The value of agility for P&C insurers
Sep 13, 2023
Agility is all the rage in the business world lately, and guess what? P&C (Property and Casualty) insurers are totally on board! It’s like being the superhero of adaptability, helping organizations swiftly pivot and flex to conquer their goals in this ever-changing market. Some insurance companies have had a tough time keeping up with the pace of change, while others have not just survived but absolutely thrived by being super agile.
Now, let’s talk tech. It’s been a game-changer for the insurance game. Radical changes in technology have affected the ways insurance companies do business and raised the bar on what customers expect.
In this blog, we’re diving into why agility is the ultimate must-have for P&C insurers and spilling the tea on how they can totally own it.
The Agility Imperative – What does an agile insurer look like?
Agility is not just a buzzword; it’s a fundamental capability that enables insurers to respond swiftly and effectively to market shifts and customer demands. For P&C insurers, agility encompasses these critical dimensions:
- Adaptation to market dynamics: Enables insurers to quickly assess and adapt to the continually evolving insurance landscape driven by factors such as climate change, emerging risks, and economic fluctuations. This helps them build their product portfolios, underwriting criteria, and risk management strategies to stay relevant and profitable.
- Customer-centricity: Helps insurers leverage data analytics and digital technologies to gain deeper insights into customer needs and preferences, resulting in seamless and personalized experiences for policyholders.
- Innovation and product development: Empowers insurers with the ability to rapidly develop, test, and launch new insurance products. Agile P&C insurers can leverage cross-functional teams to bring innovative products to market faster than their competitors.
Although the concept of enterprise-wide agility is not new, many technology companies and service-industry leaders have already adopted it. An increasing number of insurance companies are embracing agile approaches in their efforts to cope with swift shifts in the industry landscape.
Here are five dimensions, as per McKinsey, that can bring about a comprehensive enterprise-wide agile transformation in insurance companies.
Agility for P&Cs in the digital era – The value of tech
According to Forrester, “In an age where digitally savvy customers crave exceptional, tailor-made interactions, many insurers’ product-centric approaches are holding them back.” In today’s landscape, where customer-centric companies are triumphing, the ability to swiftly adapt your strategy is an absolute necessity.
Workday’s Digital Acceleration survey found that 62% of executives at financial services firms believe the single most important factor in improving their ability to make data-informed decisions will be technology that breaks down silos or unifies financial, people, and operational data.
Three now and future tech solutions that can bring agility
- Automated Data Extraction Portals
Automate the extraction of data from PDFs, Excel files, and Word documents submitted. The extracted data can then be provided to Underwriters in a format ready for immediate use—either by integrating it into Submission systems through APIs or by utilizing Intakifi’s data entry module.
This streamlined process ensures efficiency, speed, and scalability, allowing Underwriters to concentrate on assessing risk exposure for insurance eligibility and securing the best coverage at the lowest premiums for clients.
Intakifi seamlessly transforms client and agent submissions into easily digestible data, offering insurers the benefits of reduced turnaround times, the elimination of manual data entry, and improved cost efficiency.
- Low-code, no-code, Cloud-Native Insurance Platforms
Facilitate the development of business software without relying on conventional computer programming by using low- or no-code development platforms. This enables non-developers to actively engage in the development process, fostering enhanced collaboration between business and IT teams while simultaneously reducing time-to-market and costs.
As insurers expedite their digital transformation initiatives, the utilization of these platforms is on the rise. They particularly shine in composite application development and improving customer engagement, while also extending accessibility to mobile and cloud-native app development.
An example of such a platform is Agenci/iQ, which offers a comprehensive low-code Agent Portal for managing commercial lines to increase conversions and retention through faster response times and accelerate new product launches using our comprehensive, customization features.
- Comprehensive property-risk data intelligence platforms to drive industry innovation and elevate customer scrutiny
Harness is a user-friendly, integrated, and adaptable platform that merges diverse property data sources, interprets them using in-house machine learning (ML) technology, and transforms the gleaned insights into actionable knowledge.
This empowers insurers to expedite and enhance underwriting, thereby refining pricing for both personal and commercial property coverage.
The comprehensive property risk data offered by these platforms, integrated seamlessly with various core systems, equips clients with the intelligence needed to effectively and profitably underwrite risks and manage claims, bringing overall agility.
In a nutshell
In the P&C insurance industry, agility is not merely a choice; it’s an imperative for survival and success. CEO’s and CIO’s must recognize that agility is not confined to technology alone but encompasses a holistic approach to operations, customer service, and innovation.
By embracing agility, P&C insurers can stay ahead of the curve, delight their customers, and secure a prosperous future in an ever-changing marketplace. It’s time to make agility a cornerstone of your strategic vision, as the value it brings is immeasurable in a world that never stops evolving.
To learn more, contact our experts today!
