Table of Contents
01   Key Highlights: World Insurance Report 2021
02   The Insurance Monthly Roundup
03   Asian Insurtechs Are Winning Large Funding Deals
04   Insurers Are Adapting To ‘Digital As A Permanent Shift’. Here’s Why
05   Tech-enabled Remote World For Future Pandemic Phases

Key Highlights: World Insurance Report 2021

“The global impact of all-at-once digital adoption has changed the way insurers need to operate to satisfy their customers. Digital investment in connected channels is a critical ingredient for insurers of the future to be successful,” said John Berry, CEO of Efma.

“Insurers have an opportunity to convert digital traffic to sales by focusing on a hyper-personalized virtual experience,” said Anirban Bose, CEO of Capgemini’s Financial Services and Group Executive Board Member. 

“Today’s customers expect interacting with their insurers to be easy, and providers need to ensure their channels enable a convenient and seamless customer experience. By investing in the right technologies, insurers can win and retain customers while empowering their agents and brokers to deepen relationships.”

Here are the key highlights from the report:

1. Convenience, Advice & Reach.
   These attributes are at the heart of designing and evaluating the effectiveness of their channels. While 87% of insurers say they will invest in digital enhancements, only 32% say digital channels are effective in securing sales because they lack personalized advice capabilities.
2. Digital Channels Need Depth.
   Seventy-seven percent of insurance executives say that agents and brokers are their most prominent distribution channel. More than 50% of SMBs rated their experience of interacting with agents and brokers as convenient, while more than 60% rated digital channels convenient.
3. Technology Enables Channel Effectiveness.
   Agents and brokers want to ramp up their digital engagement capabilities, and about 44% said they need support from their insurers. More than half of the agents and brokers surveyed said that to assist customers effectively, they need digital collaboration and engagement tools such as screen-sharing platforms and digital document-signing tools. 
4. Digi-Intermediation.
   A process in which agents are digitally empowered, and virtual channels are humanized – will eliminate distribution gaps, enhance CX, and optimize delivered value. Customer convenience improves when digital illustrations and single-screen product comparison tools are offered. However, less than two-thirds of insurers said they provide agents and brokers with these sought-after digital tools to enhance customer experience.
5. More Knowledge Enables Personalized Advice.
   Agents and brokers said they need to know more about policyholders and potential customers in order to more effectively convert leads into sales. APIs and AI-based analytics can help agents and brokers understand customer preferences, answer questions, and offer appropriate products around policyholders’ special life events. 

The Final Word: The most successful insurers will win and retain customers by reinventing their operating ecosystem to support a ‘phygital’ model based on a mix of physical presence and digital engagement.

The State of AI in Insurance