The Indian insuretech segment has been advancing rapidly in the past few years and will grow at an exponential pace in the coming years. Technology can play a key role in tackling the challenges being faced by the insurance industry in India today. In this exclusive interaction with CXOToday, Vishal Shah, Head of Data Science, Go Digit General Insurance talks about how technology has been pivotal in helping Digit Insurance stay ahead of the Indian insurance market. How has technology helped you in reducing the overall turnaround time in insurance? Technology and digital analytics are at the core of our business, and it is one of our key differentiators.

The term'Artificial Intelligence' or AI has been in vogue for quite some time. We have usually seen the use of AI in science fiction movies, and the effects are intimidating. Artificial Intelligence continues to be a hot topic, and with the advancement of technology, AI is improving every day and has entered our lives. Talking about the insurance sector, most insurance policies, including term insurance plans globally, continue to record relatively modest numbers since some of the market segments are largely under-penetrated. But the scenario is gradually changing as people are becoming aware of the importance of insurance in their everyday living.

The term'Artificial Intelligence' or AI has been in vogue for quite some time. We have usually seen the use of AI in science fiction movies, and the effects are intimidating. Artificial Intelligence continues to be a hot topic, and with the advancement of technology, AI is improving every day and has entered our lives. Talking about the insurance sector, most insurance policies, including term insurance plans globally, continue to record relatively modest numbers since some of the market segments are largely under-penetrated. But the scenario is gradually changing as people are becoming aware of the importance of insurance in their everyday living.

Tony Harrington logs in to find out.

The evolution of India's insurance sector holds great promise for customers and the entities that operate within the industry. This is the third article in a weeklong series on insurtech. Insurance, one of the oldest industries of modern civilization, is witnessing a tech revolution at breakneck speed. In the days of old, the industry wasn't structured the way we have seen it in the last 100 years, but the need to hedge risks, protect assets and insure them against any kind of loss was prevalent even back then. In India, too, the insurance industry has undergone many structural changes, from being completely government-controlled, to being FDI-friendly to now welcoming new-age tech--artificial intelligence/machine learning (ML), bots, the Internet of Things and analytics.

For the last decade, the largest technology companies have increasingly looked outside of tech to grow their operations. From automotive to retail to groceries, these companies use massive competitive advantages in the form of data, consumer relationships and software engineers to fundamentally change markets. Now, companies like Apple and Google and Amazon are eyeing innovation across the insurance landscape. For example, Amazon is teaming with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway to create a new way to approach health insurance, focusing first on the group's own employees. On the retail side, Amazon is selling product insurance and extended warranties at the point of sale and investing in insurtech startups.