It was fantastic to return to in-person events and attend this year’s Insurtech Insights Conference alongside 100 sponsors and over 4,000 attendees! Held at the beautiful Intercontinental Hotel in London, over 200 speakers shared insights and perspectives on the pressing trends and opportunities in the insurance industry.
Top Takeaways
Our team attended several of the sessions and compiled the following consistently discussed trends.
AI for Claims and Underwriting
Not surprisingly, AI for claims and underwriting was a top theme discussed at the conference. Several speakers shared how through various AI tools, their organizations are widening the scope of data sources that underwriters can use for their evaluations and applying analytical models that provide more visibility into customers’ risk profiles and tailor premiums to match each individual’s actual risk. Sessions also included discussions around using AI and new data sources to improve loss ratios and develop new covers while others focused on the role of intelligent/digital underwriting and pricing in providing insurance to the uninsured.
Embedded Insurance
One of the clearest trends across several sessions was the continued rise of embedded insurance. Embedded insurance is defined as the practice whereby insurance coverage is provided alongside a product or service the customer has purchased. Coverage is often integrated with the product to make the customer purchase journey seamless and reduce the cost of coverage. Cited examples included Airbnb which is building an embedded travel insurance offering with an insurance carrier, Ryder and REIND who have partnered to launch embedded insurance for used truck customers at the point of purchase, Roamly and Wheelbase who will provide RV insurance for consumers who book rentals or vacations, and Ryanair who brought digital insurer Cover Genius on board to integrate travel insurance into its booking experience. A February 2022 research report recently noted that the embedded insurance industry is expected to grow steadily, recording a CAGR of 20.7% during 2022-2029.
Climate Change
Global warming and climate change were also high on the agenda. Insurers discussed the increasing volatility of catastrophic events and how they are addressing uncertainty using satellite data and AI. Interestingly, one Fintech vendor talked about how they have their own satellite in orbit to look at risk areas and trends. Additional session topics highlighted the growth of parametric insurance in commercial lines business and the rise of parametric (or index-based) solutions, a type of insurance that covers the probability of a predefined event happening instead of the indemnifying actual loss incurred.
Insurtechs and innovation
Finally, there was a consistent recognition that partnering with insurtechs – whether through developing, buying, or working together in some way – is critical for insurers to be successful in the future. Several sessions highlighted that Insurtechs alone won’t solve the problems facing insurers – it is also necessary to create a culture of innovation. This came across very strongly throughout the conference and will remain a top focus for the industry in 2022 and beyond.
Aptitude’s Participation
In addition to having some excellent conversations at our booth, Christophe Kasolowsky, EVP of Product Innovation and Strategy, presented to a full house on the value of transforming the finance function in the insurance space.
He also was interviewed by Fintech Finance News – have a listen!
https://aptitudesoftware.wistia.com/medias/2z5ik80iss
Aptitude Insurance SME, Brian Heale also had the chance to sit on a fantastic panel with Zurich, Alliance, Standard Life, Axa, and Aviva where he spoke about top tips for digital transformation based on his decades in the industry.
Thank you to the entire Insurtech Insights team for the chance to participate in a great conference. If you’d like to learn more about our sessions at the conference or our solutions for Insurers, please visit https://www.aptitudesoftware.com/solution/insurance/ or reach out to Ross Palmer.
