Insurers need to innovate and excite - or die

19 June 2013

At the recent TINtech event dedicated to technology in the world of insurance, there was evidence of refreshing thinking and some thought provoking words from the speakers.

Most importantly, from Simply Business, 'What is the cost of inaction'? The simple answer is that customers will go elsewhere. This year has been littered with examples of Companies that failed to change and thus simply failed.

Frequently the constraint to innovation and change is seen as legacy technology. This should never be an excuse. Technology should always enable, not constrain. Nick Miekle from the Direct Line Group rightly identified that we need flexibility in the market place. He stressed that we should talk about the needs of the business and then find the technology that will deliver. This sounds like common sense, but alas it is far too often the other way around. The limitations of the technology shape the business solutions!

Stephane Flaquet from Hiscox identified that 'The company with the best technology and the ability to use it will win' He feels that solution selection should be geared towards speed of change and the ability of the technology to deliver self service solutions for the business to reduce dependence on overworked IT departments.

Refreshingly, the main themes of the day were around the need for technology to support constant change and growth. The speaker from the BGL Group summed it up nicely, saying 'You need to keep pieces of work short and sweet and deliver benefits to the business as soon as possible'.

Here at Total Systems we have long advocated the need for agile technology to support the strategic vision through smart software and self service solutions for the business. If we see more Companies move to this approach we may just start to see some interesting developments in the world of Insurance.