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Articles by Ivo Weterings
Innovating in the Ecosystem Space
In June I spoke with Manulife’s Sushmita Munshi to film our first “Evolving Ecosystems” podcast. Munshi heads ManulifeMOVE, a behaviour-linked programme that integrates activity-tracking and insurance solutions to motivate healthy habits. The first bloglooked at the importance of data, while the secondexamined how to develop ecosystem partnerships. In our final blog, we assess the technical aspects ofinnovating and developing solutions for such ecosystems.
How customers have changed.
The swift response of many insurers to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted an abundance of opportunities for carriers to enhance the services and support they provide their customers, employees and local communities. Insurance providers have rolled out an array of innovative solutions.
APIs are vital for open insurance
Choosing the right APIs is critical for carriers looking to transform themselves into open insurers. Open banking triggered an explosion in the development of application programming interfaces (APIs). Open insurance could have a similar effect. APIs are critical to the development of open insurance solutions. I can’t stress this enough. APIs enable insurers to build flexible, robust technology platforms. These platforms can consume and share vast volumes of data.
Blockchain could force insurers to radically rethink their businesses
Blockchain technology has the potential to radically change how insurers conduct business and manage risk. Its capacity for multiple, highly secure, peer-to-peer transactions promises carriers considerable improvements in the efficiency of their operations and distribution networks.
Open insurance unlocks ecosystem potential
Open data platforms enable insurers to develop ecosystem businesses and capitalize on their vast data resources. Many of the insurance executives I talk to recognize the huge potential of digital ecosystems. But, lots of them wrestle with one big question. “How do I change my company to capitalize on the promise of digital ecosystems?” It’s an important question, and one that I encounter more and more. Most of us understand that ecosystems can protect our businesses from digital disruption.
Upscaling is key to good returns on technology
A Future Systems strategy helps insurers quickly scale up innovation throughout their organizations and release value trapped in their technology investments. Smart carriers are turning to a Future Systems technology strategy to ready themselves for the growing disruption that is set to hit the insurance industry. This approach, as I discussed in my previous blog post, enables insurers to quickly scale up innovation throughout their organizations.
Blockchain needs teamwork to make the value dream work
Insurance leaders are winning with blockchain through teamwork. This breakthrough has changed the industry playbook and here’s why. Since its early years, distributed ledger technology (DLT)—and specifically, blockchain—has been on the insurance industry’s radar as a potentially transformative tool for core processes and business models. I speak with clients about blockchain on a regular basis.
Approaching AI the responsible way
As part of their strategy for intelligent technology adoption, insurers must address the unique ethical concerns surrounding AI. AI is the single biggest evolution of technology the world has ever seen. It opens the doors for carriers to elevate their organizations and employees and create a brand-new experience for customers who are wary of the industry. Within the strategy insurers choose, a responsible approach to AI must be ingrained.
What is Descriptive Analytics?
When advanced analytics burst onto the scene several years ago, it was primarily the purview of actuaries and analysts, allowing many of us to ignore the science and practice of this new dark art. In the intervening years however, analytics has emerged as an important component of almost every aspect of successful insurance operations. As some began using analytics in more complex ways, most of the writings and discussion around the topic became equally more complicated.
Are insurers ready for AI?
How ready is your company for an artificial intelligence strategy? Take the AI readiness quiz to answer the questions every insurance leader should ask. In my previous post , we reviewed the what of artificial intelligence, along with the current and future possibilities it presents for forward thinking insurers. The next step on the AI journey is to establish a strategy by addressing key concerns that are top of mind for the company.
AI defined for insurance
Breaking down the what and how of AI, and why insurance carriers need to map out their game plan ASAP. A recentAccenture Technology Vision for Insurance surveyshows that the majority of insurers know DARQ technologies—specifically AI—will be transformational or will bring extensive change to their businesses (DARQ includes distributed ledgers, AI, extended reality and quantum computing).
The true value of DLT in insurance
Process efficiencies are just the start As I have noted in earlier posts in this series, insurance organizations have experimented with blockchain and distributed ledger technology(DLT) for several years. They initially conductedtheir proofs of concept and pilots on public, permissionless technologies such as Ethereum. Despite the industry hype, most of these early experiments did not deliver the value that organizations expected. Companies were also unsure how to take them into production.
Key steps for optimizing your cloud transformation
We know from Accenture’s Cloud Readiness Study that insurers recognize the many benefits of cloud adoption and are ready to get started on their transformation. As I explained in my previous post, there are four key focus areas that can help you expand and accelerate your cloud transformation, putting you in the best position to begin a full cloud migration. The following four key steps can help ensure your journey to the cloud is smooth. Set priorities.
