3 Forces Shaping Insurance's Future - Insurance Thought Leadership

Many executives in all branches of insurance underestimate the disruption that will occur -- and the new talent that is needed. The disruptive power of digital technologies has spread more slowly across the insurance industry than other financial services. This will not last much longer, and many insurance executives risk being caught by surprise by the drastic changes these advanced technologies will inspire. What kind of change is coming? In life insurance, a U.S. company says it can help companies accept or reject new policies by analyzing selfies to determine an applicant's health. In other examples, advanced analytics can help fine-tune prices and segment customers more accurately; machine learning can present precise cross-selling opportunities; and digital interfaces can support single-event policies and purchases without any interaction with human agents. Indeed, the first waves of disruption have already hit automotive insurance, where claims are being processed using smartphone apps and where online aggregators are leading buyers to the lowest-priced offers from a range of companies.