Recently, I chaired the 4th annual Asia Insurance CIO Technology summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. The experience brought me into contact with an entirely different set of insurers and insurance technology players. I was rewarded with a fresh view on the challenges and opportunities of insurance during an era of disruptive innovation, as well as a new perspective on how Asian insurers are creating and launching products, defining new channels and new models to out-innovate the competition.
I should state at the outset that Asian insurers aren't doing everything differently than North American and European insurers. It is a global era. In many ways, their competitive issues are similar. We are all having the same conversations. As I considered the similarities, however, it made the small differences stand out. Just as Asia is hours ahead of the Western world throughout the day, I had the strange feeling that I was listening to the ends of conversations that are only beginning in other parts of the world. Because populations, cultures, use of digital technology and the nature of businesses vary, I thought I would share a short list of insights from my eavesdropping in an effort to shed light on how disruption is being embraced elsewhere and how it could ripple through the industry. I'll center my thoughts on models, mandates and marketing.
Models
Everyone is discussing models. Business models. Technology models. Distribution models. Transaction models. There is good reason. It's a model v. model world, and Asia-Pacific insurers know that the model is the center of a business. For the outer layer to be responsive, the business model can't be a slow-moving leviathan. Disruption has the disturbing tendency to render perfectly good models obsolete. Creating a responsive, obsolescent-proof business model is of great interest to Asian insurers, which are responding to radically different consumer expectations and competitive models than in prior decades.
Traditional insurers at the conference (as well as challengers) are aggressively rethinking the insurance business model. Some believe that insurance will be run more in an open ecosystem, becoming more fragmented and niche-focused, building on the micro concept. If an insurer can embed products in other business models/industries, especially those with high-frequency transactions, then they capture the opportunity for both a new distribution channel and a new product. New Distribution Channel + New Product = New Market Opportunity.
These are areas where insurers can see quantum leaps in growth, yet they are also the areas where insurers are most susceptible to start-ups beating them to the punch.
Mandates
Three clear mandates stood out above all others for Asian insurers - the role of CIOs, the necessity of new cyber security solutions and a new, enterprise-wide look at analytics.
For CIOs, the clarion call was for a rapid advancement and widening of scope for their role within the insurance organization. CIOs must become change agents and grow in influence. They must be active in technology review and adoption, more collaborative with CMOs regarding digital platforms and data sharing and more effective at translating business vision into system and process transformation.
Cybersecurity is a never-ending mandate that also seems to never have the perfect solution. It was universally agreed-upon that today's security measures have the frustrating trait of being mostly temporary solutions. Blockchain technology (currently in use by Bitcoin, among others) was discussed as a more permanent solution for many security issues. Blockchain use makes transaction fraud nearly impossible. Verification of transaction authenticity is instant and can be performed by any trusted source, from any trusted location.
On a broader note, however, it was conceded that security is no longer just an IT issue, but it is a board-level, organization-wide imperative because security concerns the full enterprise. Boards must fund and address cybersecurity across three aspects: confidentiality, availability and integrity.
Enterprise-wide analytics was another organizational mandate. Some Asian insurers are moving toward using end-to-end analytics solutions that cross the enterprise in an effort to gain a single client view and execute a targeted pipeline, with unified campaigns and advertising. Analytics will also give them risk- and assessment-based pricing, improved predictability for loss prevention and better management of claims trends, recovery and services.
Marketing
Insurers are rapidly moving from product-driven to customer-driven strategies and from traditional distribution channels (such as agents) to an array of channels based on customer choice. At the same time that Asian insurers are looking at relevant business models, they are diving deeply into how marketing tactics may completely shift from a central hub to a decentralized "micro" model. The industry spark has been a short list of both established insurers and start-ups that are capturing new business through new marketing methods, new partnerships and new market spaces.
ZhongAn, for example, is selling return insurance for anything bought on Alibaba. Huatai Life is promoting unit-linked policies on JD.com and selling A&H insurance via a WeChat app. PICC Life has found a distribution partner in Qunar.com, an online travel information provider. These examples require a completely different, high-volume, interaction-based, data-rich, small-issue marketing plan. That kind of marketing will prove to be of great value to insurers that have added flexible, transaction-capable core insurance systems...that are cloud-based to scale rapidly.
Aggregators are now commonplace in insurance, and Asian insurers are looking at how this channel will affect their business, as well as how to use aggregators as a tool for competitive advantage. GoBear, currently selling in Singapore and Thailand, was given as a prime example of how aggregators represent the future of insurance shopping. GoBear isn't just an aggregator. It is an innovator, revamping the concept of insurance relationships. GoBear Matchmaker, for example, will allow a prospect to pick insurance but also allow the insurer to pick prospects/clients. GoBear Groups will leverage groups/crowd sourcing.
What do these M's add up to?
Insurance business models, mandates and marketing are all ripe for inspection and change. In some ways, Asian insurers are in a better position for these ground-shaking industry changes because so many of them recognize the stakes involved and the cultural shift required to thrive. Asian populations and culture are ready to embrace technology solutions to meet consumer demands. As all insurers globally address their models, mandates and marketing, it will be fascinating and educational to see how quickly the different markets adapt and are emerging as innovative leaders and how these regional innovations will influence other regions as they turn into global solutions.
One thing was clear to me in my time in Jakarta - Asian insurers are optimistic, active and excited about the road ahead.
