A New Bet on The Insurance Technology Leaders of the Future

In five years, the premier insurance technology providers will be Aon, Marsh, Munich Re, Swiss Re, and Allianz. This is a fairly radical statement to make, but it is not made without evidence and support. The following five announcements lead me to this conclusion:

• Aon announced it has agreed to acquire InsurTech startup CoverWallet in a bid to boost its presence in the growing digital insurance market for small and medium-sized business customers.
• Marsh launches WC analytics platform, Blue[i] Claims that leverages advanced, anonymized benchmarking capabilities to allow clients to do such things as craft targeted safety programs, identify complex claims early, expedite the closeout of legacy claims to reduce balance sheet liabilities, and improve collaboration with claims administrators.
• Munich Re’s data analytics initiative ‘AQUALYTIX’ combines an insurer’s portfolio data with external sources to analyze water-mains damage. Using machine learning, experts can identify the risk drivers for individual buildings and predict the losses for the coming year.
• Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ Innovative Risk Solutions team has launched a digital parametric natural catastrophe platform in the U.S. for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market, called Parametric Online Platform (“POP”) STORM.
• Allianz SE and their subsidiary Syncier partnered with Microsoft Corp. to offer ABS Enterprise Edition to insurance providers as a service. This insurance platform will benefit customers by reducing costs and centralizing their insurance portfolio management.

Obviously, one announcement does not make these companies into premier technology solution providers. But, a quick web search of the named organizations will reveal other announcements and offerings, so this is not a one-time thing. What does make a premier insurance technology provider? It includes a focus on delivering business value, a keen understanding of what customers will need over the upcoming years, and a quick time to decision to deliver solutions. So, the above companies appear to have the makings!

This past July I wrote a blog entitled The Reinsurers are Coming - And It Might Not Be How You Expected. It cautioned primary insurers against being complacent about who their competitors are. This blog is taking the same stance with traditional technology providers who have kept their eyes focused on the same set of competitors they have had for eons. Or who believe that once you have established a beachhead, your customers will always keep you there. So, tech providers, be alert! This may not be what you expected, either!

Isn’t this a unique – and wondrous – time to be in the insurance industry? It has been said that in the digital age, every company is a technology company. In the case of these insurance leaders, they are taking that to the next level by becoming providers of technology solutions to others in the industry. Bold organizations are not letting traditional definitions of where they fit into the insurance ecosystem hold them back from delivering business value in new ways. Insurers and technology providers that are holding onto traditional roles are putting themselves at risk of falling far behind in a market looking for differentiation.