In Q4 we held our first ever Novidea webinar, expertly hosted by Matthew Grant, Founder of Abernite and partner at Instech London.
Boasting guests such as Lyn Grobler, CEO of Hyperion, Ben Rose, Lead Consultant at Aon Inpoint, and Howard Lickens, CEO at Clear Insurance, we touched on topics such as data quality, innovation and technology. Our panellists shared their thoughts on what the insurance industry can do to keep pace with the world around it. Read on to find out their top five tips.
1. Incentivising change
Historically, the insurance sector has shown little desire to adopt new technology and data processes, as legacy systems and mindsets remain. When well established and long serving brokers and agents have always done things a certain way and had success, they often see no reason to change unless they can see a clear ROI.
To harness the full benefits of technology, brokers need to ensure they have data integrity which means that their data is standardised across the business, all duplications are removed and customer information is accurate and complete. This can seem like a daunting task, but overcoming this perception is all about incentivisation.
By getting teams involved and showing them the clear advantages of investing in technology and having a good set of consistent data, brokers can demonstrate the ROI. Asking the IT team to enforce change isnt always the best way to go about it, however when the change comes from a champion within the team itself, it becomes easier to persuade others to get on board.
2. Data integrity is key
Top-level executives can see the value in slicing and dicing the data to get the most out of it. This is pointless, though, if the data is of a poor quality. Incomplete or duplicated data simply cannot give accurate insights on which to base strategic decisions.
When the data is accurate, organised and enriched with external information, businesses can go to clients across both insurance and reinsurance markets, and help them better understand the risks that they are facing, the coverage they should be buying and benchmarking them against their own competitors. Additionally, they can benchmark who they should be buying their coverage from, for example who has the best claims servicing. All of this can be done at a global level, allowing businesses to divide the global insurance market into small segments and effectively better match client need with insurer appetite.
The insurance industry also needs to move beyond just descriptive analytics to predictive analytics in order to understand what could happen next, as opposed to right now. For example, internal and external data can be used to predict when risk events might happen, when particular client accounts in different regions are expected to churn, but all this can only be achieved if they have clean and organized data.
3. Let go of legacy
Technology and the ability to mine data has come a long way in recent years, bringing benefits previously thought unachievable. As a result, to ensure they stay ahead of the curve, brokers need to move away from legacy systems and invest in technology that will allow them to harness the power of data and enhance their efficiency.
Moving away from legacy, however, requires more than just operational change; it also requires a cultural shift. At Lloyds of London, for example, people are still walking around with huge paper files under their arms which, in todays technologically advanced world, is unnecessary. It goes back to incentivising change and making the benefits of a different approach clear for everyone to see.
Its no secret that change is intimidating; humans are creatures of habit, after all. Its therefore important to make it clear that change doesnt all have to happen at once small, simple changes can make a huge difference to the bottom line. Its all about enabling staff to add value and do their jobs better and more efficiently.
4. Client centricity
Insurance wouldnt exist without the client, so the more that companies can do to put clients needs at the centre of operations the better. This means keeping pace with their changing demands. Clients are facing new cyber risks and disruption, so the more that brokers can do to help find solutions to these problems, the more theyll increase their value in the chain.
By utilising the data, they have on their customers, brokers can also create a much more personalised client experience, which is essential in todays highly competitive industry. Plus, they can also identify areas where they can cross and upsell new products more easily. Last but not least, a better customer experience means brokers can enhance loyalty and reduce churn, key KPIs for growing the business
5. Tech and innovation
During the webinar, Lyn Grobler from Hyperion said: Having dedicated insurance experts working alongside a strong technology team can make innovation and change seem much less daunting. There are platforms available to help companies become more agile in their methods, improve efficiency and make a huge difference to the bottom line.
If you would like to hear more about how you can use technology to stay ahead of the curve, please download the recording here
