INSURANCE INNOVATION: CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

Price flexibility, telematics, and micro - segmentation are among the trends influencing business transformation in the insurance industry.

Given the current trends and the certainty that the future will bring more, insurance companies evaluating new systems are encouraged to ask some key questions:

• How adaptable and flexible is this software?
• How nimble will it make my business, so that it can quickly adapt to future growth opportunities?
• Will the system continue to perform as contexts change around us?

There is no escaping the rapid pace of innovation. New business models, advancement in telematics technology, and the service expectations of the hyper-connected customer will soon be yesterday's news as leading insurance companies embrace and adapt to these changes. What will tomorrow's headline bring -- and will you be ready for it?

Keys to Balancing Goals in Insurance Digitalization

Micro-segmentation
Savvy insurers recognize a particular group whose members show a similar appetite for coverage. One company provides a great example of micro-segmentation with its peer-to-peer (P2P) segmentation, in which drivers are grouped together according to risk. Premiums for each group are pooled, and any unused money at the end of the year goes toward lowering renewals for the next year. P2P segmentation is particularly interesting because it's a brand-new spin on segments, which have historically been defined by members' demographics.

Omnichannel customer interaction

Today's customers likely engage with their insurance companies via a number of avenues. The expectations for customer service and usable information are high, regardless of which touchpoint (online, home phone, mobile device) is used.

Nonfinancial reparation

Traditional insurance typically reimburses insured's rupee for rupee for their losses. Increasingly, however, customers are pushing for nonfinancial reparation. In Australia and certain European markets, for example, when insureds are faced with loss of personal property -- from, say, a kitchen fire -- it is standard for them to request a brand-new kitchen, rather than a check.

Most insurers recognize that innovation is required to keep pace with our changing world and ever-changing customer expectations. They know that, if they wait too long, they will fall farther behind. One of the challenges they face, though, is trying to initiate this transformation amid the change they see around them with systems that hold them back. Legacy systems were built to do a particular thing in a particular way; they address a problem only in the context that it was known.

At URS Systems we blend our industry-leading expertise in consulting, technology and sourcing to enable the creation of the next generation insurance carrier and solve business challenges in three ways – business transformation, accelerating innovation, and efficient operations. URS’s solutions accelerators, insurance IP, end-to-end consulting services and flexible global delivery models have been instrumental in delivering project success.

For more details visit us @www.urssystems.com