InsurTech: Advances and Future
Want to know more about the advances in InsurTech? Ever wondered what the future of InsurTech means for both the consumer and Insurer? This month our blog, alongside Natwest, provides insight, comment and opinion to help us understand this technology field.
InsurTech: Advances and Future
by Sabine VanderLinden, CEO at Startupbootcamp InsurTech
This month we spoke to Sabine VanderLinden, CEO at Startupbootcamp InsurTech, for her take on recent developments and the future of the InsurTech field. Read on to find out more.
What are recent InsurTech developments that show the progress the field has made?
When we started to work with corporate entities and startups in 2015, a lot of our work with the startups was focused on improving the customer engagement, so looking at the thin digital layer that sits between the insurer and the customer.
Still then, around 60% of startups were using traditional technology to prove their business case. Today, the conversation has shifted, and it is now all about:
- Designing end to end new world products and services that meet the customer’s need
- Identifying the areas across the value chain that would make a strategic difference to any insurers (such as developing accurate, precise and dynamic underwriting, or next generation conversational automation)
- Sketching those business models that will become massive challenges if they were not addressed today. In 2017, 60 percent of the startups that applied to our programs used an emerging technology.
Are there any particular technologies that are advancing InsurTech?
The image below gives us a good idea of the technologies shaping the InsurTech field.
In particular, big data and analytics is playing a key role — AI and Machine Learning are now becoming important parts of the way we want to be serviced; we want speedy right answers. We are only just starting with AI, whether we look at edge computing to AI automation.
The Internet of Things will also be a key part of the way we build insight driven and preventative value added services.
Cyber technology is also becoming more widely used — With the volume of data and digital systems we will be handling, Cyber is not just a nice to have.
Where do you see the future of InsurTech going?
I think Blockchain is still nascent in the insurer space. There are a lot of opportunities which will emerge from deploying such capability, but it will take time to think and feel that the capability is capable of delivering on its transparency promises without any breach.
Really understanding those business models which will affect us in the future will be important. Beyond the Tech giants, there is far more we see coming to market. Maybe not new business models, but definitely new and revolutionary models within the insurance space.
What barriers still exist in the InsurTech world?
I will keep it to one single word — fast execution.
Insurers must stop treating startups as the vendors they have worked with for years.
Startups are nimble, resource constraint businesses, and they are able to be super flexible on the way value is created. Insurers must select and be transparent throughout their relationship with them.
Are there any major players in the InsurTech field you would like to highlight?
Every day I am fortunate to work with amazing market players and organisations that want to build innovation initiatives as a core part as to how they build the business of tomorrow.
Here are two examples:
What have you learnt at Startupbootcamp from working with both insurers and InsurTech startups?
Humility. I have to give a lot of time and certainly respect to those organisations who have built their own business from scratch. I am just an enabler.
Having worked with very unique corporate entities, I would like to say that I believe that I understand what keeps them awake at night, from an innovation competency view point, and will focus my efforts to help them alleviate these.
Sabine VanderLinden, CEO at Startupbootcamp InsurTech
InsurTech startups to watch
RegulAItion
RegulAItion is a RegTech company with artificial intelligence at its heart, working in the insurance industry among others. They are seeking to solve the global challenge every firm faces in the volume and pace of regulatory change, by providing personalised advice and advice automation.
RegulAItion are currently building a “Regulation Advice Automation Platform” with the FCA.
Laka is a community for real cyclists to protect their bikes and gear, where members get insurance at cost by only paying when claims are made.
They received multiple awards in their first year, including Best Newcomer and Best Cycle Insurance Provider at the 2018 Insurance Choice Awards.
Insly is an insurance software development company offering insurance policy management for insurance brokers, insurance agents and MGAs. Their software is currently used and trusted by 100+ insurance agencies and brokers.
Insly is a portfolio company of the London Co-Investment Fund, co-managed by Funding London and Capital Enterprise.
Tapoly provides on demand insurance for freelancers, sole traders, contractors, home letters, equipment lenders and anyone else who is part of the sharing or gig economy.
They work with advanced tech companies and major insurance heavyweights to provide customers with the best possible cover, all under the umbrella of a single, easy to use, account.
Tapoly is also a portfolio company of the London Co-Investment Fund.
InsurTech in the News
A recent poll found that the public are more likely to choose to make their insurance claims online rather than through a human being.
A look at how technology, such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, will reshape the makeup of the InsurTech sector.
According to a report released by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, technology and actuarial skills will be key drivers of insurance penetration moving forward.
A look at how the pace of development in financial technology, including in Insurance Tech, will disrupt the financial services industry if it does not evolve or change.
A study by major consultancy Accenture reveals how much of an advantage the most innovative and adaptive legacy insurers stand to gain over their slower-moving, more conventional peers.
Events of note
InsureTech Connect is the world’s largest InsurTech event — offering unparalleled access to the largest and most comprehensive gathering of tech entrepreneurs, investors and insurance industry incumbents from across the globe.
September 23rd — 25th 2019, Las Vegas
T/F/D will be focusing their fourth Disruptive Technologies panel discussion on insurance.
This event will cover topics including the impact of disruptive and emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, drones and geospatial on the market, as well as what is to be expected next from the industry, and what incumbent insurers need to do to survive.
Tuesday 4th December 2018, London
The Global InsurTech Summit is Europe’s Leading InsurTech Event in 2019. The Summit will explore what strategies insurance companies are taking to address the challenges and opportunities they face, and attendees will learn from experts about how to identify and implement the right innovation strategy.
Tuesday 5th March 2019, London
Special thanks to Sabine VanderLinden and Gracie Jones