Three cutting-edge P&C insurtechs
P&C insurtechs attracted $1.7 billion of investment last year. Here’s a closer look at the booming investment landscape, including three leading startups. As previously discussed on this blog, the insurtech investment space might be the most interesting part of the global insurance industry right now. With each passing year, insurtechs become more expansive in every sense of the word, with growing geographic and functional diversity.
Five powerful examples of American insurtech
As insurtech continues to gain steam around the world, the FinTech Innovation Lab highlights innovation in the United States. Insurtech innovations are exploding across the globe right now. Last year, insurtechs attracted $4.4 billion of global investment, which is an increase of 98 percent from 2017 and an all-time high. This astonishing growth in investment has been matched by burgeoning geographic diversity.
The ethics of AI in insurance, with Lex Sokolin
Artificial intelligence (AI) was supposed to be objective. instead, it’s a reflection of implicit human discrimination. Lex Sokolin, futurist and fintech entrepreneur, on what AI bias means for insurers—and why there are no easy fixes. Highlights Some use cases for artifical intelligence (AI) can be fairly objective—for example, using AI to document damage to a vehicle to expedite claims processing. When AI is applied to data about human beings, bias can become an issue.
Journey to the cloud: A roadmap
Every journey to the cloud is unique, whether you are a life or P&C insurer. We have identified five guiding principles applicable to most carriers. Each insurer faces a unique journey to the cloud based on its existing systems and strategic priorities. Though the potential cost savings alone offer a strong business case for adopting the cloud, we recommend carriers also consider the journey within the context of a broader digital innovation strategy.
Self-driving cars and insurance, with Ryan Stein
What are the assumptions baked into our auto insurance policies, and how do self-driving cars challenge them? Ryan Stein from Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) looks at the implications that self-driving cars have on today’s auto insurance laws. Highlights In this episode of the Accenture Insurance Influencers Podcast, we speak with Ryan Stein from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).
Improving the Wellness Value Chain
Traditionally, treatments such as massage therapy, yoga classes, or even acupuncture, were rarely considered an important part of the wellness chain—and getting insurance providers or employers to pay for them as a preventative measure was difficult. In recent years, however, more understanding has emerged about the value of these types of wellness treatments, both in terms of injury prevention and claim avoidance.
DARQ power for insurance
New release – Tech Vision 2019 explores how insurers can find new pathways to the future with DARQ technologies In my previous post, I spoke about how the emergence of a post-digital world is one where technology is the fabric of reality—and how insurance organizations can use technology to meet people’s needs instantly. New technologies are catalysts for change, offering extraordinary new business capabilities.
How blockchain can benefit insurers
A new blockchain solution can create significant efficiencies for insurers When insurers integrate customer data, they can effectively lower costs, save time and improve data quality. Historically, this has been a complex challenge, but with the introduction of smart technologies, authentic data integration can now be simplified. For example, Accenture and Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) recently debuted a first-of-its-kind blockchain solution for the employee benefits industry.
Insurtech and DARQ
Digital is no longer a differentiator for insurers—it’s expected. So what comes next? Not that long ago, the world of insurance seemed insulated from the digital disruption that was sending shockwaves through industries like music, retail, and advertising. It was considered really forward-thinking and innovative for an insurer to experiment with digital ways of doing things.
How insurance CFOs can translate data into impact
To make the most of business data, CFOs need to act strategically Given the data-driven nature of their industry, insurance CFOs have a natural predisposition towards driving new value from analytics, which to an increasing degree relies on intelligent automation tools. In fact, among the industries surveyed for Accenture’s “The CFO Reimagined: from driving value to building the digital enterprise” research, insurance scores in the top three for adopting artificial intelligence.
Three insurance innovations to watch right now
Every year, insurers impress judges and their industry peers with their inventive ideas at the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards. Three organizations have already earned monthly innovation awards, demonstrating customer-centric approaches to building technology solutions for the digital age. Customer expectations are changing in the insurance industry.
Beyond insurance: Creating a safe reality for new disruptions
More than a hundred years ago, the horseless carriage was a pretty dramatic disruption of the status quo. The advance of the automobile might never have taken place if the insurance industry hadn’t been ahead of the curve in understanding and finding ways to mitigate the risk involved in that new technology. This was the role of insurance in society: to make new innovations a safe reality. Since then, “insurance” has become synonymous with “risk avoidance.” It doesn’t have to be that way.
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