The insurtech space has been enjoying some strong momentum over the past several years, with legislation overhauls and a global pandemic pushing insurers to invest in digital tools, and to re-evaluate their customer engagement strategies.
Dale Smith, CEO of insurance technology company JAVLN, said that despite the reputation of insurance as a ‘traditional’ industry, ‘tech hesitancy’ is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. He said that JAVLN had seen a notable uptick in interest since last year, as insurers had been looking for ways to improve their business efficiency and their customer reach.
“There’s no doubt that there’s a massive amount of interest in technology in the insurance industry right now, and it’s really been gathering steam,” Smith told Insurance Business.
“There seems to be more and more interest in it every month, because it really is time for the insurance industry to embrace technology like JAVLN to improve their customer experience, and to improve their own business efficiencies.”
“There’s still a little bit of reluctance from some parts of the industry, but there always is, and I think there always will be,” he said.
“There will always be the ‘early adopters’, then those that don’t necessarily like to go first but are happy to make a change once they’ve seen the benefits. Then there are the people who just don’t want to do it at all, but I believe those are definitely in the minority now.”
Smith explained that, ultimately, customers have the final say on whether a product or a service is worth buying - and providing a strong digital experience had become a crucial part of that decision. He said firms that do not embrace new technology are not likely to make it in an industry that is increasingly looking at how to make things quicker, simpler and easier for its customers.
“It’s really become a case of ‘customer’s vote’, and now more than ever, they vote based on their own experience,” Smith said.
“If you provide a poor service and poor customer engagement through technology, then you just won’t survive.”
“JAVLN has continued to go from strength to strength over this time,” he concluded. “We’re making good inroads into the New Zealand market, which we’re really excited about. We’re also getting some fantastic traction in Australia, and we’ve got some great opportunities going on over there.
“Our team is growing, and we’re really looking to focus on the Australian and New Zealand market over the next 12 to 24 months. After that, we’ll likely start to look at more offshore opportunities.”
