics knowledge and bring data-driven decision-making to their work and effectively collaborate with data scientists.

It's not just for software engineers.

Underwriting is at the core of the insurance business. Its evolution to incorporate other critical functions means that underwriters in the future will be well positioned to contribute greater business value to their companies.