How the insurance industry could be more innovative

Nobody really enjoys talking about insurance. To the everyday Australian, it’s a bore, and to the household decision-maker, it’s a hassle. But the industry being slow-moving leaves room for innovation which could potentially engage more customers. And plenty of startups and insurtechs are working to bring new ideas into the insurance space. But there’s always room for more. So how could the insurance industry use tech to be more innovative?

Big data

This UK article in The Telegraph does a great job of discussing how big data could be used to streamline the application and claims process for insurers. Internally, approving or denying claims can be an extremely slow process as insurers always need to prove that claims aren’t fraudulent. There are insurers slowly working around this though – TravelCard, a relatively new insurer on the block, has launched a seamless claim approvals process where claims are automatically processed. This is revolutionary in the general insurance space and can ideally be applied elsewhere.

Drones

Drones are certainly the future of many industries, and insurance is a big one. Drones can be used to fly over natural disaster areas in order to determine the extent of damage. This can speed up the home insurance claims process. Drones could also be used to assess the risk of insuring homes. They can determine the scale of damage from angles that a person may not be able to reach. Sometimes having a bird’s eye perspective is what you need in order to see the big picture.

Innovation from the top-down

The insurance industry is made up of many large-scale companies, and innovation doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an extremely slow process that starts from the top. So it’s up to the leadership team to create change – but how? Education can certainly influence people to make different decisions. Sending key team members to training, conferences, talks and panels about innovative technologies and processes can help alter the mindset of the business slowly but surely. Over time, as momentum grows, hopefully the industry can shift towards being faster paced.

The importance of communication

Inter-departmental communication is vital, especially with tech and product teams. These are the teams that are going to be implementing any innovations or changes you make, so it’s important to build up relationships. It’s worth sitting down and discussing alterations to the product or service regularly in order to help ensure you are always evolving and improving your product.

Luckily, the insurance industry is slowly making its way towards being a more innovative and fast-paced space. It’s just taking a bit of time!