Las Vegas , Collaboration as a mantra has replaced revolution in the insurtech sector as established property/casualty insurers are increasingly adopting digital processes and interactions in their operations.
Metrics have been developed to measure greater use and deployment of technology, and established technology companies are adding capabilities and staff to meet growing demand.
Managing technology adoption by companies and their employees, allowing employees to form new working habits around emerging technologies, remains a component of the insurance industry’s technological evolution, experts say.
He was speaking during meetings at the annual InsurTech Connect conference in Las Vegas, where thousands of insurance and technology experts met Oct. 30-Nov. 2.
“This year the conference is all about partnering with incumbents, partnering with technology startups rather than “disrupting” them here,” said Brian Davis, Atlanta-based executive vice president of Hub International Ltd. and head of VIU. Hub, personal line Broker’s digital platform for coverage.
Technology has already entered the insurance sector, he said. When VIU by Hub launched in 2022, the broker estimated that the number of consumers available for digital interactions was “probably in the 35% to 45% range” but now “we’re looking at it in the 65% range,” he said. Said.
About 68% of Crawford & Co.’s payments are digitally enabled, said Kenneth Tolson, Atlanta-based global president-network solutions for the claims management company.
Crawford is creating a dedicated digital solutions unit to house its technology projects and products, which Mr Tolson will lead from January 1, 2024.
In addition to deploying its technology internally, the unit will also sell software as a service products to third parties, he said. Crawford has two products on the market, he said, including an auditing platform for estimating practices.
Jay Rajendra, Bermuda-based chief strategy and innovation officer at Arch Capital Group Ltd., said the insurer writes about $1 billion of business digitally annually.
Elsewhere, Duck Creek Technologies Inc. has partnered with Espoo, Finland-based IceEye Ltd., which uses synthetic aperture radar from a network of microsatellites to provide climate-related data, Sascha said. Will add location tracking capabilities. Korol, senior director of research and innovation at the Chicago-based technology company.
“This helps both underwriters and claims get additional information from a location perspective,” he said.
in the clouds
Additionally, after some initial caution of cloud computing, Duck Creek customers are expanding their use of Internet-based computer services and storage technology.
“Customers are looking to move to the cloud,” Ms. Korol said. In the past, “there was a hesitation to move to the cloud, and everyone wanted their own in-house or on-premises solution. Now, it’s where people are not only looking to the cloud, but they’re taking advantage of the benefits of the cloud and more customized Are also considering doing so.”
Origami Risk LLC, widely known for its risk information management systems, is also adding capabilities, most recently with the September acquisition of Dice Technology Inc. in Chicago, a SaaS insurance offering with application programming interface technology. Provides platform.
“Their digital layer is something that really complements the origami products. That partnership has really expanded our footprint,” said Jaime Henry, Origami’s Chicago-based product vice president.
Customers are looking for ease of use, he said. A company looking for a claims management system may not realize that policy, billing, loss control, and risk management can be integrated on a single platform. “They get excited by the possibility that they can create something that is one thing as opposed to a bunch of pieces.”
Risk Management Solutions, a catastrophe modeler, was purchased by Moody’s Inc. in 2021, seeking to leverage Moody’s broader market reach and expand beyond its core customer base of primarily insurers and reinsurers to other sectors such as property and real estate portfolio managers. Whatever it is doing, be concerned about physical damage to properties, said Cihan Bayikoglu, executive vice president of product at RMS in Mountain View, California.
“Moody’s understands financial risks very well and has a vast trove of data that they have collected over the years,” he said.
Modeling “can be valuable not only to the insurance industry but to banks and investors and asset managers and commercial real estate companies who have an interest in these assets staying healthy,” Mr. Bayikoglu said.
Companies are also seeking assistance in implementing technology systems, said Giovanni Smith, Americas regional leader, insurance consulting and technology for Willis Towers Watson PLC.
“There are things that flow into underwriting, there are things that flow into claims management, capital management – all these things are connected. The better you can see how these connections happen, the better you can realize the investments you make in technology solutions,” he said.
“Change management is something I think a lot of clients don’t understand going into a project,” Ms. Henry said.
“We are helping them with best practices to implement a system. I think the challenge is that it’s not just your adjustment – it’s your agents, it’s your policyholders. That said, it’s important to make sure you’re thinking about all the key stakeholders.
As advanced technology is gaining increasingly widespread acceptance in the commercial insurance sector, it is also serving as a medium for new expertise to enter the industry.
“I’m a renewable energy guy who found my way into the insurance field,” says the CEO of Berkeley, California-based kWh Analytics Inc. said Jason Kaminsky, CEO of , a managing general agent targeting the renewable energy sector.
His background in renewable energy goes back 15 years and his insurance career goes back five years.
“I was developing renewable energy assets, then I moved to a bank, and I did financing for renewable energy assets. At kWh, we actually started a data company to analyze the risk of renewable energy assets, and we moved into insurance,” he said.
“If you’re approaching data science properly, the new actuary is a data science person,” said Brian Davis, Atlanta-based executive vice president of Hub International Ltd. and head of VIU by Hub, the broker’s digital platform for personal lines.
Mr Davis said his “right hand man” is his chief technology officer.
Taffy Jo Meyers, Atlanta-based global proposition leader, commercial P&C and specialty lines, insurance consulting and technology, for Willis Towers Watson PLC, said during a conference session at InsurTech Connect last month that the adoption of technology by the insurance industry is a recruitment drive. Can serve as a tool. , bringing new talent into the industry.
