Reflections on ITC: 5 Trends Shaping the Insurance Industry

After a two-year hiatus, we traveled to Las Vegas for the world’s largest insurtech event, Insuretech Connect 2021. It was a breath of fresh air to be interacting in person again, and we took in every minute of it. Following three days packed with back-to-back sessions and discussions in halls filled with over 5,000 attendees, here are some of the highlights and themes we learned: 

1. Customer experience, customer experience, and more customer experience- This was the overarching theme of the conference. Nearly every conversation or session seemed to lead back to the following questions: “how are you transforming insurance from a product to an experience?” and “how are you differentiating this experience and making it seamless for your customers?”

2. Relationship and personalization- An excellent point that will be expanded upon in our next blog post: a positive, differentiated customer experience begins with building a relationship with clients. The influx of a wide variety of data, from client financial habits and shopping preferences to their nutritional choices and health data, is enabling insurers to develop a more nuanced understanding of client behaviors, preferences and needs than ever before. Building a relationship with clients requires informing the entire insurance process, from marketing to prospects to engaging clients, with this data and personalizing it to suit each individual.

3. Shared value-  Given the shared interests of clients and insurers, an effective way to get helpful information on clients is to deliver value to clients in exchange for data. Examples of value include personalized suggestions on how to improve heart health for clients who are at risk of developing heart disease, discounts at local health-food shops, or premium reductions for clients who achieve health and wellness goals. In return, clients would provide insurers with more data, which would then enable insurers to increase the value of their suggestions, recommendations and rewards, while also gathering data to improve risk assessment and reduce risk, which brings us to the next trend.

4. Predict and prevent- The best kind of claim is the one that’s never made, and as discussed in the excellent session we watched at the show, titled, Building the Intelligent Insurer with Advanced AI and Analytics, insurers should be focusing on helping clients make better decisions ahead of time, rather than sticking to the traditional model, which embraces a more reactive focus, dealing with claims and repairing damage after events occur. As Brian Cartwright, Insurance Industry Executive at Microsoft, pointed out, wouldn’t it be great if before hailstorms clients could receive a text message notifying them of the expected hailstorm and reminding them to move their cars to a safe place? Or, if insurers helped clients understand their health risks and make healthier lifestyle changes that helped them prevent the onset of diseases and other health issues?

5. Everyone deserves a plan- With several talks emphasizing the need to protect the uninsured, closing the protection gap seems to be a priority of today’s insurers. Digital tools are making it possible to meet clients where they are and provide them with a level of coverage they can afford. 

Our time at Insuretech Connect made clear that shifting towards a customer-centric approach and finding creative ways to combine distinct forms of data to help clients prevent accidents and claims is reshaping the insurance industry. We’re excited to see the developments this will lead to in creating a healthier, safer environment that meets the needs of both insurers and clients. Stay tuned for our next post, in which we’ll dive further into how to enhance customer experience.

Talk to us now to see how Binah.ai’s Health Data Platform can enhance your customer experience today.