This year’s InsureTech Connect conference brought together an incredible group of carriers and some of the industry’s most innovative insurtechs to connect over the technology that’s transforming the insurance landscape. ITC provided an opportunity to understand what’s happening in the insurance community right now, what carriers are excited about and what’s next for the industry.
Everywhere you turned at ITC, someone was demonstrating their AI expertise. From unstructured data digitization, to streamlined claims processing, fraud detection and more, insurtechs are quickly scaling and diversifying AI to solve all kinds of business problems. As we mentioned in our recent report, Why AI in Insurance Claims and Underwriting?, AI has reached maturity and is no longer theoretical or futuristic. At the same time, the costs associated with AI development and implementation have come down significantly. The abundance of these solutions at ITC is further evidence that AI can meet th
The energy at ITC was inspiring. The conference had unprecedented attendance and the excitement among attendees was electric. It’s clear that carriers are passionate about transformation and what it means for their business. At the same time, there were so many companies showcasing their solutions that it will likely be a challenge for carriers to decide which ones make the most sense for their transformation journeys. We feel it’s most important to:
Have a clear view of what capabilities you think you want to buy or partner for and what you prefer to build on your own. The sheer number of options is overwhelming and curating a more specific set of targets based on the category of capability or an aspect of the value chain is critical.
Expect to do some of the lifting when it comes to integration and redesign. While innovation and creativity abound within the insurtech community, many only offer point solutions that serve a specific part of the value chain or line of business. You and your teams will need to think about integrating insurtech solutions into your ecosystem and processes.
Keep your mind open to the different ways you and your business can get involved with AI adoption. You can invest in solutions, partner with insurtech providers to create new solutions or acquire a smaller organization. Determine what makes the most sense for your business’s long-term digital strategy.
While ITC attendees were clearly enthusiastic about transformation and that progress has been made to get technology ready for carriers and their teams, what we saw at the conference is just the beginning. There is still a lot of work to be done to get to where we want to go. Many of the sessions focused on the benefits of transformation, how to prioritize transformation initiatives and, simply, where carriers should even begin. This revealed that most carriers are still taking the first steps towards digital transformation and that there is still plenty of room for leading innovators to pull ahead.
It’s not surprising that insurers are more methodical in their approach to change than most industries. However, this year the momentum has definitely shifted away from talking about transformation and moved towards action.
