Tech, Talent, and Data: 3 Critical Pillars for the Future of Insurance

Insurers need to seek solutions that can bring operational strength in order to prepare for the future. Tech, talent and data are the solutions that can play a critical role as the pillars for the future of their insurance business.

The insurance industry has always been changing, and the future is not defined yet. Proactive insurers that are excited about preparing for the future keep themselves busy finding ways to scale and expand. If you are also one of them, you must know that the trending technologies, competent workforce, along with certain consumer & industry trends are bringing many opportunities for insurers.

But some concerns are common across the industry.

• How to overcome the lack of talent?
• Will technology bring any desired outcomes?
• How to use data effectively?

The three pillars for the foundation of the future of your insurance business are solutions to these three concerns.

3 Critical Pillars for the Future of Insurance

1) Recruiting and Retaining Talent

The insurance industry is experiencing a shortage of talented workforce.According to one survey done by A.M. Best:

• 32.3% of insurers are unable to attract young workers.
• 24.2% are concerned about the lack of essential sales skills.
• The age of 62.5% of productive employees is above 50, while just 3.1% are below the age of 35.

The numbers are showing that recruiting and retaining talent is getting tougher for insurers. But there’s always a way out from any problem.

Revive your recruiting practices and consider taking candidates onboard that are thoughtful, skilled, and, if you can, avoid sticking to traditional work culture. Make sure you do not overlook emotional intelligence and negotiating tactics of candidates as in the future when the industry will be relying upon technology, these skills will help maintain a balance between human employees and bot-workforce.

Build strategies to attract millennials and generation Z, make them believe that insurance can be a great career option for them by offering valuable employee benefits, flexible working environment, opportunities for professional growth, and even student loan repayment. You might need to invest in talent as much as you do in digital transformation; do not stop yourself from paying high salaries to candidates that can give you a lot more in return.

One big thing you might agree with is that geographical location is not an essential requirement nowadays. Consider remote workers that can do the work at lower costs.

Insurance process outsourcing, for instance, is trending in full swing, and companies in this business generally have qualified, skilled, and experienced insurance experts that can help you reduce back-office workload and increase efficiency, which also at affordable costs. Outsourcing insurance processes is best for those that face issues in finding the right talent and hiring employees in-house.

2) Adopting Technologies that Make You Future-Ready

The second pillar is the technology that, in the future, must provide support to insurers very differently than it had in the previous years. The requirements to achieve speed, agility, and innovation are new that traditional business models might not be able to fulfill.

In order to meet future trends, you need to modernize your currently running processes and bring out the innovation to capture the customers having unique and advance needs and expectations. Technology makes it all more manageable for you and delivers capabilities to give you a competitive advantage.

The technology was not as common in the insurance industry in 2015 as it is today. In such a short period, technology has found its place in the industry. Now insurers are heading toward next-generation platforms that are powered by technologies such as cloud, big data, open API, blockchain, AI, automation, etc.

You might already know that some insurance software powered by robotic process automation and artificial intelligence are helping insurers in managing insurance services, for example, appropriately settling claims, and processing the same. Use such helpful software to reduce workload, enhance productivity, and save time to focus on other essential functions such as lead generation and sales.

Once the technological foundation is laid, you would be ready to go and remain one step ahead of your competitors. The industry is likely to invest a large amount of money in technology in the coming years. It is the right time to comprehend the values and benefits you can reap from it and embrace it for overall business growth.

3) Data is All You Need to Drive Your Workforce in the Right Direction

Data is continually changing and disrupting the industry. While many insurers find it difficult to convert their company into a data-driven one, some have found a way to capture core data from multiple sources and analyze it. As customers prefer to interact online, large volumes of data are being generated in both structured and unstructured formats.

Along with that, new analytical tools are entering the market, helping insurers make innovative and complete use of data. Customers are also coming up in front to help insurers by willingly sharing information with them to get better products, services, and personalized experience that they have always been expecting

To get the most out of this valuable asset – data, you must quickly expand your data sources; for instance, you can take internal data, customer history, and data from interactions occurred with customers and integrate it with data from sources like the internet, market research, etc.

Apart from that, you need to anticipate emerging trends in customers’ demands and expectations by analyzing data, and quickly improve the current or build new business models. You need to think forward and have the courage to make strategies to revamp your products, processes, operating policies, services, etc., all by making proper use of data and analytical tools.

Conclusion:

The rapid development of technology in the next ten years will disrupt the insurance sector to a great extent. To win in the era of technology-driven insurance, you need to focus on strengthening the three pillars discussed above.

Use multiple platforms to find talent for your business; for instance, you can post about the requirement on social media and portals or outsource some processes to a reliable insurance support service provider. Acquire technology that can have your back in managing operations and give a competitive advantage.

Giving critical importance to data; utilize data and analytical tools to understand what is currently happening in the market and what it might ask for in the future. Strengthening technology, workforce, and the use of data will help your business thrive in the next decade.

It is often not easy to find candidates that fit in your company as per your requirements. Similarly, choosing technology platforms that can help your business grow doesn’t always turn fruitful. And data analytics is already confusing enough that many companies give up before using it.

If you are also in the same boat, contact Cogneesol – an insurance process outsourcing company trusted by many. We have been providing competent back-office outsourcing services to insurance business worldwide for more than a decade now. Our team of experts can fulfill your business needs, even amidst the current hard times.

For any queries related to resource management, technology usage, or insurance data management and analytics, feel free to call us at +1 646-688-2821 or email at [email protected].

Recommended Post:

Does Digitalization Imply Business Profits for Insurance Sector?

2020 Insurance Industry Trends: Shaping The Future