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Technology is rapidly transforming the insurance industry with uptake and investment on the rise right across the board – however, with organisations now pouring resources into digital advancements and automation, is there a chance the sector has become overly reliant on technology?
That’s the question Insurance Business recently posed to three of the industry’s most senior figures – Zurich’s Hilary Bates, Berkshire Hathaway’s Susan Donaldson and EMLife’s Katherine Gobbi.
Unsurprisingly, all three were quick to advocate for the uses of technology across the entire insurance value chain with each pointing to a range of potential benefits, primarily the impact on the customer.
“Customers and getting good customer results are the focus of our industry,” said Susan Donaldson, head of claims at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance. “These two things are the core of what we do and will always be the main aim.”
This is one of the main reasons, Donaldson said, that the industry should be investing in technology with eager enthusiasm.
“We should always look to technology to improve our offering, be it our risk transfer solutions, our understanding of risk, the way we deliver our products or our claims experiences,” she said. “Technology is a great enabler of channels of communication and process, and we can utilize feedback from our customers to improve.”
Katherine Gobbi, chief executive of EMLife, also said that technology is an enabler and enhancer for organisations in the insurance industry.
“It creates operational efficiencies, improves customer experience and helps reduce risk,” she said. “The question is, do we rely on technology as the silver bullet to solve all strategic and performance challenges?
According to Gobbi, there are some potential risks should companies neglect other areas of their operations in order to solely invest in tech.
“As an example, in disability claims, our customers rely on insurance in some cases for survival. If technology is our major or only strategic investment in claims, it alone will fail to meet the customers’ expectations and needs,” she told Insurance Business.
“However, a highly skilled case manager who is enabled by technology and properly skilled and empowered to help customers is an absolute necessity for delivering our customer promise.”
Finally, Hilary Bates, chief claims and operations manager for Zurich’s general insurance arm, suggested that despite the heavy investment in tech, there is still room for more.
“If anything, there’s probably been an underinvestment in technology across the industry, and the race is now on to develop the innovations that will deliver a competitive advantage in the future,” she told Insurance Business.
“Whether you’re offering insurance, delivering pizzas or publishing newspapers, everywhere you look, traditional companies are being disrupted by new, digitally enabled business models,” she continued.
“The potential for technological innovation within our industry is huge, and I believe we are on the cusp of delivering some amazing innovations – particularly in leveraging data to help prevent claims arising in the first place.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be in the insurance industry.”
