Insurance technology (Insurtech) has been evolving rapidly since the past few years. The COVID-19 outbreak has forced the sector to take a serious look at how it communicates with other industry professionals.
A new Insurtech report questions and looks into whether agents can work effectively from their homes following the Coronavirus crisis.
The report asks:
“Are insurance processes resilient to unexpected changes? Do policyholders receive caring service? Is WOW-factor digital experience the way to keep today’s time-strapped, multi-tasking insureds engaged and loyal?”
The Capgemini team claims they interviewed 200 industry executives to find the answers to these questions and gain other insights from incumbents who revealed the COVID has “compelled them to fast-track digitalization.”
As stated in the report, COVID has had a significant impact on the insurance industry customer engagement KPIs as BigTechs “define the CX (customer experience) north star.”
The report notes that the pandemic was a high-impact “black swan” event that forced insurance providers to reevaluate or re-assess customer engage performance metrics.
Capgemini adds:
“BigTechs are earning even more customer trust by offering resilient processes, real-time crisis response, intuitive customer care, and digital experience (DX) with WOW-factor appeal.”
The Capgemini team further notes:
“As incumbents fast-track their digitalization efforts, they are seeking support from Insurtechs, which translates into sudden demand and need to scale up. BigTechs and other non-traditional players are making their presence felt in the insurance industry. More than 60% of insurers and Insurtechs we interviewed said they are interested in working with BigTech firms.”
The report also mentioned the boundaries that existed between traditional insurance providers, Insurtechs, BigTechs, and tech partners are now “blurring” as the sector’s key players begin to explore new initiatives.
Vighnesh Shahane, MD and CEO at IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd., stated:
“Early signs of a hit in customer retention are being evidenced as we witness widespread job losses, wage cuts, and business failures. This will be exacerbated if the COVID-19 pandemic situation is protracted. Today’s ‘new normal’ will likely be tomorrow’s ‘business-as-usual.'”
In an interview with CI, Gonçalo de Vasconcelos, co-founder at SyndicateRoom and founder of Insurtech Rnwl, which was previously a top securities crowdfunding platform in the UK and has now become an EIS fund, revealed why he’s moved into the Insurtech sector.
He claims that Insurtech is where Fintech was when he launched SyndicateRoom. He said that in terms of innovation, the digitization of insurance is barely scratching the surface with plenty of room to grow.
de Vasconcelos said:
“The same way I wanted to be, and was, at the forefront of innovation in Fintech, I now want to do the same but bigger and bolder in Insurtech. It’s a fascinating space to be in right now, which I never thought I’d be using such words about insurance…”
