New variants of the COVID-19 virus and the “Great Resignation” affected the insurance industry deeply in 2021 and are primed to keep influencing 2022. To enhance the customer experience and improve internal efficiencies, insurers’ focus this year is on digitization.
These efforts will include using technology to improve the ease of doing business for agents and implementing tools and applications to increase employee productivity.
Aite-Novarica Group has identified 10 trends that will shape property/casualty insurance around the globe in 2022 and beyond. These include:
- Insurtech goes mainstream. Even during a global pandemic, investment in insurtech has continued unabated. One curious trend is that traditional core vendors now view themselves as insurtech firms or architects of insurtech adoption, with some acquiring startups in areas like predictive analytics. Speed to market is always a key objective for insurers, resulting in the growing trend of low-code/no-code engines in their core platforms.
- Increased adoption of purpose-built AI-based solutions will change the game. Despite concerns surrounding data privacy, model bias and regulations like the European Union’s AI Act, insurers are continuing to invest in AI. Insurers are adopting purpose-built AI-based solutions to overcome financial and operational challenges. Core systems vendors are offering insurers access to these solutions through application programming interfaces (APIs) and open-platform architecture. These solutions tend to be cloud-based and can be implemented immediately.
- Insurers and distributors will come together to embrace digital. As insurers and distributors implement agent portals and vendor agency management systems, many of these solutions do not meet customer expectations in today’s digital world. The ability to offer capabilities such as real-time quotes and automated underwriting requires digital investments in online and mobile capabilities. Insurers and distributors need to work together to provide more robust digital capabilities and stay competitive.
See also: Future of P&C Tech Comes Into Focus
While these trends will be important for property/casualty insurers this year and in the future, they are by no means the only areas of focus. Data and analytics, the evolution of cyber risk, claims optimization and more are occupying property/casualty insurers’ time and budgets.
Customer expectations are at an all-time high, and countless digital technologies are emerging in the insurtech sector. Aite-Novarica Group expects insurers and vendors to continue working together to prioritize the insurance experience for all stakeholders as the year moves on.
To learn more about the trends our team foresees dominating the space in 2022 and into the future, please read our full report, Top 10 Trends in Property and Casualty, 2022.
