ARE LEGACY
INSURERS WINNING THE DIGITAL
WRITTEN BY : ALEX CLERE
RACE ?
Insurance is seen as a slow-mover compared to other financial verticals , a latecomer in recognising the need for change . Despite the pandemic accelerating digitisation for many , insurers still lag behind , with much work to do to keep up with consumer expectations .
“ With a few exceptions , established insurance companies aren ’ t confronting the fact that they need to become technology companies ,” says Leon Gauhman , Chief Product and Strategy Officer at digital transformation consultancy Elsewhen .
“ Incumbents need to reinvent themselves and digitise their processes to innovate , offer better products , enhance productivity and reduce operational costs . This means digitising the risk and underwriting models , digitally connecting all the inputs and outputs and then integrating additional data capabilities . The aim is to rethink traditional ways of doing things to make things simpler for the customer . My concern is that incumbents might look at challengers such as Lemonade and Hippo , who have seen their valuations drop , and be lulled into thinking that they don ' t need to push ahead with digital transformation .”
What areas of digitisation are insurers doing well ? Does this mean that insurance companies should despair , or are there things that they can still be reasonably proud of ? “ There ’ s some great inroads of digitisation into
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