Insurtech to transform commercial insurance products

Insurtech is helping commercial insurers better analyse and reduce risk, lowering the premium but adding service fees while transforming the insurance offering in the segment.

This was one of the findings of the webinar “Why InsurTech Matters For Corporate And Specialty Insurers” that took place on July 17, powered by Intelligent Insurer and presented by Chris Sandilands, partner, Oxbow Partners and lead author of InsurTech Impact 25.

The event presented themes and some participants who will also feature at  Intelligent Insurtech Europe 2018, which will take place in London on October 15.

Through the introduction of technology, traditional insurance products for corporates may be completely replaced, said Georgi Pachov, global practice leader cyber at Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty (AGCS).

Data and technology are set to enhance underwriting functions - data analytics will allow for better underwriting decision and deliver new commercial insurance products, Pachov noted.

Technology will enable more sophisticated insight into the risk exposure of clients and into risk aggregation which will be extremely beneficial for portfolio development, he added.

Roles in insurance will be transformed so that they facilitate the use of technology as corporate insurers will increasingly focus on adding value and delivering services to their clients, Pachov said.

Data to power new products may come from firms like GWT Insight, which is extracting and supplying data from commercial buildings through telematics and Internet of Things (IoT), enabling the creation of new products such as parametric insurance or autonomous underwriting.

GWT Insight is capturing key data for example from systems controlling the power supply and distribution, security or water supply. The insurtech firm is building solutions that can capture this data and feed it into insurance propositions.

There is a huge amount of untapped data on buildings with direct links to risk, said Iain Wilcox, CEO of GWT Insight.

Nikolus Suehr, CEO and founder of UK-based startup KASKO, added that insurtech firms will be able to improve risk prevention management for traditional insurers, enhance risk pricing, allow for a rebalancing of the portfolio and enable real-time underwriting.

KASKO offers an application programming interface (API)-powered insurance product platform that sits in between digital customer touchpoints and an insurer’s legacy IT system. The platform allows insurers to integrate third party services into any kind of digital customer touchpoint, according to the company.

Insurtech can add value as it allows insight into how insurers should allocate resources under uncertainty, Suehr said. Switching from legacy systems to new platforms is complicated, he explained. But insurtech solutions allow insurers to run a pilot which can quickly test assumptions before full capabilities are deployed, he added.

While the more accurate risk assessment enabled by technology is set to reduce the risk exposure of clients, insurers will be able to charge for services that enhance the protection of clients, Wilcox noted. An expected reduction of premium is likely to be offset by risk management services, he explained.

In cyber, AGCS expects to use insurtech providers to address risk in real time and supply services upfront, helping to minimise the future claims potential.

It may be more complex to apply technology in the commercial space than in retail insurance, but the efforts may pay off.

“It’s complex, but the upside is that the rewards are quite high if we get it right,” Wilcox said.

The participants in the webinar will also take part in the Intelligent InsurTECH Europe 2018 conference in London on October 15.

To catch up with this unmissable webinar you can listen again with the live recording, available below.

If you enjoyed this story and have an interest in Insurtech, join us at Intelligent InsurTECH Europe 2018, the only insurtech event with dedicated streams for CXOs, Data/Analytics, and Claims. Find out more here.