A wealth of Insurtech companies are flashing shinning objects to catch the attention of large carriers and VC. The dance is necessary as tech companies, with no comprehensive background within insurance disciplines, need direction, not to mention, the majority of these programs are bleeding cash.
There are many great ideas that will gain traction, but this seldom happens within the timelines projected. Don't let their frequent press releases fool you.
If you are attending the Auto Insurance Report National Conference next week, you’ll once again here the same ideas shared over the last decade. Each year the convention generally poorly predicts the adoption schedule. This year expect Insurtech to be afoot in Dana Point, California telling stories about new VC injections and PE investment.
Guidewire CEO Marcus Ryu recently stated in an Insurance Times article that the majority of dollars invested in Insurtech will be for not. However, there will be a few winners.
Insurtech will change how we purchase, manage, and package insurance of all types. In many ways, it already has. This is exciting and means you must be engaged, but there is no need to freak out.
If you’ll remember on-line platforms were going to destroy the independent agent system in 1998. This has yet to occur.
If you serve in a small, regional or super regional carrier and have not investigated the Insurtech trends with sincerity, it is time to get busy.
Here are some first steps:
Attend Insurtech Conferences
If you attend two major Insurtech conferences you’ll learn the lead companies, initiatives, language, and pace of Insurtech. Just knowing who is taking what actions will put you more at ease and stimulate your creative gene.
Attend other tech conventions that are not explicitly about insurance.
I dedicated last year to focus on our Development team. I attended conferences on programming and sat in workshops with developers. I was well out of my comfort zone but learned invaluable lessons I could apply to our organization.
Take Meetings
Take or initiate meetings with Insurtech players. Even as a small carrier you will find easy access to people who love to talk about what they are working on.
Prepare Your Staff
Always, always, always prepare your staff for change and encourage incremental, evolutionary, and disruptive innovation. We took the Agile Philosophy used in Development and infused its ideas into the entire company. You must bring fluidity to your staff and software.
Sample Available Insurtech
Telematics, aggregation, creative point-of-sale, identifiers, risk management elements, if affordable, should be sampled. Know your goal when implementing new tech and measure results frequently. “Fast in, fast out."
These simple steps will place you into the conversation and permit your development of the right and reasonable use of these tools and companies.
I welcome your thoughts or questions.
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