Here, life insurance industry specialist Lesley Mamelok,
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You are well aware of the influence that technology is having on the sector? What should life insurers be aware of in terms of what's next?
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Technology had already changed all our lives in so many unforeseeable ways pre-COVID. All COVID has done is accelerated the need and speed for both insurers and Advisers to adopt these new technologies. We don’t see this trend reverting. All the research shows, once the technology is adopted you never look back.
Of course, technology is the facilitator, not the answer. At Integrity we have coined a phrase ‘digital when you need it and human when you want it’. Afterall, we are still life Insurers and we don’t believe the efficiencies that technologies offer can ever replace a real human interaction.
In terms of what’s next – I don’t think the answer is quite that simple, there are so many things coming down the pipeline that we all need to be aware of but let’s talk about one of the hottest topics, AI and blockchain.
The rise of AI in the 21st century has fuelled fears that jobs will be lost as technology makes them redundant. While AI disruption in the insurance sectors is certain, I think we need to look at this as an opportunity and focus on how we develop the knowledge and skills required to augment the role of AI in our businesses.
AI and technologies such as blockchain will effectively take over transactional and other routine tasks. But with labour-intensive tasks, such as underwriting and claims processing, these technologies provide opportunities to improve process efficiencies that will free up our claims and underwriting teams to provide more time to focus on the human interactions with our customers.
As I’ve said, what AI and technology cannot replace is the human relationships that are so critical when dealing with people’s…. lives, and this is even more important given our roles in life insurance.
Insurers who do not recognise the advantages from emerging technologies will suffer, as their competitors reap efficiency and quality gains and focus on increasing profitability through higher value, diversified and personal service offerings.
I guess the starting point for us all, when assessing these new technologies is always: What is it that we are actually trying to achieve here?
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FSC Life Insurance Summit 2020 - The FSC Life Insurance Summit continues this week until Friday 31 July.
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