New data from insurance and fintech consultancy Altus Consulting and digital transformation agency Pancentric Digital reveals that, despite the number of digital tools available to the insurance sector increasing significantly, the digital capability of insurers has actually shrunk since 2015.
New data from insurance and fintech consultancy Altus Consulting and digital transformation agency Pancentric Digital reveals that, despite the number of digital tools available to the insurance sector increasing significantly, the digital capability of insurers has actually shrunk since 2015.
The research was undertaken using their DigitalBar service, which independently assesses the digital capabilities across UK General Insurance.
Altus and Pancentric used this tool to benchmark 250 insurers across 8 product lines over the time period, and found that 7 out of 12 of the largest home insurance brands had taken a step backwards in terms of digital maturity from 2015 to 2022..
Since 2015, Altus Consulting has assessed 8000 digital journeys across 250 insurers, reporting on the state of the digital experience in the insurance industry. Over the years, the research team have annually reviewed the key technologies and tools available to customers in both the Insurance industry and across other industry verticals (which means the digital experience of customers in insurance can be compared with other industries).
The data shows that, as more digital tools and processes have become available to customers, most insurers are not keeping pace with these trends, showing a decline when compared with other industries.
Mark Andrews, Insurance Director at Altus Consulting, says:
“The Covid-19 pandemic has fast-tracked the need for many sectors to enhance their digital capabilities in order to meet consumer demand. As a result of this, we’ve seen an explosion in the number of digital tools available on the market, but our research shows insurers have some way to go to fully make the most of these.”
Insurers urgently need to look at how they are utilising these sorts of tools. Of course, this is no overnight achievement, and top of the priority list for insurers is building a modern, integrated and easily configurable technology stack. The pace of digital customer experience has moved on, but insurers with legacy technology have got to invest in some significant changes to keep up with customer expectation.”
Mark McDonald, Personal Lines Director at Altus Consulting, says:
“In many major digital transformation projects, insurers will typically have to go through a significant amount of IT and change effort, together with navigating internal red tape and financial challenges in introducing new technology.
Although starting a new major IT overhaul might not be on the table this year, , particularly with budgets tightening amidst the cost of claims increasing, it’s still vital that the insurance sector keeps up with the digital expectations of its consumer and corporate customers. Consequently, insurers must prioritise investing in new technology that not only improves the customer experience but also reduces operational overheads.”
